COURT POSTPONES SEBELE ROBBERY CASE The Sebele Mall Filling Station robbery case has once more failed to proceed as scheduled thus forcing postponement after the prosecution was unsuccessful in securing the attendance of an accomplice witness. Agisanyang Makopo, who was supposed to take to the witness stand, was nowhere to be found as he was rumoured to have been spotted in Ramotswa. Makopo came the following day and he was subsequently informed by Sub-inspector Galekhutle Mashumba of Sir Seretse Khama Airport (SSKA) Police Station that the matter had been moved to October 31, 2014. Makopo, who earlier in the morning was seen going from one court to the other said he has been labouring under the impression that the case was starting that particular day. This case which was scheduled to take three days starting from August 4 to August 6 was also delayed because one of the accused, Joseph Gaie, was also not in attendance as he was reportedly at the hospital to seek medical attention. Gaie was granted bail early this year by Village Chief Magistrate Mrs Linah Oahile-Mokibe after the prosecution said it was not ready to continue with the matter. However, Gaie has since returned to prison after violating his bail conditions by engaging in another criminal matter which is still before a different magistrate court. Gaie is charged alongside Golwelwang Efedile, who is also in custody for a different offence, and Bampoloki Kgangpetsa, who is out on bail and religiously attends all court mentions. They are accused of robbing Sebele Mall Filling Station some cigarettes, airtime and cash at gun point on the night of February 5, 2012. Both the goods and the cash totaled around P7 000. When the case resumes, the state will now call only two out of the remaining five to testify and these include Makopo and the investigating officer. The last state witness to testify was Gaie’s cousin, Ditiro Dikago, who is also a former employee of the mugged filling station. While giving evidence, Ditiro said he was positive that one of the accused, Gaie, had a hand in the robbery. He told the court that Gaie and two of his friends, whom he was seeing for the first time, paid him a visit at his house earlier during the day before he went to work at 8pm. According to Dikago, the trio then started asking him how busy the filling station was and how the money was flowing in, especially at peak hours. They also wanted to know the filling station’s banking hours among others. Dikago said he became suspicious that Gaie might come and rob the filling station when he and his friends started calling him with a cellphone from 10 pm. till 2am while he was at work. This, he said, made him to stay outside the quick shop, where shop assistants and petrol attendants normally stay at night when business slowed down. He said though he was unable to see the number of people who entered and robbed the filling station that night after 2 am., he came to the conclusion that Gaie and his friends were involved as he and his colleagues reportedly went back to Dikago’s house early in the morning and asked his other cousin (Keamogetse) who was sleeping to open the house. Upon opening the door, the trio is said to have offered Keamogetse some cigarettes, P200 and some coins and then left. Dikago said when he learnt of the development in the morning after knocking off, he did not suspect his cousin and his friends until he learnt that they were arrested in connection with the robbery. He told the court that they used the money that they received from Gaie and his friends to buy relish, indicating further that had he known that Gaie was responsible for the robbery, he could have reported him straight away. (BOPA)
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 17:03:33 +0000
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