Corpun file 24392 at www.corpun.com

The Voice, Francistown, 1 March 2013

Three lashes for three slaps

Man lashed thrice for slapping cop in court

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A police officer who was slapped three times across the face by an accused person in court has dismissed the incident as part of the hazards of the job.

"I don't have any hard feelings, nor do I feel unsafe. It's one of the things I expect from mentally unstable accused persons like him," Said Inspector Alexander Phale after he was assaulted in court by Graciano Philinious Chilume.

22-year-old Graciano appeared in the Francistown Magistrate's court last week for destroying his parents' property with Inspector Phale prosecuting.

The mentally challenged man lost his cool when the Inspector objected to his bail application.

"The accused has no alternative place to stay. His parents are not comfortable to take him in because he refuses to take his medication.

They suspect he is mentally unstable even though they have not taken him to Serowe Hospital for testing", Phale had said in a statement that earned him Graciano's fury.

Within seconds Graciano had not only stated that he was not going back to prison but had also shot out of the dock , walked across to the prosecutor and slapped him three times before he was restrained by police officers.

Sentencing the young man to three strokes of the cane for contempt of court, Magistrate Ntwayapelo asked Graciano if he recalled what transpired the last time he appeared in court.

In response Graciano who was in leg chains this time around said: "My mind is not working properly.

I didn't intended to misbehave. I remember that guy insisting that I wasn't taking my medication although I told him that I was taking it. I don't remember assaulting him. "

Copyright © 2013 The Voice. All rights reserved.

Corpun file 24417 at www.corpun.com

The Voice, Francistown, 29 March 2013

Wrongly lashed Zim man to sue

By Chenjenali Baraedi

LASHED: Khulekani

A Zimbabwean man who was wrongly lashed after he was mistaken for an illegal migrant was contemplating a lawsuit against the state for the unnecessary pain infliction and trauma.

Khulekani Ndhlovu, 26, from Tsholotsho had five lashes administered on the buttocks at Tati-siding customary court despite his pleas that he was not a border jumper.

"The police arrested me while on my way to Tati-siding and when I told them that I came into the country legally and that my valid passport was at home, no one listened to me," Khulekani said

Instead he was lashed and deported back to Zim immediately after the beating.

His father who works in the country later followed Khulekani at the Ramokgwebana border and brought him back in the country to demand an explanation.

"My father took me to Tati siding the following day where he produced my valid passport and asked demanded an answer.

To my shock the officers merely apologised without even considering taking me to the hospital since I had told them that I was not well," Khulekani said: "It was then that my dad decided to consult a lawyer seek justice.

The young man's fuming father Alexander Ndlovu, 62, told The Voice that he was contemplating legal action against the Police, the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and the Tati-siding chief for unlawful prosecution and unfair treatment which his son was forced to go through.

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Chief Simon Nkgageng of Tati-siding however said he was not aware that anyone was mistakenly tried and punished before his court.

"Truly speaking I would hardly know anything because most of the cases are investigated by the police before being brought before our courts.

I should think the police would be in a position to know better if any mistake indeed occurred," Nkgageng said encouraging foreigners to always carry their travelling documents when moving from one place to another.

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