BDP comms officer aquitted and discharged of rape
When he met a beautiful girl early last year, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) suspended information and communications officer, Kabo Masoba, would have never imagined he would face a rape charge.
However, two weeks after they met, the 18-year-old niece to a senior cabinet minister reported Masoba to the police for rape, an ordeal that would result in him being slapped with a suspension letter pending the outcome of the court case.
This week, Masoba was acquitted and discharged from the criminal charge by the Broadhurst magistrate, Goabaone Rammapudi-Lesedi.
Masoba became a free man after the state applied for a withdrawal of the matter without prejudice.
Visibly relieved after being discharged on Monday, Masoba said, “I have always known I will be vindicated and, like I told you when this matter was first reported, I am innocent.”
At the time, there were allegations that Masoba was a victim of internal wars that had erupted at Tsholetsa House culminating in a vicious plot implicating him in rape to get him suspended by the party.
Apparently the rape charge surfaced at the time when Masoba had claimed to have discovered and reported damming and incriminating allegations linking some senior members of the party to primary elections rigging, which lead to an internal audit.
This week, the rape case was withdrawn by the state citing insufficient evidence.
Asked for a comment, Masoba said, “I just want to put all of this behind me and move on. I will tell you that this case took a toll on me. I don’t want to discuss whether it was a set-up or not but I know my truth.”
Reached for comment, BDP mouthpiece, Kagelelo Kentse, said, “We will not disclose what the audit found and we will not discuss anything related to any report because it is purely an internal matter.”
