An attempt by Gaborone High Court Judge, Justice Tshepo Motswagole to decide the fate of Tebogo Ramantosha, an accused in the Molepolole triple murder case, was thwarted after the prosecution insisted it was not ready to defend bail application.
The year-old Ramantosha, through his attorney Sesupo Masaka, had filed an urgent application before the Gaborone High Court Judge, seeking to regain freedom after several attempts did not succeed at the Molepolole Magistrate Court. Justice Motswagole insisted on having the matter proceed, arguing that it was an urgent application that required to be accorded the urgency it deserved. However, attorney Daniel Fohlani of the Department of Public Prosecution DPP pleaded with the court to bear with him as he was not ready with defending arguments because he knew he would be appearing for the call roll and not for any other business.
It is either you fail to make an appearance or something is not done right. He further called for the prosecution to desist from the conduct and to have empathy, saying accused persons, like any other person, needed to be treated with regard, adding that sensitivity was required when handling cases that dealt with the liberty of individuals.
He ordered the state to file answering affidavits within seven days from the date of appearance and for both parties to deliver heads of arguments at least three days before October 5, the date set for the bail application. Ramantosha during the appearance pleaded with Molepolole Chief Magistrate Linah Oahile-Mokibe to consider liberating him considering the fact that he was the only surviving member of the family and would like to visit the cattlepost to check the livestock and other things that were left unattended following his arrest.
Ramantosha stands accused of murdering his father Patrick aged 55, his mother Boingotlo aged 47 together with his year-old younger brother Keabetswe at Ntlolengwae ward in Molepolole on June The quartet faces three counts of murdering the Ramantosha family and robbing them of their inch television set and a Philibao decoder worth P3 and P respectively. More News. High Court postpones Ramantosha Judgement. Source : BOPA. Author : Kebaeditse Baitlotli. Related News.
