'Try High Court' Magistrate Tells Bail-Seeking Applicants

Lebogang Mosikare | Monday February 18, 2019 12:22

 

It was the fourth time that Modisakgotla Keganeditse, 24, and Moabi Morwalela, 21, who allegedly robbed Grace Keakantse, 70, of a mobile phone worth P249 at her place of residence in Area W, have tried to regain their freedom since their incarceration last year.

The State also alleges that after the duo robbed Keakantse of her mobile phone they took turns raping her.

When denying the accused bail, magistrate Game Mooketsi said that it would be improper for her to grant them bail when they were already turned down by two of her colleagues.

She added that the accused’s predicament was compounded by the fact that she was not the substantive magistrate in the matter.

“I advise you to apply for bail at the High Court. All the proceedings of these matters will be typed and you are at liberty to use them when you apply for bail at the High Court. I cannot change the decisions of the magistrates who previously denied you bail,” Mooketsi said much to the chagrin of the accused that looked on with angry faces.

One of the accused, Keganeditse, has a pending defilement case that is being handled by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

Just like in their previous appearances before court, the accused threatened to harm or even kill journalists for taking their pictures and writing what they said were ‘lies about them in order to discredit their reputations’ after they appeared in court.

Few people attended the accused’s appearance in court compared to the large numbers in past that would fill the room to the brim whenever the duo appeared.

By then, one of the reasons why the court denied the accused bail was that some people from Area W and the deceased’s relatives who had developed keen interest in the case may harm them if they were to be granted bail.