An inquest into the death of Keolopile Morolong, a 30-year-old son of a Komana-Nxaraga councillor, commenced in Maun Magistrate Court this week (week of August 19-23).
Morolong allegedly died due to police brutality on November 4, 2022, at the Setata Veterinary Gate on the Sehithwa-Shakawe road.
The prosecution, led by Universe Kabecha from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), plans to call 24 witnesses to clarify the circumstances of Morolong’s death.
The first witness, Otsile Tshotlako, a retired gatekeeper who witnessed the incident, described a confrontation between Morolong and a police officer, Kagiso.
According to Tshotlako, the situation escalated from a verbal exchange to a physical fight, with Morolong overpowering the officer.
Despite attempts by other officers to subdue Morolong, he continued to resist, eventually launching another attack on Kagiso.
The police managed to handcuff Morolong and, during the search of his jacket, discovered a small sachet containing what they believed to be CAT (Methcathinone).
Morolong allegedly swallowed two sachets and soon collapsed, unresponsive.
He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Another witness, Bapalati Kgotlaeole, provided a slightly different account, stating that Kagiso grabbed Morolong when he tried to run away.
She further stated that during the search on the jacket which was hanging low from Kagiso’s hands, Morolong removed a sachet from its pocket and threw it in his mouth.
“After spitting whatever he had put in his mouth that is when is when he appeared to be struggling to breath,” explained Kgotlaeole.
While images at postmortem indicated that Morolong sustained visible physical injuries on his face, mouth and wrists, and his t-shirt was terribly torn, the duo maintained that they saw no such things at the place of incidence.
Both witnesses denied seeing any excessive force or guns being pointed at Morolong during the scuffle.
The police maintain that Morolong died after ingesting a large dose of CAT, while the family suspect police brutality led to his death.
The case is set to continue on September 5, 2024.
