Patlakwe's accuser is a naughty girl - lawyers

When cross-examining the parents of the girl yesterday, lawyer Basimane Bogopa said that while staying in Palapye with her mother, the girl once spent a night away and later claimed that an unknown man had kidnapped her and a friend then spent the night abusing them. He further claimed that the mother of the girl once confided in Patlakwe's wife that she had moved the girl from Palapye to Mmankgodi so that she could attend school under good parental care and observation. 

The father, who was completing cross-examination, denied any knowledge about the Palapye incident or the alleged love affair between his daughter and a Chibuku guzzler who frequented his place.  Bogopa had initially alleged that a certain young man was banned from entering their home, where they sell Chibuku, because he was in a love relationship with the complainant. 

The father reiterated his story that on the 17th of June last year, the day in which the alleged rape occurred, he met his daughter at a bus stop in Mmankgodi and she said she was waiting for a bus to Gaborone so that she could give a bag to the bus conductor. Her mother had forgotten the bag.  He told the court that he then suggested to her that they go together to his home where he would give her P10 bus fare to go and deliver the bag to her mother who was waiting at the Gaborone bus rank.  The father told the court that, after a moment, he saw Patlakwe approaching and he asked for the P10 from him.  He didn't have the money but offered to give a lift to the girl, promising to give her P2.50 combi fare when they arrive in Mogoditshane. He disclosed that Patlakwe, whom he said is his cousin, had informed him that he would spend a few minutes in Tloaneng lands before going to Gaborone.

The mother, a former employee at Patlakwe's Bar and Restaurant, took the stand thereafter and told the court that she had been waiting for the bag at the bus rank from morning until afternoon when Patlakwe approached her and greeted her. She said that she enquired about the complainant's whereabouts and he pointed to the direction where she was loading the bag in a Palapye-bound bus before going away. She said that while at the bus rank she never had a chance to spend time with the complainant and they loaded their bags in another bus that was preparing to leave and they parted after she had given money for bus fare to the complainant.  She told the court that whilst on her way to Palapye, Patlakwe's wife phoned her to tell her about her daughters crying before the phone went off.

Upon arrival in Palapye she enquired further and she heard about the alleged rape, she told the court.

'I then instructed my elder daughter to make sure that they report the matter to the police before going to bed,' she said. 

But Bogopa wanted to know why she and the complainant were giving different versions of what transpired at the bus rank and which of them should the court trust. She stood by her word that she was telling the truth.  She denied knowledge of any love relationship that her daughter was involved in or the alleged Palapye incident.

Forensic Expert witness, Boitshepo Bojosi, said that they had conducted tests on a panty that had bloodstains, samples from the crime scene and samples from the body of the complainant.  He said that they did not find spermatozoa or DNA from the accused person.  He explained that the reasons for not detecting such could be that a condom was used in the alleged rape; the alleged rapist did not ejaculate inside the complainant; the alleged rapist did not reach the point of ejaculation; the ejaculation had low sperm count; or that the complainant took a bath after the alleged rape.  He further explained that, in some instances, the female body fluids might dominate the sample therefore masking the male fluids.

Under cross-examination, Bojosi agreed that failure to find any DNA or spermatozoa resulted in the accused person not being linked to the alleged crime but that did not mean sexual contact did not take place. He said that it is difficult to detect any DNA when a condom had been used but there are tests that can be carried out to detect the lubricant usually used in condoms. 

The forensic lab currently does not conduct such tests. 
The hearing continues on July 11th when the doctor who examined the complainant and the investigating officer will be called to the witness stand.