SADC robbery suspects denied bail
Judge worried by the prevalence of armed robberies
Six men suspected to have robbed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) headquarters office situated in Gaborone of electronic properties worth P600 000, have been denied bail by Judge Goodwill Makofi of Village Magistrate court.
Four of the accused are Batswana namely, Maitapiso Kgakgamatso (37), Lesego Masilo (33), Mpho Rasetena (28) and Otsile Semadi (40). The other two are of Zimbabwean origin, Tongai Tsikirayi (38) and Innocent Shaggy (31). All were arraigned before Makofi early this week after being arrested by the police this past weekend. The six men are charged with a single count of armed robbery that occurred at the SADC house on the 29th January 2022. The police have been on the hunt for the suspects and even put up a reward worth P25 000 to anyone who could lead to the arrest of suspects in the matter. When given a chance to speak, all six men said they will not be needing legal representation.
They then pleaded with Judge Makofi to grant them bail arguing that they are family breadwinners and remaining locked up will lead to their families suffering. The two
Zimbabwean men on the other hand are ready to snitch and hopefully save their skin. They told court that they are willing to help the police with whatever information they need. Even suggesting that they will go back to Zimbabwe to bring some of the stolen properties. “I did not know that they were stolen, I just bought them,” said Shaggy when pleading for bail. However, Judge Makofi did not bow to their pleas arguing that armed robberies cases are on the rise in Gaborone. “You have been charged with aggravated form of robbery and if found guilty you might be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Because of the nature of the crime committed, we cannot ignore possibilities of you running away,” he said. The judge added that robbery was prevalent
in the city and currently Batswana are living on the edge. The crime, he said is mostly committed at night by young men and in most cases armed. Makofi said SADC security guards are lucky to be alive because in such robberies, the suspects are mostly heartless and injure others. “It is our responsibility as the public and the courts to help the police, in the few cases they have leads, they need our full support. “The police are not far from the mark in this case because some of the accused here have hinted knowing about these stolen properties. Only thorough investigation can unravel all, release at this stage might jeopardize police investigations. Bail is refused for all,” he said.
The case continues on the 28th March 2022.