The animal may have changed but the beast remains the same for the notorious Tebogo Ramantosha: stock theft!
Out on bail for allegedly stealing five cows in August last year, the 32-year-old triple murder suspect found himself back before Molepolole Magistrates’ Court last week, this time accused of pilfering two dead donkeys.
Ramantosha and his co-accused in this latest case, Motlakapula Sannawane, 41, were reportedly found in possession of the donkey carcasses at Topielebedi lands near Letlhakeng on 6th September.
In total, the animals and their meat were estimated to be worth around P1,400.
In court, the prosecution said they had no trouble with Sannawane being released.
However, they objected to Ramantosha being set free, noting he had committed the alleged offence while out on bail for a similar misdemeanour.
In the end, the state got their wish, with Sannawane allowed to go home while Ramantosha’s track record proved his undoing and he was remanded in custody, sent back to a place he knows all too well: prison.
His next mention is set for 10th October – the same day his trial for the slaying of three of his family members is due to begin before Lobatse High Court.
It was thus agreed his attorney, Sesupo Masaka, will appear on his behalf in the donkey case.
Ramantosha and three others: Mmoloki Boniface Tlhaelo, 39, Poloko Segwagwa, 30, and Cornelious Saidoo, 40, stand accused of a massacre that sent shockwaves around the country on 21st June, 2018.
The four men are suspected to have killed Ramantosha’s parents – Patrick Ramantosha, 55, Boingotlo Ramantosha, 47, and his young brother, 22-year-old Keabetswe Ramantosha.
The triple murder is said to have occurred after Ramantosha was served with summons for a plot he had registered as security to be repossessed as he had failed to pay a P155,228 loan back to Lanny Holding Company Mortgage Botswana.
Investigations revealed the Ramantosha family home was transferred into Tebogo’s names and, later on, without the permission of his parents, he registered the home as security against the loan.
It is alleged that on the fateful day, the quartet drove from Mogoditshane to the Ramantosha residence in Molepolole, where they allegedly forced their victims to drink a poisoned substance.
The suspects are said to have then covered the victim’s faces and tied up their limbs before returning to Mogoditshane.
The following morning, Ramantosha allegedly went back home and later reported ‘his discovery’ to the police, maintaining he did not know anything about the gruesome incident.
The lifeless bodies of all three were found with their faces covered by duct tape and pieces of fabric, their hands and legs tied together with shoe strings.
A week after the burial of his family, Ramantosha vanished, further deepening the mystery surrounding the murder of his family members.
In an effort to unravel the mystery, police in Molepolole mounted a search for Ramantosha, appealing to members of the public to report any sighting of him to the nearest police station.
On 25th July, 2018 the police finally tracked Ramantosha down in Molepolole.
He is said to have confessed and named his partners in crime.
The quartet had their case committed to Lobatse High Court on 19th September, 2019.
