Psychiatrist relives time with accused mental patient

Patricia Edwin
Staff Writer | Thursday June 6, 2013 00:00

Kabo is accused of killing his maternal grandmother, Lefetogile Saulo on May 11, 2011.  Duva was giving evidence at the Francistown High Court as an expert witness before Justice Zibani Makhwade. He said the conditions resulted from abuse of substances like nicotine, cannabis, alcohol and mood disorders.  'Dimpho Kabo was being treated at Jubilee Psychiatric Ward as an out-patient and sometimes he got admitted and then discharged,' he said.  He revealed that the accused was brought to Sbrana through a Magistrate Court order from Palapye on May 12, 2011, a day after allegedly killing his grandmother.  Davu was aware that Kabo has been arrested several times for being aggressive to his family members. He revealed that he had been admitted to the Nyangabgwe Psychiatric Wing against his consent, and at times with the authority of the District Commissioner of Palapye.  He said he conducted two examinations on the accused person and realised that at first he had elated moods, false perceptions, hallucinations, delusions and anger.

He said that on first assessment, the accused told him that he was angry with his family members for taking him to the clinic to get injections. Kabo allegedly also said that his family was jealous of him because of his talents. Duva further told the court that it became clear that Kabo was deeply mentally unstable. 'He said that he was the best boxer, martial arts expert and football player in Botswana. He also said that he had internet connection in his brain that connected him to world famous musicians in the United States of America,' he said. The witness said he learnt that the accused once went to Canada to study law but did not graduate. He said that during conversations his intelligence was proportionate to his education level.'He insisted that his family members were jealous of him because of these abilities,' said Duva.

Duva said he prescribed anti-psychotic medicine and mood stabilisers for him and saw him again after four weeks in June. 'When I saw him he was now well groomed. He was calm, he was cooperative, had logical ideas and he did not consider himself to be the best boxer or football player in Botswana,' he said. He further said that the accused admitted that he killed his grandmother under the influence of cannabis and said that he knew he was sick and needed medication. Kabo allegedly told Duva that at the time that he committed the offense, he did not know what he was doing as he was psychotic and had impaired judgement and delusional ideas that his family members were jealous and harassing him. 'He was living in his own world away from reality. He did not know what he was doing and the consequences,' he said.

State attorney Nomsa Moatswi said that on the admitted evidence, one Amantle Kabo told the court that the accused person came to his grandmother's house where he asked for food but she was told that the food was still being prepared. 'She further said that the accused person said that he was going to Palapye Technical College to give a lecture but later returned and said that he wanted food and was told that the food was finished,' she said.Moatswi said that the accused proceeded to his room and in the early hours of the morning was seen leaving the house. He then came back with a cement boulder with which he hit his grandmother on the head, crushing her skull, as later confirmed by a doctor. He was remanded back in custody to await the decision of the president, as the decision of the High Court is that he cannot be held responsible for the murder because of his psychiatric condition.