Mystery of missing man who vanished in police custody
News
The Botswana Police Service boss, Keabetswe Makgophe and several police officers were this week subpoenaed before the Lobatse High court to answer for the whereabouts of a Molepolole man who went missing from police custody in August 2011 under mysterious circumstances.
The Botswana Police Service boss, Keabetswe Makgophe and several police officers were this week subpoenaed before the Lobatse High court to answer for the whereabouts of a Molepolole man who went missing from police custody in August 2011 under mysterious circumstances.
The family of the “missing man”, Olefile Momphitlhi suspects that he was killed by the police on the night of his arrest and was in court the whole of this week demanding that the police give them their son.
“The last time Olefile was with his brother was when he entered the Molepolole Police station in September, 2011 and all we want from the Police is to give us back our son. Only the Police know where he is,” the family representative, Mpho Laolang told the court.
An undisputed fact before Justice Railer Busang of the Lobatse High court is that Olefile was detained at Molepolole Police station on the fateful day but the main contention is about his alleged escape from legal custody. The Police maintained that Olefile escaped from legal custody and his family maintains that his disappearance reeks of foul play.
“There was a point when we suspected that our missing son might have been buried in a newly dug grave at Masu-a-ditshwene cemetery and we asked the police to investigate the grave. The mysterious grave emerged a few days after we were told our son escaped from police custody. A few days after we reported the matter to the police we discovered that the grave has sunken, raising suspicion that whatever that was put there earlier had been exhumed,” Laolang speculated and was overruled by the court over the matter.
Olefile is a suspect in an armed robbery case that took place at Taj filling in Molepolole where about P100 000 cash was stolen. Olefile is alleged to have transported the robbers in his car. After the police came looking for him at his mother’s house, he went to the police station with his brother and a cousin and he was detained as he was to appear for mention at the Molepolole Magistrate court with other suspects the following morning.
The following morning when the brother went to check on him at the Police station he was told that he had escaped the previous night from Police custody. The police alleges that Olefile escaped somewhere in old Naledi where he had led three Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers to the car that was allegedly used during the robbery. The Police had admitted negligence before the High court over this matter.
“That the suspect is still at large since 07/08/11 and was reported missing by his parents, further that the suspects was last seen with the defaulters (Kristen, Modongo and Phuku) the inference that can be drawn is that the BPS knows his whereabouts,” the police disciplinary committee wrote in one of the BPS internal investigations documents which the court forced the Police Commissioner to submit this week.
Cause for suspicion
Although Makgophe and his officers maintains that Olefile escaped from lawful custody the family is not convinced and want the Police to explain the text message that was sent to Olefile’s brother soon after the alleged escape.
The text message written, (translated) “I have escaped to South Africa. I’ll return next year. Tell Mum,” later emerged that it was sent through a mobile phone which was an exhibit in a different matter which was under police investigations.
The owner of the phone admitted before the court that his mobile phone together with the simcard was in custody of the Molepolole Police. However it could not be produced as evidence because it has since disappeared together with vital police records, including cell register and occurrence book that covered the period when Olefile was detained.
Olefile’s co-accused in the robbery case, Mothusi Popego told the court that when the police officers removed Olefile from the cell that night, they threatened that they will kill him unless he tells them where the vehicle and some of the money they got from the robbery were kept.
According to Popego, the police officers had beaten and tortured Olefile before locking him up and his screams could be heard from the detaining cells where other co-accused were kept.
“When they removed him from the cell that night he was chained and I saw them through a tiny window on the cell door that they pushed him into a car and drove off,” Popego bore witness before court.
The Police have however denied that they had chained him when they left Molepolole police station that night.
“On the date mentioned in the charge sheet, the investigating team decided to interrogate the said Olefile and took him out of the cells at about 2300 hours at Molepolole Police station. During the interview, the said Olefile indicated to the investigation team that an exhibit pertaining to the robbery case he was interrogated for was at Old Naledi, Gaborone.
The investigating team then gave the suspect all the properties which included shoes, hat and belt but did not handcuff him and drove to Old Naledi. At Old Naledi the suspect took the investigating team to a certain yard which he alleged to be his uncles and it was at the place where the suspect disappeared,” the police maintained before court.
However the fact that the investigating team failed to immediately report the incident to the police raised great suspicion that they could have been hiding something. In fact the Old Naledi Police has distanced itself from the matter and told the court that to date no formal report on the incident was ever reported at their station.
Evidence that was forced from the Police Commissioner through a court order suggests that nobody in old Naledi ever saw the investigating team in company of Olefile. The internal investigations suggested that there was no reasonable justification why the suspect was transported at night and not handcuffed. According to evidence submitted before court, the law does not provide for night search.
The former Station Commander of Molepolole Police station, Andrew Bosilong has also stated in an interview outside court that his officers never reported the incident to him. Bosilong said he only learnt about the missing man when his family logged a complaint on the matter.
This was so because after removing Olefile from the cell, the officers did not record themselves in the occurrence book as is required by police procedure.
The Investigating team
The investigating team which included, Inspector Thatayaone Kristen, Constables Modongo Modongo and Bonani Phuku have since appeared before the police disciplinary hearing in 2012 and were found guilty of “gross negligence and permitting a prisoner to escape”.
Phuku and Modongo were each fined P200 and dismissed from service in November 2012. However on appeal before the Police Council that included, Reverend Mpho Moruakgomo, Adolph Hirschfeld, Sadique Kebonang, Hermentina Mogami amongst others, their sentences were reversed and they were reinstated and transferred to other Police stations outside the Kweneng region.
However Inspector Thatayaone Kristen was demoted from the rank of Sergeant and his salary reduced to a lower notch and was also transferred to another Police station.
Meanwhile the Police still claims that there are still in pursuit of Olefile. In May 2012 the Botswana police Services (BPS) inquired from INTERPOL, South Africa as to whether Olefile had somehow crossed to the neighbouring country, but the response was that, “subject (Olefile) has been checked in the movement control system and the last movement was from South Africa into Botswana via Schilpadhek (Tlokweng border) by foot on 17 June 2011 at 1750 hours.”
According to Interpol, Olefile was in Botswana.
In the enquiry, the police had described Olefile as a dangerous man and the message they gave to Interpol was that his “anonymity or privacy is not protected by the applicable national laws,” and that if traced the South Africans must “take all appropriate measures” in accordance with their national laws when dealing with him.
News
BPS, Mosala Funeral Parlour butt heads over SA national remains
A squabble has broken out between Pule Mosala Funeral Parlour and the Botswana Police Service (BPS) over the remains of a South African national who has been in the Mosala mortuary for more than nineteen months. The deceased was one of 10 suspects who were controversially shot dead during a lengthy shootout with law enforcement authorities in Gaborone’s Phase 2 early last year.
The deceased individual’s family based in Soweto, has encountered difficulties in repatriating the body which has been in the care of Mosala Mortuary Services. Following the incident, it has emerged that all 10 bodies were transported to PFG mortuary in Lobatse for a brief period while the police attempted to locate their next of kin. It is reported that the families of the deceased were eventually identified and informed to come and identify their loved ones, including other South African nationals who were part of the criminal group. These families also witnessed the autopsy procedures conducted at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone.
Except for the family from Soweto, nine of the bodies were claimed and taken by their separate relatives. The Soweto family claims they lack the resources to bring the body back to South Africa and has made it known that they are looking for money. To end the supposed verbal agreement over the body’s storage for repatriation, Mosala Funeral Service has filed a case against the police at the Lobatse High Court.
According to Keakantse Mmotlhana, the company’s Sales and Marketing Manager, 10 people who were killed in Phase 2 by gunfire were all temporarily transferred to one of PFG’s branches in Lobatse by the police while efforts were made to find their next of kin. She expressed outrage at the statement made by the Minister of Defense and Security, recently.
After Assistant Police Commissioner Dipheko Motube called her office to apologize for giving the Minister wrong information during a news conference, she confirmed that they had accepted the apologies. He made it clear that one of the victims was still at Pule Mortuary in Lobatse.
Bushie Mosala, the director and owner of Mosala Funeral Services, confirmed that the body of a South African national has been in his mortuary for the past nineteen months. He expressed his desire for the police to remove the corpse from the mortuary, characterising the situation as a “nightmare.” He has instructed his legal team to file a lawsuit against the police in the Lobatse High Court concerning the body.
Mosala urged the acting Police Commissioner to come forward and apologize to the nation for the situation, asserting that the public has the right to know the truth regarding the body of the South African national, w
C -002Bhich was preserved by the police as evidence.
The South African High Commission in Gaborone had not responded to queries from Weekend Post at the time going of going to press.
News
BOSETU frustrated by Gov’t new dispute winning strategy
Botswana Sectors of Teachers Union (BOSETU) has expressed alarm over a troubling trend by the government. Tobokani Rari, Secretary General of the BOSETU, stated that it appears that these days, whenever there is a dispute between workers and the government, the administration is fast to run to the courts to attempt and muffle unions.
“This is quite disturbing development, we have seen it with the Botswana Doctors Union, there was a disagreement over the shift allowance, government rushed to court, they indeed got order that was saying the doctors should go and do the work. We have seen it with the nurses, they rushed to court they got the order, we are now seeing it with the teachers, they rushed to the court and they got what they wanted,” said Rari, who also served as the Secretary General of BOFEPUSU.
Rari raised concerns that the government’s enforcement of teacher’s work, through a court order will result in reduced classroom productivity and morale. Rari added that this situation would negatively impact labour relations and teachers emotional wellbeing due to dissatisfaction in their work places leading to persistently poor academic outcomes.
“You can get an order that forces people to work, but what happens at work, it heightens emotions, it destroys relationships and the morale goes down and productivity does. Courts and judgments don’t solve productivity issues. Productivity only comes when people are satisfied at the workplace, so if you force them to work through a court order then you may not get the maximum out of the working population,” said Rari
MESD vs BOSETU COURT CASE
“As you are aware, the Ministry of Education approached courts and they were demanding three things from the court in this case between BOSETU and the ministry. First, they were demanding that the joint letter that was written by BOSETU and Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) asking members to stop doing course work because there was no agreement be declared unlawfully and BOSETU should write to its members and withdraw that letter within 24hrs. The second thing that they were looking for, was to interdict BOSETU from further issuing any instructions to that effect going forward. Lastly was that court should hold BOSETU to pay the cost of the lawsuit on a punitive scale,” Rari said.
Rari stated that the court decided to rule in favour of the Ministry of Education on all three relieves sought, that the savingram should be declared unlawful, that BOSETU should withdraw the contents savingram within 24hrs.
Court also said BOSETU should not issue any of such instructions going forward up until the case of contempt that BOSETU has taken to court, the contempt of the 2009 judgment has been decided. Court also awarded cost to the ministry on a punitive scale.
“BOSETU is a law abiding citizen and therefore we are bound by any laws and judgments that are there in Botswana and arise on the courts of Botswana hence we have complied with the order. On the 31st after the court case, we wrote to all our members and told them that the contents of that savingram as far as coursework is concerned has been withdrawn,” said Rari.
Rari said what happened in this case is that the judge decided to listen to the urgency without the responding affidavits of the opposing party, BOSETU, and went on to rule the merit of the case, which surprised the union.
“However we have been in discussion with our lawyers because if we leave things like this, we feel like we cannot leave that unchallenged. We have taken a decision to appeal the judgment,” Rari confirmed.
2023 COURSEWORK AND INVIGILATION AGREEMENT
“We would like to make our members aware that the following day after the judgment, we were able to meet the Ministry of Education and we have arrived at a conclusion that we signed an agreement that coursework rates will be increased by 5%. If court had ruled that coursework is the duty of the teachers’ means it wouldn’t have been any agreement after the court case, it tells you that the issue is still open and it is on the table. We have arrived at an agreement that there is going to be an increment on all components of coursework and invigilation,” Rari pointed out.
Rari further explained that Article 2 says union party is to submit detailed proposals on the intensity of the coursework for further engagement. Intensity of coursework means where the coursework payment starts in terms of varying from different subjects. He said the outcome based subject that are taught Maun Senior Secondary School and Moeng college which are agriculture and hotel and tourism is that ministry have agreed and acknowledge that there are some peculiarity in their coursework and therefore should be paid in line with the peculiarities that are contained in their coursework.
CONGRESS RESOLUTION
Rari pointed out the resolutions taken at the conference where the issue of application of corporal punishment was addressed. “BOSETU will issue out a memo to their members to advise them that they should not apply corporal punishment, they should leave it to be applied in line with the Education Act.”
News
BMC sees red as mass buffaloes disrupt plans to supply schools
The Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) which had struck a deal with the Ministry of Education to supply some schools in the northern part of the country is counting losses as mass migration of buffalos jeopardize the Commission’s plans.
Information reaching this publication shows that the beef exporter was recently given the greenlight to supply government schools with beef. According to documents seen by this publication, as a result BMC had scheduled to buy and collect cattle in the Nata-Gweta and Boteti constituencies from 11 to 17 September.
This was after BMC and the Ministry of Education struck a deal for the former to supply government schools with beef. Letters exchanged between Ministry officials state that it has been recommended to the ministry to support BMC by allowing it to supply schools with beef products.
The Ministry indicated that it was aware that some schools have contracts that are currently running with suppliers such as local butcheries.
The Ministry revealed that at the same time BMC has 256 tins of frozen quality meat at its Maun Plant.
The Ministry requested the Director-Regional Operations to appoint an officer to manage the procurement of meat for schools that do not currently have running contracts. The Ministry further stated that Modalities of collection will be arranged between the region and the schools identified.
According to the Ministry, a list of schools including the condition of their cold rooms and their number of deliveries and kilograms per week they buy should be compiled. The Ministry also requested its officials to share the list with headquarters and the acting director-Basic Education, and engage BMC accordingly to procure.
But this plan ran into trouble after it emerged that between 300 to 500 buffalos migrated from the buffalo fence area to Nata, Dukwi and Mosetse areas.
The Department of Veterinary Services sprang into acting by revising movement protocol for cloven-hoofed animals with immediate effect following buffalo sightings in zone 3b which covers Nata/Sowa, zone 3c which is around the Dukwi areas as well as zone 6a, which covers the Mosetse area, which fall under zones, 3b, 3c, 5,6a and 8.
The Department of Veterinary Services indicated that as a result, movement of live cloven-hoofed animals and their products out of zones 3b, 3c, 5, 6a and 8 were prohibited and that movement of live cloven-hoofed animals within and into these zones is only allowed for direct slaughter at licensed slaughter facilities under veterinary movement permit issued through BAITS.
The department also indicated that the movement of fresh products derived from cloven-hoofed animals such as raw milk, skins and fresh meat into these zones is also only allowed under a similar arrangement.
Movement of live cloven-hoofed animals into these zones for rearing and other purposes will not be allowed, and farmers and the general public is requested to continue being vigilant and report any buffalo sightings to the nearest veterinary office, the police or the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, the department said.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Agriculture has stated that following the press release on prohibition of movement of live cloven-hooved animals and their products in and out of Zones 3b, 3c, 5, 6a & 8, the acting Minister of Agriculture Karabo Gare, his counterpart Acting Minister of Environment, Wildlife & Tourism Mabuse Pule, acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Joshua Moloi, Director of Veterinary Services Dr Kefentse Motshegwa and other government officials visited the areas of Sepako and Dukwi respectively on a mission to consult with communities regarding the invasion of the places by buffalos.
Minister Gare alluded that they have been sent by the President of Botswana, who is equally worried by the current situation. He noted that the affected areas have a total of around 300000 cattle and if the situation goes unchecked, there might be detrimental effects on the economy of this country.
He encouraged the communities to help government going forward by reporting any spotted buffalos in their areas, emphasizing that buffalos are dangerous and can kill people and that care should be exercised at all times.
The Director of Veterinary Services mentioned that they closed the above mentioned zones to allow for testing of buffalos & cattle for foot & mouth disease. The wildlife department’s Director Mr. Moremi Batshabang assured farmers and the community that they will eliminate small clusters of buffalos found within communities and translocate larger clusters to ensure their safety.