Fake traditional healers plead guilty
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday November 14, 2017 16:50
The duo, Gift Chihwayi and Phillip Rusari together with Tafala Chihwayi, who pleaded not guilty, are alleged to have planted a dead baboon in a woman’s yard and charged her P1,000 claiming their powers had ‘discovered’ and removed it. They claimed that the baboon was a thokolosi.
The trio is facing two counts of attempting to obtain by false pretences as well as entering Botswana through an un-gazetted point.
Court read the amended charge sheet with Tafala’s name changed from Emmanuel Chihwayi, the name that he had initially provided to the prosecution. When requested to take a plea on both counts, Gift and Rusari told court that they understood the charge and pleaded guilty to the offence whilst Tafala pleaded not guilty to the second count. State prosecutor, detective senior Superintendent Sergeant Marapo told the court that he had in his possession documents from immigration department, which showed that Emmanuel’s real names are Tafala Chihwayi, not Emmanuel as he had initially told the prosecution. Asked by Magistrate Gaseitsewe Tonoki why he initially confused prosecution on his real names, Tafala said that both Emmanuel and Tafala were his names, but Tafala was the one that was written on his passport.
On their first appearance in court, Tafala had initially told court that he does not understand the charge against him because he had not committed any offence.
“I do not understand the charge because I was not even at the crime scene,” Emmanuel said then. It is alleged that the trio, all residing at Rasoko ward, Gabane village on October 13, 2017 at Phiring location in Broadhurst acting together and in concert attempted to obtain a sum of P1,000 from Linet Mmali David by falsely pretending that they were traditional doctors, duly registered to practise in Botswana, and that they had removed a thokolosi from her house, which came in a form of a dead baboon, which representations they knew or believed to be false as they planted the said dead baboon.
On the second count, the trio were charged with an offence of entering Botswana through an ungazetted point of entry by jumping the fence which forms the boundary between Botswana and Zimbabwe on dates not known to the prosecution. Tonoki further remanded them in custody and set November 21, 2017 as the trial date for Tafala. However, facts on their case will be read today before Broadhurst Magistrates Court.