*Father begs for protection from own son
Clad in a jacket bearing a ZCC badge and speaking in a soft, trembling voice, a terrified father pleaded with the Francistown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to keep his own son behind bars; saying his life depended on it.
“My son has assaulted me many times,” said 55-year-old Samuel Moronga of Shashemooke.
“I was once stitched on the head after he hit me with a metal rod. I’m now scared for my life. I don’t know what he is capable of. He might wait for me after work and attack me,” pleaded Moronga.
Moronga was testifying during a bail application involving his 20-year-old son, Lemogang Bigman, who is facing fresh charges stemming from a violent incident that took place on Saturday at Shashemooke village.
The court heard that Bigman assaulted his father and robbed him of a Huawei cellphone. When the robbery charge was put to the unemployed accused, he quickly pleaded guilty.
Narrating the harrowing events, the old man told the court that his son had demanded P50 from him earlier that day.
“I told him I would give him the money,” Moronga said.
“But he was holding a stone and threatening to crush me with it. He grabbed me by the collar and tripped me to the ground. I screamed for help and some boys came and roughed him up, asking why he was harassing me.”
The old man said things escalated further, as his unruly son turned violent.
“He took out a knife, and one of the boys also drew his ow blade,” he said
The old man said quickly dusted himself up and intervened before the confrontation could turn deadly.
“After the boys left, he took my cellphone,” Moronga said.
“I’m scared of my son, and I plead for his remand as I believe my life is in danger,” the frail looking parent told court.
As his father spoke, Bigman muttered a sharp “nxaa”, locking eyes with him in a chilling stare that left many in the courtroom visibly shaken and sympathetic toward the old man.
Prosecutor Chendzimu Mangole successfully opposed bail, arguing that releasing the accused could jeopardise investigations, as statements from potential witnesses were yet to be recorded.
“The accused person also has many pending matters in which he has been disturbing the peace,” she added.
In his defence, Bigman claimed he could not interfere with investigations as he lives in Block 1, far from his father.
The court was unmoved.
He was remanded in custody until 29 January, when the matter will return for facts presentation.
Outside the courtroom, as he waited for the police van, Bigman ignored his father’s attempts to speak to him but quietly accepted the food and drink the frightened old man had bought for him.
