�Pastor� struggles to deny dagga charges

Lebogang Baingapi | Tuesday February 2, 2016 16:04

 

One of the witnesses, Thuso Ngoni told court last week that they met the accused in a car they had boarded a lift from Sejelo Junction in Kanye to Chalershill.

Ngoni said at Moatle, they met a police roadblock and were asked to go out with their luggage but the accused said he did not have any. Upon searching the car, the police found a bag with dagga inside, weighing 213.1g, hidden at the back of the driver seat where Tefiso was seated.

Ngoni said after all of them denied knowledge of the bag and the accused claiming to be a pastor who is going to conduct a church service in Sekoma, police found a small paper written numbers and they contacted them to establish if they knew any of the car occupants.  One of the people claimed that Tefiso was her relative and he had gone to collect some undisclosed items from Kanye.

Ngoni further said upon realising he was a major suspect on illegal possession of dagga, he claimed ownership of the bag and its contents and even apologised to the occupants and asked the police to release them. During cross examination he asked the witness if it was an offence to have his relatives numbers lost in a bag he did not know of ,which Ngoni answered in the negative.

Detective Constable Galaletsang Kenyaditswe also said the accused told him he was initially afraid to claim ownership of the bag because he knew there was dagga inside, which was illegal.

“He said he got it from an unknown Zimbabwean man and he was going to sell it at a farm near Sekoma,” Kenyaditswe said. Tefiso who said he only went to Kanye to check his uncle in prison, refuted allegations that he told them that he was checking on his girlfriend in the village. 

The investigating officer in the matter Detective Constable Dipampiri Seametso however gave the prosecutor Lorato Chabaetsile a hard time as he struggled to remember facts of the case.  He whispered when asked questions and scratched his head from time to time to remember names of people involved in the case, even the quantity of the dagga at hand.

The case will continue on February 15, 2016, when the accused will make an application for no case to answer.