Family Shocked As 'Missing' Son Is Nailed
Pini Bothoko | Monday July 30, 2018 12:50
Tebogo, who had been missing since the burial of his parents and brother, had gone AWOL following his family members’ murders mid-last month.
Whilst the Ramantosha family was still reeling from the grief of losing their loved ones, on Thursday they had the shock of their lives after learning that the missing son was one of the suspects nabbed for the family’s triple murder.
On June 22, Patrick Ramantosha, 55, his wife Boingotlo Fridah Ramantosha, 47, and their son Keabetswe Ramantosha, 22, were found dead with their hands and legs tied up and their mouths gagged.
On Thursday, Tebogo and his co-accused Mmoloki Tlhaelo, 37, Poloko Segwagwa, 27, and Cornelious Saidoo, 28, were arraigned before Molepolole Magistrate’s Court.
After their arraignment, The Monitor team visited the grieving family for the umpteenth time where they claimed to have only learnt about their son’s arrest during the The Monitor visit.
This publication arrived at the home to find Boingotlo’s mother, and Patrick’s elder sister sitting by the fire in the company of a few community members, who had also heard the unfolding news and dashed to the family to get it from the horse’s mouth.
“Like we have been telling you, ever since the tragedy befell our family, we do not know anything. There is nothing new to share with you,” Boingotlo’s mother said following introductions to the family.
“What! We do not know anything about Tebogo being arrested. We only know that he is missing,” she said, certainly besides herself with grief.
Asked if the police had not yet briefed them on their latest investigations into the matter, the deceased’s mother denied the police ever visited them.
“The last time they were here was to tell us that they were still looking for Tebogo as we had opened a missing person’s case weeks back. Since you say he has been arrested, and he appeared before court today, we are hopeful that the police will come and notify us.
“We therefore cannot at this point and time comment any further on something that we are not sure of,” Tebogo’s grieving grandmother said.
Ever since the tragedy, village talk had been that Tebogo might be implicated in his family’s killings.
However, efforts to make his family talk about the claims failed, as they could not comment any further into the matter.
Reached for comment on the claims, the Botswana Police Service’s (BPS) director of crime intelligence, Nunu Lesetedi said he could not comment into such reports.
“Investigations are ongoing to establish what really transpired and the motive behind the family’s killings, hence I cannot comment any further.
“Most of the suspects’ arrest was fresh and they appeared before court today hence our continued detailed investigations,” Lesetedi said, of the Thursday appearance of the quartet at the Molepolole Magistrate’s court.