BPF spokesperson denied bail by Lobatse High Court
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Saturday April 18, 2020 20:05
The duo who are facing four charges, the first two being ‘publishing statements with intention to deceive persons about the COVID-19 infection’, and last two being ‘use of offensive electronic communication’ had approached the High Court urgently to seek bail after they were previously denied by the Regional Magistrate's Court.
They were charged alongside Letsogile Barupi after the police established that they are administrators of a Facebook page called ‘Botswana Trending News’ which is alleged to have published ‘fake news’ pertaining to President Mokgweetsi Masisi and the COVID-19 world pandemic.
Justice Tau extended the duo’s remand warrants Friday to April 21, 2020, after which they would be released on conditional bail pending trial.
Among the conditions set out by the court are that they should not interfere with police investigations and state witnesses and should present themselves to health officials for assessment in line with COVID-19 regulations.
In his founding affidavit, Motlhabani had argued that his detention could have possibly exposed him to COVID-19 infection at any of the detention centres, as they do not observe extreme social distancing.
“I also propose that in the event that my application is successful, this court ought to also order that I be placed in government supervised quarantine and that I be tested for COVID-19,” he said in his papers.
Motlhabani and his co-accused will appear on April 21, before Regional Magistrate Goodwill Makofi.