Headman testifies against suspected child-killer
If he had lived, Clifford Mochocho would be 20 years old. He might have found love, left for university or sipped his first beer; he might even have had children of his own. It is a future the little lad will never know. In a murder that shocked the nation, Mochocho’s life was cut tragically short on 2 March 2016. He was 11 years old.
Burnt beyond recognition and buried in a shallow grave in Mmankgodi village, his tiny body remained undiscovered for over a month. He was finally found on 11 April; the finger of suspicion pointed firmly at his father’s girlfriend, Gaofengwe Selaolo, the last person seen with the young boy, who was doing Standard Six at Bosele Primary School when he died.
Nine years later, Selaolo’s murder trial continued at Lobatse High Court this week. On Wednesday, it was Goo Serope ward’s Headman of Arbitration, Benson Phala Shalako’s turn to give evidence.
Casting his mind back to dark times and the discovery of Mochocho’s corpse, Shalako told court he had been called from his home to meet a team of police officers investigating the disappearance of a missing boy. He revealed Selaolo was with the group, and led them to Mmaphaladi Hill behind Thobega Junior Secondary School, where she pointed out a spot near a mosetlha tree that showed newly excavated soil.
According to his testimony, officers used a stick to dig the area, quickly uncovering human remains. “Two officers were ordered to remain overnight to secure the place, whilst others went back to the village. When we returned the following day, the police officers dug out and retrieved the decomposed body of a boy, and a rope from the shallow grave. There was also a black shoe and a sock that was nearby; the body was taken away in a body bag,” testified Shalako, adding there were signs of a recent fire as the mosetlha leaves were burned. He also noted that before the body was fully exhumed, a pathologist was called to confirm the bones were indeed human.
Another to take to the stand was the accused killer’s cousin, Phemelo Monnawatlala. The witness stated Selaolo visited them on the morning of 2nd March and borrowed a spade, which she said was to dig out a tree nearby. He explained they thought nothing of it and readily agreed without questioning her, adding Selaolo was carrying a backpack but did not go into detail about her ‘mission’. Monnawatlala said Selaolo returned after ‘more than an hour’; she settled and chatted with them before going out to buy meat and coming back to cook for the family. “She left in the evening and I accompanied her out as she was going to Gaborone,” he said.
However, the suspect’s defense attorney argued that the spade produced in court as an exhibition was not the one she borrowed from the family. Selaolo, who has pleaded not guilty and is currently out on bail, also disputed Shalako’s evidence. She denied leading the team of police officers to the crime scene, and denied pointing at the spot where the body was exhumed.
The trial is set to continue from 15 to 17 August, when the state intends to call four police officers to the stand before closing their case.
