Tenderpreneur pleads guilty to illegal ivory possession

When 36-year-old Gaosego Seipato of Mmadinare village admitted facts that were read to him on Tuesday, he unequivocally admitted that the police who were on patrol for illegal gold miners on May 3, 2019, between Matshelagabedi and the Botswana Defence Force Training Centre, found him in possession of an elephant tusk.

Seipato, who is now domiciled in Matsiloje, also admitted that when the police searched him after he ran away, they found an elephant tusk weighing 5,512kg that he had hidden under his clothes. After the facts were read to Seipato, Chief Magistrate Mareledi Dipate said that he was satisfied that the accused’s plea was unequivocal.