BDF Majors Face Murder Charges in Herdboy’s Grisly Killing
‘They Suspected Deceased Stole Their Horses’ – Source
Two Botswana Defence Force (BDF) Majors are accused of the sadistic murder of a herdboy, who was allegedly tortured to death at the Dikgankana cattlepost on March 31st.
Majors Kabelo Samuel, 41, and Otsile Thulari are believed to have brutally beaten Thabang Masanke Melome to death because they suspected he had stolen their horses. The two soldiers, stationed at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks (SSKB), along with two other herdboys, Oaitse Pako Kebojakile and Brian Mapanzure, were arraigned before the Molepolole Magistrates Court on April 3rd.
Within a week, Samuel, Thulari, and Kebojakile were granted bail and released – an unusually swift development in a murder case. However, Mapanzure, a Zimbabwean citizen employed as Major Samuel’s herdboy, was not as fortunate. He was found to be in Botswana illegally and faces an additional charge of entering the country through an ungazetted point. Currently remanded in custody, he is scheduled to appear for his bail hearing today, Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a man claiming to be a firsthand witness to the murder and a victim of torture himself has described the accused as heartless. Visibly traumatized, 38-year-old Tirelo Kgope recounted that on the day of the incident, three men arrived at his home in Takatokwane and demanded to speak with him. However, Kgope alleges their actions went far beyond mere conversation.
“They had parked their white Land Cruiser a short distance from my yard. Upon reaching the vehicle, I saw another man named Ntatenyane, whom I knew from my time as a combi driver; he had been a passenger of mine,” Kgope explained, adding that Ntatenyane appeared to have been assaulted. “His eyes were red and swollen,” Kgope noted, his own eyes mirroring that redness.
“The men stated that Ntatenyane had confessed to stealing their two horses and claimed to have sold them to me. I denied this, stating that I had never bought any horses from him, but I did purchase one from Melome in February.”
Pausing to compose himself, Kgope told The Voice that Melome had lent him a second horse to assist in training the first. “I informed the men that the horses were with a man named Thari at the Sekokwane lands, and they instructed us to go there. Before we left, one of them tied my right hand with a rope, while another used an electric cattle prod to shock my private parts and choked me on the stomach, demanding I reveal where the horses were kept. Upon arriving at the lands, they asked Thari to describe the brand mark of the horses I had given him. After Thari described the brand, they concluded that these were not the horses they were looking for.”
Despite his pleas for them to involve the police, Kgope said his appeals were ignored. Instead, the torture escalated.
“We proceeded to my father’s cattlepost at Sehirejwane. On the way, one of them tied my hands to the cruiser. They removed my jeans and boxer shorts, leaving me only in my underwear. One of them covered my eyes with a cloth, poured water on my head, and electrocuted my private parts, repeating this all over my body. I was crying out in severe pain,” the distraught man revealed, the memory still vivid and causing him to visibly shudder as he recalled his near-death experience.
Kgope recounted that the men then drove to the cattlepost where Melome worked. “He was tied to a tree, completely still and unresponsive.” According to Kgope, it was at this point that their attackers realized Melome was dead. “They instructed us to load his body into the vehicle and cover him with a blanket.” The group then drove to the police, where Melome’s body was taken to the Jwaneng Mine Hospital mortuary, and the suspects were detained in holding cells.
Another eyewitness, Tefo Bimbo, 33, corroborated Kgope’s account, telling The Voice that he saw Melome dead, tied up at the farm with his hands behind his back, bleeding from the head, and his legs and ankles severely swollen.
Thabang Masanke Melome was laid to rest on April 6th.
