Jealous man shoots rival, lands lover in hospital
A shooting incident at Moletamane Primary school that left a farmer dead and a teacher fighting for her life in a hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has sent shockwaves and fear among the residents of the sleepy Bobirwa village.
On October 8th just before midnight, Gofaone Hector Kololo, 36, a teacher in the same school, forced entry into his colleague and neighbour Thatayaone Feke Kaowe’s house armed with a short gun.
He tiptoed to the bedroom where Kaowe and her boyfriend, Baitemi Abide, 30, were sleeping and opened fire, killing the man in cold blood. Abide, a former BCL employee, was a well known small scale farmer from the neighbouring village of Tsetsebjwe.
According to the Baines Drift Police Station Commander, Superintendent Onneetse Gagogosha, they suspect that Kololo, who reportedly had an on and off relationship with his colleague and neighbour, turned his fury on Kaowe, hitting her with the buttstock, breaking the firearm in half.
In an interview with The Voice, Superintendent Gagogosha said they found a piece of the butt at the murder scene.
“The man died on the spot while the woman is in a critical condition at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital,” said Gagogosha.
Gagogosha said the suspect was arrested at 0830hrs after being apprehended by security guards at Richmark Poultry Farm.
A neighbour who lives a stone’s throw away from the teachers’ quarters at Mere Ward described the suspect as a possessive man who just could not leave Kaowe alone.
“It’s an open secret that the two had an on and off relationship, but Kololo had a fiancé in Letlhakane and the two were planning to get married soon. Despite this, he was clingy and possessive,” she said.
“Another problem is that he always portrayed a dangerous demeanour, keeping two vicious pit bulls and branding his place as a no-go area,” said a concerned neighbour who pleaded to remain anonymous.
An employee at Richmark Farm, who also witnessed his arrest in the morning, said Kololo, who was apprehended by guards as he tried to hide in the farm, was shaking like a leaf when the police were called to the farm.
“He kept asking if the woman had also died. Even though I knew he had just killed a person, I kind of felt sorry for him. I could see fear and remorse in his eyes,” said the eye witness.
Kololo was arraigned before the Bobonong Magistrates’ Court on Monday morning charged with murder and attempted murder.
He will be back in court on October 28th.
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