Tatitown Post Office suspects denied bail
The four suspects believed to be behind the daring April Fool’s Day robbery of Tatitown Post Office saw their hopes of swift freedom dashed on Tuesday.
The quartet, made up of Post Office Manager, Keabetswe Makei, former policeman, Molibi Mokhalee, as well as Babili Nfandiso and Gofaone Diteko, were denied bail and sent back to prison.
They are accused of stealing P342, 415 in cash in what the authorities suspect was an inside job, committed in broad daylight just a stone’s throw away from Tatitown Police Station!
The money was meant for Tandabala, leaving hundreds of old-age pensioners out of pocket.
Testifying before a packed-out Francistown Magistrates Court, the Investigating Officer (IO), Thabologo Keorapetse revealed they received the robbery report at around 1000 hours.
“I was amongst the officers who attended the scene; upon arrival we found the manager tied with a rope in her office, crying, saying she was assaulted by a man who came to the post office and stole the money. We untied her and took her to the hospital, where she was treated and discharged,” the officer told court.
However, it seems the police soon smelt a rat.
“We then went back to the office for an interview together with the security guard. As we double examined the scene we noticed Makei was not tied tightly and the office was not messed up,” continued Keorapetse.
Makei, affectionately known by the nickname Mmaposo, was detained later that same day and charged with stealing by a servant.
By 3 April, the cops made three more arrests, catching their former comrade, Mokhalee in the border village of Senyawe, where it is suspected he was planning to cross into Zimbabwe.
Diteko was then tracked down in Francistown while Nfandiso was nabbed in Sebina; the trio face one count of theft.
The IO further revealed they have recovered just under half of the stolen loot, with P178, 000 still unaccounted for. Keorapetse added the police were yet to check the suspects’ bank accounts for the missing money.
Remanded in custody, all four accused return to court on 21 April for oral submissions, where they will once again try and convince the magistrate they deserve bail.
