Spy chief �scared� of Moshoke
Innocent Selatlhwa | Thursday March 9, 2017 16:00
Bayford represents Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) leader, Duma Boko’s bodyguard Elliot Moshoke, who has been charged with threat-to-kill, after Kgosi laid a complaint. Bayford was in Court yesterday motivating for the charges against his client to be quashed.
According to the charge sheet, Moshoke on or about April 2014 in Extension II Gaborone, without lawful excuse caused Kgosi to indirectly receive a threat on his life in that he uttered the following words: “I personally send a warning that should anything happen to Boko, there will be a blood bath among the families of responsible people.
I will personally ensure that not only do they suffer consequences, but even their entire families” or words to that effect. Moshoke’s vows came after allegations surfaced among the opposition that the DIS was plotting to kill Boko.
The bodyguard allegedly threatened to “wipe out the Serowe royal family from the world map”.
Yesterday, Bayford said Kgosi had no reason to feel threatened.
“Kgosi, who is head of the DIS, an armed organ, which provides VIP security and coordinates security and intelligence services, is the one who says he is threatened?
That cannot be. “Kgosi was not directly affected by the threat uttered. The words uttered did not cause any threat to a person of Kgosi’s stature,” he said.
Bayford argued that the case should be dismissed as it was not in line with sections of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, which state that for one to be charged with threat-to-kill, there should be a named individual receiving a threat “and not a geographical place like Serowe”.
“I do not understand how Kgosi who is not part of the Serowe royal family can claim threatened. Rather, the complainants should at least be President (Ian) Khama who doesn’t seem threatened as he has not reported the matter to date,” he said.
Bayford went on to break down each sentence, stating that there is nowhere Moshoke threatened to kill any named specific individual. “It is said Kgosi was threatened, but the threat was directed to people responsible for causing harm to Boko and not Isaac Kgosi. It would seem like the prosecution, with these charges, is suggesting that Kgosi is hell-bent on killing Boko,” he said.
For her part, prosecutor Priscilla Israel said the charge was clear and the Court had to listen to the matter.
“There is nothing wrong with this charge. It is a clear threat-to-kill one. You cannot say the person was talking about a geographical location. That obviously refers to people in that area,” she said.
Israel also argued that it was impossible to dissect the sentences, stating that for one to understand the charge, the paragraph had to be read as a whole together with the entire newspaper article within which it appeared. She argued that the defence did not provide evidence that could lead to the case being quashed.
Magistrate Batho Kgeretlhwa reserved ruling for April 26.