Accused of stabbing his girlfriend to death
A soldier charged with the cold-blooded murder of his young girlfriend was granted bail this week.
32-year-old Kabelo Ramokaeyane appeared before Broadhurst Magistrate Court on Tuesday for his second mention and bail hearing.
The accused allegedly stabbed his 22-year-old lover to death at his home in Glen Valley Botswana Defence Force (BDF) camp before turning himself in to the police.
Appearing before a courtroom filled with the deceased’s emotional family, the state failed to convince the court why the murder-accused soldier should remain in prison.
“We are still waiting for the postmortem and DNA results. These will be used with some of the exhibits from the crime scene during trial, so we beg for his further remand,” the state told the court.
However, when quizzed on how exactly the accused will interfere with the results and the investigations if granted bail, the state failed to give a satisfactory response.
Indeed, it later conceded there was no way Ramokaeyane could possibly interfere with the results process.
The BDF man’s lawyer, Samantha Mbikiwa argued that the state had no merit in keeping the accused in prison. She maintained that the reasons for initially remanding her client in custody have since elapsed.
“The bail application was initially dismissed on the basis that the incident was still fresh. The state said they had outstanding matters but we believe the accused can in no way meddle with the reports from the labs.
“It has been seven or 10 days now. As a soldier, which is his employment, there can be conditions put in place which will dictate his movements and in turn ensure that he comes to court as and when he is needed,” said Mbikiwa.
The murder accused was ultimately granted P5, 000 conditional bail. The case continues November 19.
