Man accused of killing his mum remanded in custody
His eyes red raw, lips badly cracked and his voice trembling with emotion, Mooketsi Bapindi begged court to grant him bail so he can seek forgiveness from his relatives.
The 39-year-old Maitengwe native is accused of murdering his mother.
At around 11pm on Sunday 27 September, hours after being released from police custody for insulting his mum and sister, Bapindi is said to have returned home and bludgeoned 59-year-old Maina Keagile to death with a hoe.
The old lady had been watering her garden in Maitengwe’s Mazowa ward when she was killed.
Five days later, following a four-day stint in hospital after taking a suspected overdose, the accused murderer appeared before Masunga Magistrate Court.
“This incident happened to me when I was not expecting it and I want to ask for advice from people out there as well as plead for forgiveness from my remaining relatives.
“I assure this court that I will not interfere with the investigations if given bail. I did not collect my money from the people who I did some piece jobs for so I plead with this court to give me bail so I can collect my money,” requested Bapindi, his deep voice booming through the courtroom.
However, with the case still extremely fresh, the Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Modise Keitumetse told court it was too early to consider bail.
“The accused person was only arrested on Monday and immediately after his arrest he was admitted at Tutume Hospital. He was only discharged this morning.
“For now postmortem is the only one done. We still want to interrogate the accused on the murder case linked against him. We wish that he be remanded so he does not interfere with the witnesses,” reasoned Keitumetse.
The prosecution duly got their wish, with Bapindi remanded in custody until his next court appearance, set for 16 October.