In a shocking twist, a former colleague and friend to murder accused Gopolang Gabonatsela, last week turned state witness in the case, testifying before a Maun High court that he saw him shoot the victim in cold blood.
Mogotsi Seboko Mogotetsi, a driver at the Department of Information Services, who was with the accused on the fateful day, told court that Gabonatsela killed Taolo Serapelane following a dispute over a horse, back in June 2020, at Dauga settlement near Maun.
Despite the damning testimony, Gabonatsela has since pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
His attorney, Sinvula Isaac of Isaac & Associates, maintained his client’s innocence noting that the shooting was accidental and not intentional.
Recalling the fateful day, Mokgotetsi told court that Gabonatsela took a deliberate aim at his victim and shot him while he was fleeing from the assault.
“He ran, and Gabonatsela aimed a gun at him, took a shot and hit him on the head,” Mokgotetsi told the court, explaining how Serapelane collapsed face-down after being struck.
According to Mokgotetsi, the events leading to the murder began the previous day, Saturday 13 June 2020, when he and Gabonatsela drove to Samedupi area to hunt for guinea fowls.
He said while driving along the Samedupi road, they spotted two younger men mounting horses and they stopped.
He said Gabonatsela asked the men where they got one of the horses from, and the response was that “we got it from the ranch.”
Allegedly Gabonatsela stepped out of the vehicle with a shotgun in hand and the two men took off and disappeared into the bush with Gabonatsela in hot pursuit for a short distance.
Mokgotetsi said he later asked Gabonatsela why he took the gun when confronting such younger men. “He told me I was naïve and did not understand a thing, and I kept quite.”
He added that, they then started asking around and searched for the two men, but without success.
Later that day, they gave up the hunt and returned to Maun but agreed to meet again in the morning so that they could go and hunt for the guinea fowls as their initial spree was derailed by the horse dispute.
Mokgotetsi added that the following morning Gabonatsela picked him up from his house as agreed and they told his wife that they were going to hunt for the guinea fowls.
According to Mokgotetsi, it was not the first time they went hunting for the fowls.
Around 09:00 hours or so, he said they spotted the young men from the previous day’s confrontation, but this time around they were riding on donkey backs.
He said they stopped, and both alighted from the vehicle. “Gabonatsela was holding the gun.”
He said they first went to Diphuka Kerepile, who is a first witness in the matter and allegedly Gabonatsela shook his head and indicated that he was not the one he was looking for.
He insisted that the two men had jumped down from their donkey backs at the time and standing on the ground next to the donkeys.
He said when Gabonatsela asked Serapelane on the whereabouts of the horse, Serapelane took off and Gabonatsela aimed and took a shot at him.
Although the first witnesses alleged that Mokgotetsi and Gabonatsela grabbed Serapelano with the jacket and pulled him down from the donkey back, Mokgotetsi denied ever touching Serapelane.
Shown the alleged assault rifle, Mokgotetsi maintained that it was not the murder weapon.
Meanwhile the defence attorney, Isaac, told Mokgotetsi that Gabonatsela never deliberately shot at Serapelane.
The attorney told court that when Gabonatsela finally takes to the stand he will tell the court that the reason he drew the gun was only to threaten the younger men because boys and men who stay in cattle-posts are known to go around carrying weapons including knives.
The attorney further told court that Gabonatsela will tell court that the gun fired accidentally and that Serapelane was hit on the forehead and not on the back of the head as the said eyewitnesses maintained.
He further said Gabonatsela will further tell the court that he has suffered great livestock loss at the hands of theft and animal rustlers.
🤔….kgang ye,santse ele teng….?
nna kare gongwe re emetse yaga Senzo Meyiwa