Corpun file 26551 at www.corpun.com
The Voice, Gaborone, 3 March 2017
Court stories
Captured prison escapee flogged
By Christinah Motlhabani
After he was declared fit to withstand the whipping, a convicted armed robber, Gaomodimo Molosiwa, 28, was sentenced to seven strokes of the cane on his bare buttocks for contempt of court.
Molosiwa was among the five prisoners who were recaptured from the nine Francistown prison escapees last month.
He was forcefully brought to court and sentenced to a whipping.
The prosecutor, Kelebonye Matsapa, stated that two of the accused being Thabani Ncube and Givemore Chaloba were re-captured in Zimbabwe while, Charlotte Ndlovu had passed on but Gaomodimo Molosiwa had refused to appear in court, choosing to go to the hospital instead.
When asked why he refused to show up in court Molosiwa said that he did not know he was wanted before court.
"I did not escape from prison and I didn't know about this matter. My key witness is Charlotte Ndlovu because he is the one who released me and it is unfortunate that he died," Molosiwa said.
The prosecution then said that the accused Molosiwa was re-arrested in Aerodromme in Francistown where he was hiding so he knew that escaping from prison was illegal.
"When you are supposed to come before court you do not have a choice but to come and you are not supposed to mess around with court," Magistrate Molobe said before ruling that Molosiwa must be checked by medical doctors for fitness before he could be flogged.
Meanwhile the prosecution said that the manhunt for the other nine at large continues and all the six accused were further remanded in custody.
The re-arrested five are to appear in court next week.
Corpun file 26549 at www.corpun.com
The Voice, Gaborone, 24 March 2017
Man caned for disrupting police duty
By Gofaone Koogotsitse
LASHED: Tshipinare
A man who interfered in a traffic police operation last Christmas eve was this week given three strokes of the cane on his bare buttocks by a Mogoditshane Customary Court.
On the night of December 24th last year, Kopano Tshipinare (21) is said to have disrupted traffic police officers who were trying to arrest a reckless driver.
The police are alleged to have followed the driver past the SSKB barracks in Mogoditshane at 2am and stopped at Bodiba mall where they intercepted him.
When they demanded the driver's car keys, Tshipinare who was with a friend is said to have interfered and started taking pictures and a video of the operation using his friend's phone.
Sergeant Obuseng of Mogoditshane police said it was rude of the young man to have taken them pictures and added that he took the phone before Tshipinare grabbed him by the trousers and forcefully took the phone from the pocket, tearing the trousers in the process.
Sergeant Obuseng told the court that while they were still concentrating on Tshipinare, the driver fled in his car.
Two police officers who had been with Obuseng confirmed his version of events, but Tshipinare's friend failed to show up in court to testify.
In his defence, Tshipinare said he was with his friend when they saw the police officers wrestling with the man and decided to take a video.
He told the court that the police arrested him for being an eye witness as he was watching them assaulting the man.
