Zim man claims he entered Bots by mistake while escaping blood-thirsty Gumagumas
Accused of being an illegal immigrant, a Zimbabwean man insists he is nothing of the sort.
Instead, Nkosi Elethemba Ndlovu, who was found napping in the river near the border village of Matsiloje on 29 July, maintains it’s all an unfortunate mistake.
The 28-year-old says he was being chased by blood-thirsty outlaws in his home country and inadvertently trespassed into Botswana in his haste to escape.
“My worship, I was fleeing from the Gumagumas*. After, I was tired, and decided to sleep in the river; the soldiers found me and arrested me. I did not know the part of the river I was sleeping in was Botswana,” claimed the teary-eyed Ndlovu when appearing before Francistown Magistrates Court this Tuesday.
To add to the Zimbo’s woes, he was found with a suspicious package in his pocket suspected to be dagga. The substance has since been sent to the forensics laboratory for analysis, while the suspect’s plea in this matter was reserved.
His shoulders hunched, his tattered, long-sleeved shirt providing little comport against the biting cold, the Lupane native begged to be allowed to go back home, where he says he has a baby child waiting for him.
However, with the state still awaiting the results from the lab, and with Ndlovu lacking the relevant travelling documents, bail was out of the question.
He was remanded in custody and is due back in court on 15 August.
*The Gumagumas are a syndicate of illegal cross-border guides operating from the Zimbabwean side who attack people crossing to other countries. They are infamous for raping women and children and stealing from men.