Two Goodhope police alleged robbers granted bail
● Five remain behind bars
Two of the seven accused persons allegedly involved in the Goodhope Police Station robbery, where numerous AK 47 guns and ammunition were stolen, have been granted bail.
The two, who have been granted bail, are Isaac Molale and Leatile Modise. The other accused persons namely Mogomotsi Thupane, Ronnie Sanana, Thulani Mthembu, Jabu Shabangu and Pedito Mathangana were denied bail largely because they are a flight risk.
The bail ruling was delivered by the Lobatse Chief Magistrate, Gofaone Morweng Wednesday morning. The seven men who face a charge of aggravated robbery risking national security are accused of breaking in and stealing police arms and ammunition back in June at the Goodhope Police Station.
The incident sent shockwaves around the country when it became evident that the police were robbed of 14 riffles, five pistols and numerous ammunition.
The accused persons allegedly stormed the police station in the wee hours of June 28, 2022 and made away with 14 AK47 rifles, five pistols and undisclosed ammunition. At the time of the robbery, the gang was armed with axes and knives and allegedly used violence in order to obtain the said stolen goods.
On the fateful day, the suspects are said to have tied down two female police officers who were on duty with cables and locked them in the radio room and headed to the armoury. To date, the court heard that only a few of the guns and ammunition stolen have been recovered by the police.
In court, however, the Magistrate noted that reasons for the State to further remand the two accused persons could not stand. The State had told the court that it feared that the two accused would try and conceal evidence by contacting their counterparts in South Africa if granted bail.
The Magistrate declined to entertain the reasoning saying, “It is therefore my view that the Investigating Officer was being speculative about his fears that the 1st Applicant will flee to Mafikeng to join his friends.
There is no confirmatory affidavit from his counterparts in the South African Police Service that they are involved in cross border investigations relating to the matter instant and which information would have ordinarily given credence to his claims that he has association with some criminals in Mafikeng”.
When dealing with the bail application for Thupane and Senana, the Magistrate noted the pair had other pending cases of robbery, theft of motor vehicle and unlawful possession of fire arms. “It is common cause that the 3rd and 4th Applicants are facing a charge of robbery before another court and the particular charge is similar to the one before this court. There is no doubt that aggravated robbery attracts a minimum mandatory term of imprisonment of 10 years.
The two are faced with the possibility of serving cumulatively longer imprisonment terms if they were to be convicted in any of the cases. For that, I am of the view that this could be an inducement for them to avoid standing trial. Furthermore, I find that it is in the interest of the proper administration of justice that they be denied bail,” the Magistrate ruled.
On the matter of the last three accused person who are South African nationals, the Magistrate noted that the trio entered Botswana through an ungazetted point of entry.
“It was submitted against them that they did not have traceable addresses in Botswana nor did they have travelling documents hence they were a flight risk.
It is therefore my finding that the prosecution will suffer prejudice if the three were to be granted bail,” he noted. In the end, Molale was granted a P15,000 cash bail whilst Modise was fined P5,000 bail.