The intension was to kill Kalafatis

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE
Staff Writer | Wednesday March 9, 2011 00:00

 

State prosecutor Ambrose Mubika said during cross examination of the first accused Dzikamani Mothobi that if they wanted to arrest John Kalafatis, they could have done so as they were presented with numerous opportunities to do that. Mubika said if Mothobi, Lance Corporal Gotshosamang Sechele, (37); Lance Corporal Ronny Matako (36); and Corporal Boitshoko Maifala (38), had indeed wanted to arrest Kalafatis, they could have picked him up when he was at his home or at the junction when he (John) was talking to his younger brother Costa.

Further, Mubika told Mothobi that the fact that he was a senior officer in charge of the operation to arrest Kalafatis means he was the one who gave orders to shoot.

However, Mothobi told the court that he did not give orders to shoot but only ordered his juniors to stop firing. He said he informed his supervisor, Assistant Chief of Staff Military Intelligence Unit Brigadier Peter Magosi, that they had killed the fugitive that they had been looking for.

Mothobi said in response, Brigadier Magosi said: 'Are you sure you have killed the person we have been looking for in a long time?' Magosi was then introduced as a defence witness and immediately distanced himself from what Mothobi said. He denied ever uttering such words, adding that as a senior officer, he could not have said that. Magosi further told the court that as per the Botswana Defence Force Act, a junior officer can only act on the orders of his senior. Magosi said on the day of the incident, after being informed by Mothobi of what happened, he went straight to the scene of the incident without reporting to the police or calling an ambulance.

He said he was duty bound to go to the scene of the incident to assess it, more so that members of the BDF were involved and he was responsible to update the BDF high command regarding what was going on. Magosi further told the court that Mothobi, as a member of Military Intelligence; and Sechele, Matako and Maifala as members of Military Police, were not trained in the procedure of arresting suspects.  He stressed that on patrols, BDF members are there to assist the police when they (police) arrest suspects. 'They just learn procedures of arresting suspects through their attachment to the police during patrols,' Magosi said. 'They learn as they work with the police.'

In his defence, Sechele told the court that he and Matako were ordered by Maifala to shoot at Kalafatis. Sechele said Maifala's order came after they noticed that Kalafatis' hand was moving towards his back where they thought he was reaching for his gun. Sechele admitted that they shot Kalafatis and never bothered to check whether he (Kalafatis) was still alive after they stopped shooting.

He denied that Mothobi ever ordered them to shoot, saying Mothobi's involvement was to provide lighting, operate the siren and to order Kalafatis and other occupants to get out of the car.