Magistrate issues ultimatum in poisoning case

Innocent Selatlhwa | Wednesday June 7, 2017 16:55

 

Khuto made the threat when it became clear that there was no prosecutor in the case after the matter was supposed to come up for case management conference yesterday.

The stand-in prosecutor requested a new date, stating that they did not know who the substantive prosecutor in the matter was. After setting September 18, 2017 as a new date, Khuto called on the prosecution to be serious with the matter, or she would dismiss the case.

Failure to appear by the prosecutor denied the court an opportunity to establish whether Makhwa had absconded, and to revoke his bail if that was the case.

It later transpired that Makhwa was in the wrong court room, but nothing changed with the new date set. Makhwa was granted conditional bail, including a P2,000 bond, the provision of two Batswana sureties worth P2,000 each and that he report to Thamaga Police Station every fortnight.

It is alleged that Makhwa killed Kagiso Itheeng by lacing his beer. Makhwa has denied the charge. He has since told the court that all he did was give Itheeng two beers which were both sealed.

At the last mention, Makhwa’s lawyer, Gabaikanngwe Kebalepile, who was also not in court, pleaded to have Makhwa released on bail, saying his client was innocent and was only behind bars because of jealousy. 

The prosecution had told the court that investigations were ongoing and that the body had been exhumed. Then, Kebalepile also told the court that the postmortem has been conducted and they were awaiting results.