Assault victim, 60, fears for his life
“Justice delayed is justice denied.”
These are the words echoed by a 60-year-old, Zimbabwean man whose determination to get justice has been hampered by equally determined forces hellbent on defeating the ends of justice.
Benjamin Dube, an illegal immigrant who was badly assaulted by a retired Botswana Defence Force officer Moiko, “Congo” Tsogang in 2019 is a frustrated man and believes the police are colluding with his assaulters to ensure the case never sees the light of the day.
“I was assaulted on May,09, 2019, and over two years the police are yet to arrest and question the man who nearly killed me and left me almost crippled,” Dube said in a recent interview with The Voice.
Walking gingerly and barefoot, the man who arrived in Chadibe village in 2010 says he fears that should the police continue ignoring this matter, those who tortured him army style on that fateful day may come back to finish him off.
To drive this point home, Dube says he was deported along with his kinsmen in June last year.
“I’m convinced that the accused persons played a role in my deportation. They want me very far from this country, but all I’m asking for is for this matter to go to court,” said a sickly Dube.
Dube’s troubles began after he was hired by the current Borolong Councillor and retired BDF Major, Gofamodimo Kamogenge to paint one of his houses.
He was later accused of stealing a Samsung cellphone worth P2 400 by Tsogang.
His pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears as “Congo” and his henchmen, gagged, blind folded and tied Dube’s hands behind him and dragged him deep into the bush where the group took turns in torturing him.
In a previous interview with The Voice on 15th, May 2019 (Terror Attack) Dube said he was ordered to crawl on all fours to the amusement of his captors.
He said, ‘Congo’ then took out a belt of fire-crackers which had multiple fuses, and lit one and stuffed it inside his shirt.
He told The Voice that what followed was a sequence of explosions as the fire crackers caught fire.
“I was later left for dead in the bush with serious burn wounds on my back,” he said.
In a brief interview with The Voice on Tuesday, Tsogang said he was only called to the police station where he gave a written statement.
“The police never came back to me,” he said.
However Tati Town Police Station Commander Superintendent Edward Leposo was adamant the matter has been brought to its finality.
“I’ve been told that Tsogang was charged P200 as an admission of guilt at the Chadibe Customary Court,” he said.
“Where is he that old man? How did he get into Botswana because he was deported? We’re looking for him,” added Leposo.