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‘Phase 2 shoot-out survivor did not seem distressed’

Sharon Mathala | Wednesday September 4, 2024 17:32

After Phase 2 shootout survivor and accused robber Tsaone Reboeleng made an allegation that she was tortured to confess, Lentlhagetse Willie the Magistrate who recorded Reboeleng’s statement has told the court that to the best of his knowledge Reboeleng was of sound and sober mind. The statement was recorded three days after the robbery.
 
After Phase 2 shootout survivor and accused robber Tsaone Reboeleng made an allegation that she was tortured to confess, Lentlhagetse Willie the Magistrate who recorded Reboeleng’s statement has told the court that to the best of his knowledge Reboeleng was of sound and sober mind. The statement was recorded three days after the robbery.

Reboeleng, 31, is challenging a confession statement the state say she made back in 2022 following an intercepted robbery in main mall which led to 10 people later dying in a shoot-out. “She did not look emotionally distressed, she was not crying, she did not look like someone in pain. I have encountered cases where a suspect brought to me looked to be in pain and I had to intervene, but to me she (Reboeleng) did not seem distressed. I was satisfied that she was of sound and sober mind,” he said. The judicial officers were giving evidence in a trial within a trial, following an application by the accused, Tsaone Reboeleng to challenge her alleged confession.

Reboeleng’s lawyer, Kgosietsile Ngakaagae had put it to the Magistrate that when giving her statement Reboeleng had not recovered from witnessing her housemate being executed in front of her and having nursed a wound from three days aback, and that she could possibly not have been fit to voluntarily give a confession.

Ngakaagae further poked into the state case questioning why the Magistrate did not authenticate the confession by signing each page and only signed the last page. Ngakagaae further told the court that in his statement, Willie referred to the person as ‘he’ and later as ‘she’ which confuses who exactly gave the statement. “Was it a male or female the person who gave this statement? We can never know from the documents tendered to court,” he remarked.

Ngaakagae further put it to Magistrate that the fact the accused was brought to court three days after her arrest, it was beyond the lawful time to keep someone in custody without a warrant. Reboeleng is charged with a single count of robbery alongside 10 others who died in the shootout.

READ FULL DETAILS OF THE TWO DAY TRIAL ON MMEGI FRIDAY EDITION