Remand for man accused of stabbing lover and fleeing to SA with child
A man who made headline news earlier this year, when he allegedly stabbed his girlfriend before abducting her six-year-old son and fleeing with the child to South Africa, is back in Botswana.
Omaatla Bokang Makhura, 36, appeared before Extension II Magistrates Court on Monday (27 April) morning charged with unlawful wounding as well as smuggling of persons.
Complicating the cross-border saga further, Makhura maintains he is the little boy’s father.
He is accused of attacking his lover at Gaborone's Partial location on 20 February, reportedly stabbing her several times with a knife and inflicting serious injuries.
The circumstances surrounding the bloody fall-out remain unclear, with investigators still piecing together exactly what happened.
Afterwards, he is said to have kidnapped her son, allegedly taking the boy without valid travel documentation and crossing into South Africa through an unauthorized borderpoint.
He was caught by South African officials the very same day.
The smuggling charge falls under Botswana's Anti-Human Trafficking Act, legislation designed to combat the unlawful movement and exploitation of vulnerable persons.
Court heard that the smuggling case was reported by the child’s father, something Makhura argued cannot be true.
“I do not understand the second charge as I am the boy’s father!” he insisted, a shock statement that hung in the air and ultimately went unchallenged.
Seeking bail, Makhura revealed he has already spent close to three months in a South African jail in connection with the matter.
Prosecution urged court against setting him free, however, noting they had just got the case and their investigations were at a preliminary stage.
They did confirm though, that the stabbed woman was out of hospital and recovering well.
Remanded in custody, Makhura is due back in court on 18 May for status update.
