A popular Gaborone taxi driver will miss out on lucrative festive fares this Christmas after being remanded in custody for robbery.
31-year-old Ikaneng Thebe, a cabbie popularly known as Matines on the streets of GC, is one of four men accused of raiding The Agri Stop Shop in Thamaga on Thursday 27 November.
His co-accused Keleemetse ‘Pastor’ Goitseone, 34, Oteng ‘Skepe’ Tsiang, 47, and Koketso ‘KK’ Khunouhu, 33, were detained the weekend after the robbery.
Appearing before Molepolole Magistrates Court at an earlier date, they were also denied bail.
Having managed to evade the boys in blue for a little longer than his fellow suspects, Thebe was eventually tracked down and arrested on Tuesday 2nd December.
The quartet are accused of bursting into the Agri Stop Shop at around 5pm, covering their faces and wearing gloves, armed with a gun and Okapi knife.
They allegedly assaulted one of the workers, threatening him with further violence if he resisted, and ordering the other staff members to lie down.
The four reportedly made away with P17, 399.50 in cash, eight cellphones and a Kazang machine, fleeing the scene in a black Honda Fit.
During his court appearance, Thebe seemed confident his sob story would win his freedom.
“My child is schooling and her mother is unemployed. I’m paying for the car that I use as a cab, I pay it every Monday which means if I’m going to jail I will fail to pay. May the court have mercy on me,” the Tlokweng resident requested.
With investigations into the robbery still fresh, his plea proved futile, receiving the red light from the Magistrate.
All four men will remain behind bars until the new year, with their next court appointment set for 22 January 2026.
