A misunderstanding over P10 change ended in tragedy after a military officer, Lance Corporal Randy Motlhokodise allegedly Killed a passenger he had given a ride from Dibete to Malotwana in the Kgatleng District.
The court heard that on or about the 31st of August 2014, Onalethata Ketlhalefile who was given a lift by Motlhokodise demanded his change at Malotwana junction and threatened that if did not get his P10 change, he was going to kidnap a child who was seated in the front seat.
Apparently Motlhokodise refused to pay and Ketlhalefile acted on his threat and grabbed the child and attempted to pull him out through the window, but angry Motlhokodise drove off with Ketlhalefile hanging onto the vehicle.
Meanwhile four state witnesses testified in court that Ketlhalefile eventually lost his grip on the minibus that was driven by Motlhokodise, got swept under and was run over.
According to eye witnesses, Motlhokodise kept driving for some time before he eventually stopped, loaded Ketlhalefile into the combi, offloaded other passengers and said that he was taking him to the hospital for medical assistance only to dump the injured man in the bush where he died.
In his defence, Motlhokodise’s lawyer, Martin Dingake argued that the prosecution has presented a case riddled with inaccuracies, contradictions and deliberate omissions.
He further said the quality of evidence by the state did not bring the prosecution anywhere near the required standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
“We submit that the court must acquit and discharge the accused. The evidence before court does not support the inference that my client killed the deceased. The probabilities that the accused could have been hit by a car dragging him and his body found on the road are very slim and so is the possibility of being run over. If the deceased was dragged by a moving car, and swinging into the road, the combi would have been moving away from him as opposed to moving towards him. The dunk state of the deceased means that he might have staggered on the road having been overcome by the force of a moving vehicle. This would be a case of causing death if any, by reckless driving as opposed to manslaughter,” said Dingake.
Botswana Defence Force has suspended Motlhokodise pending his trial for manslaughter.
Justice Michael Leburu of the Gaborone High Court, is expected to deliver the sentence on the 9th of February.