Octogenarian acquitted and discharged of dagga possession

Lebogang Mosikare
Correspondent | Thursday March 7, 2013 00:00

Eighty-year-old Mmapula Sedimo was charged together with Andrew Sedimo, 37, and Sheriff Frenzel, 24.The state alleged that the trio was unlawfully found in possession of dagga weighing 309.8 kilogrammes on August 16, 2011 at Makobo village in the Central Administrative District of Botswana. Delivering judgement, Senior Magistrate Kgololesego Segabo acquitted and discharged Mmapula Sedimo and Frenzel from the matter because the prosecution failed to adequately link them to the offence.

The defence attorney in the matter Tshekiso Tshekiso had in the previous mention applied for a no case to answer in respect of all the accused persons.However the magistrate ruled that the state has established a prima facie case against the first accused person (Andrew Sedimo).The magistrate said during the day the accused persons were raided by the police acting on a tip-off. The first accused was caught trying to jump the perimeter wall of the yard. The magistrate further said the police did not adequately identify if Frenzel is the person who allegedly escaped from the yard when the police raided it.

He finally said the prosecution only linked the octogenarian to the offence because she is the owner of the yard even though they did not find her in the house that the cannabis was hidden in.  He said that reason alone is not enough to link her to the offence.