Kgosi remains a wanted fugitive
Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday July 24, 2019 09:51
Kgosi is reportedly expected to undergo an operation on Thursday in Malaysia where he is seeking medical attention.
The state on July 14, 2019 obtained a warrant of arrest for Kgosi after failing to report at the police station on his scheduled time as per his bail condition.
Senior state prosecutor Thato Dibeela told the court today during Kgosi’s bail variation status hearing that the former spy boss was eligible to be arrested wherever he was as he has breached one of his bail conditions.
Dibeela explained that the warrant was justified as Kgosi had plenty of time to inform the court about his travel and ask for bail variation on time before travelling outside the country.
“He had the whole of June to apply for bail variation instead he decided to leave without even informing the court. The warrant is also justified because he was given a chance to show cause why his bail should not be revoked and he failed to so within reasonable time,” she said.
She told the court that there was no such communication that Kgosi would be travelling outside the country for medical reasons and that it was only after he failed to report to court that they checked at the immigration and established that he had crossed to South Africa.
Dibeela said the warrant should be upheld until grounds on medical reasons are established.
On the submission of evidence Dibeela said it was taking a while because phones confiscated from Mmegi’s political reporter Tsaone Basimanebotlhe and former minister Sadique Kebonang had been taken to forensics and that it might be a while before the police complete their investigations.
Kgosi’s attorney Thabiso Tafila in response was not happy with the state’s conduct of going behind their backs and obtaining a warrant of arrest while they knew very well that the accused had a medical condition.
He told the court that they had communicated to the state as soon as they got information from Kgosi that he will be hospitalised.
“At the time there was nothing preventing my client from travelling and there was no need for bail variation as he was not aware that he was going to stay for long. The information was immediately communicated after finding out that he was to be hospitalised and that’s when the bail variation aroused,” he said.
Tafila was not happy that each time state needed to do something they would go to a different magistrate and sneak when the defence team is not aware as he pointed out that there was no need to go to a different magistrate for the warrant.
He told the court that they would have to go to the magistrate who issued the warrant to sort it out after Regional Magistrate Masilo Mathaka said he could not do anything about it since he was not the one who issued it.
The case has been postponed to September 24, 2019 for a status hearing.