Rrabeisane in court
Innocent Selatlhwa | Tuesday June 20, 2023 06:00
Rrabeisane is one of the traditional healers who Tsametse sought protection from. He, however, would not have any of it and went on to report to the police. Rrabeisane became widely popular with his 'flying dish' last year in the search for little Tlotso Karema who was later found dead.
Tsametse is set to stand trial for the murder of his cousin, Arnold Kitso Fortune Ofentse, five years after the alleged incident. Tsametse is accused of slitting the throat of his 16-year-old cousin to claim P50,000 in insurance money, which he used to purchase a Honda Fit car and a cellphone.
The matter was first reported in March 2018 after Ofentse was found dead under a morula tree, 200 metres away from Mogoditshane Senior Secondary School. Tsametse was later brought in for questioning after allegedly insuring Ofentse's life under two funeral policies with Botswana Life, resulting in him claiming P50,000.
Following his initial arrest, Tsametse was released before being taken back into custody seven days later. He then appeared before Justice Omphemetse Motumise of the Gaborone High Court seeking bail on an urgent basis after the Broadhurst Magistrate's Court, where the case was being presided over, denied him bail.
The prosecution revealed that Tsametse had approached two traditional healers seeking mystical powers to protect him against prosecution after allegedly confessing to the murder. The prosecution argued that Tsametse could not be granted bail as there is damning evidence against him in the confessions he made to the traditional healers.
Tsametse’s attorney, Nkosana Ngwenya then said it would be unfair for the court to take into consideration the alleged confessions as his client has not pleaded guilty in court nor has he confirmed that he indeed confessed.
“This point does not stand as it is not a reason to deny him bail. The prosecution is attempting to state that they have a strong case and not stating why they are opposing the bail application,” he said. Looking at the reasons advanced, Motumise found the prosecution to have a stronger case and denied Tsametse bail. He would, however, get bail later and be tried.