Gaborone He was speaking after Extension II Magistrate, Barnabas Nyamadzabo discharged and acquitted him on the charge of rape.
Moupo o a itse gore kgaolo ele ke yame, he said as he went left court. Masitara was acquitted of raping a former employee at his President Hotel offices on the evening of May 7, 2003.
He told journalists that he was a victim of conspiracy by authorities who wanted to destroy the Masitara Foundation.
A senior police officer had instructed his juniors to pin me down to the crime. Fortunately we were able to access their diary and found out, he said.
Masitara said that he was happy that the judicial system in Botswana has proved to be independent.
Justice has been done. I am happy to be living in a country that respects the rule of law, he told journalists. He thanked his wife for standing by him through the trying time. There are not as many women who are like her, he emphasised.
He revealed that the case disrupted activities of the Masitara Foundation for the past four years and vowed that the activities would kick off this week.
He said that the case was a conspiracy to destroy his family and that his children were subjected to verbal abuse at school.
Masitara told the court in December that the police were instructed to pin him down to the crime.
Magistrate Nyamadzabo acquitted Masitara saying that there was not enough evidence in that the towels that went missing in police custody had already been tested and that the state witness, a forensic expert, confirmed that they were negative.
The defense witness, a South African Professor Andre Servaas Greeff, had confirmed that it is not easy to destroy DNA even if it is washed with detergents and washed at high temperature.
He added that the doctor who examined the complainant had confirmed that she was in good health.
Nyamadzabo added that he was baffled by the fact that the complainant did not scream at the time of the alleged rape.
She did not go to seek assistance from people at the President Hotel reception where Masitaras offices were housed.
The complainant should have just walked across the road to report the matter to the Central Police Station. The magistrate found it absurd for the complainant to ride in the accused persons car, in a good mood to her home in Tawana.
One of the witnesses, a friend of the accused, told the court that the complainant was crying when narrating the rape story.
He wondered why the complainant went home to bath and wash her underwear knowing that she would be destroying evidence.
Nyamadzabo disputed the statement that the complainant was traumatised and confused saying she wouldnt have walked across the Main Mall alone during the night.
Furthermore she would not have allowed the accused to drive her home. He added that the two would not have had a conversation during the drive as it emerged in court.
On whether Masitara initiated the meetings between his relatives and the complainant, Nyamadzabo said that it was the complainant who initiated the said meetings with the hope of benefiting financially from the accused.
He added that the state witnesses who testified on the meetings contradicted each other and they had no documents to support them.
He added that the prosecution should have at least confirmed through Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), Mascom or Orange whether indeed the accused made a call during the day of the alleged meetings.
Also, there was conflicting evidence from state witnesses on whether the complainant was present at the Otse meeting, he added.
Nyamadzabo told the court that he was satisfied with Masitaras defence. He said he was straight forward and a credible witness.
He compared his evidence to that of the complainant, saying that the complainants testimony was inconsistent and she appeared to be shaken.
A round of applause rocked the court soon after Nyamadzabo pronounced the acquittal verdict forcing him to call the court to order.
