Chief magistrate, Kenneth Obeng, convicted the three after lengthy and confusing deliberations before finally resolving that the accused persons had indeed robbed the complainants before trying to get away by lying to the police.
Benjamin Kgaboe (40), Balibi Poloko (26) and Kebonang Motlhoka aged 25 appeared seemed more confused than shocked when the magistrate delivered judgment.
Family members wailed when the court interpreter announced that the accused persons would no longer be going home because they were convicted.
Information before the court is that after robbing the complainants in Tonota, the first accused person phoned Kutlwano Police Station in Francistown and reported that some unknown persons had kidnapped the complainants.
Obeng said that is the key to the conviction of the first accused person because he tried to cover his tracks.
"He called the police and said the complainant's have been kidnapped," he said. The other factor that handed the case over to the state on a silver platter was that the third accused told the court the truth about what happened on the night in question.
"Accused three gave a clean breath of the matter and said that the first accused person told them to hold the complainants and rob them," said Obeng.
The trial revealed that the first accused person was well acquainted with the complainants when they asked for a lift from Francistown to Tonota on March 26, 2006.
The complainants, Sidney Moyo and Jonah Madibela, told the court that the accused charged them P40 for the trip but then later demanded P200.
"Seeing that Tonota is only 44 kilometres away I have no reason to doubt that the accused charged the complainants P40," said Obeng.
The accused persons are said to have driven past Tonota into the bushes, strangled and choked the complainants and then robbed them of their valuables.
Obeng said that since the accused knew the complainants he deliberately drove past their homes so he could rob them.
The accused told the court that after they left the two in the bush, they went back to Francistown.
"When we got to the BMC circle the first accused person said that he knew the complainants, so he called Kutlwano police and reported a kidnapping of the two complainants," he said during trial. He further told the court that he bought the cell phone and they split the money.
State Counsel, Sesafeleng Dijeng of the DPP said that the accused refused to be fingerprinted.
"They said they would be fingerprinted when they were convicted so we have no record of their previous convictions," she said.
The accused persons will appear before court on June 29 for sentencing.
