Village court Chief Magistrate, Goodwill Makofi last Friday denied a suspected robber bail after prosecution indicated that the suspect had provided them with two different names at the time of arrest.
Court heard that on the 15th of December 2019 at Senkeletse Bar at Mmopane, the accused person, Goitsemodimo Solomon and six others not before court stabbed Tlamelo Segakise four times with a knife.
It is alleged that after stabbing the victim who is a police officer at Sir Seretse Khama Airport police station, the accused persons stole his wallet with P50 in it, bankcards and cellphone worth P2000.
State Prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent Kelekang Tshepo pleaded with the court not to grant Solomon bail because police were still looking for the other six suspects who were still at large.
The prosecutor further argued that Solomon’s identity was still questionable because when he was arrested on the 29th he said his name was Petros Basebi only to identify himself as Solomon on the day of his re-arrest after escaping police escort at Princess Marina hospital where he was treated for injuries.
“When he was re-arrested on the 1st of January he gave us a different name which is Goitsemodimo Solomon. We still have to verify his names because he did not provide us with his Identity card (Omang). Should he be granted bail, he is likely to abscond as he displayed such behavior before when he escaped under police escort at the hospital. He is also likely to temper with the police investigations because other suspects are still at large. All stolen property has not been recovered,” said Tshepo.
When asked if he had anything to say the 27-year-old Solomon from Matshelagabedi village pleaded with court to grant him bail claiming he was ” mother and father” to his children because the children’s mother was alcoholic.
Magistrate Makofi however rejected Solomon’s bail application arguing that in court’s view he is not trustworthy.
“Even the story of your children is probably lies,” said Makofi adding that it was disappointing that the accused failed to address two important issues of his identity and escaping under police custody.
The magistrate therefore ordered that the accused person be remanded in custody to allow the police to complete their investigations.
He will be back in court for mention on January 17th.
