“The matter will not die”-Superintendent Leposo
A Zimbabwean illegal immigrant who was badly assaulted by a retired Botswana Defence Force officer in 2019 was deported along with his kinsmen during the State of Emergency.
A sickly Benjamin Dube, 58, was on May, 09, 2019 beaten to a bloody pulp by a group of six young men led by a retired army officer known as Moiko “Congo” Tsogang.
The matter was reported at Tatitown Police Station, and the then Assistant Station Commander, Superintendent Clarkson Mbereki told The Voice that the culprits were likely to be charged with unlawful wounding.
A trusted handy man in Borolong village, the humble Zimbabwean had been staying illegally in the country for over 10 years when he met his fate at a secluded area along the river bank.
Dube who was doing a piece job for the current Borolong Councillor and retired BDF Major Gofamodimo Kamogenge was accused of stealing a Samsung cellphone worth P2 400 by “Congo.”
After receiving a few hot claps from “Congo” and his henchmen, Dube was led gagged, blind folded and his hands tied behind him and taken deep into the bush where the group took turns torturing him.
“I could tell I was in a small river, where I was ordered to crawl on all fours to the amusement of my captors,” Dube told The Voice in an interview on May, 15 2019.
He said later “Congo” took out a belt of fire-crackers which had multiple fuses, and lit one and stuffed it inside his shirt. He told The Voice that what what followed was a sequence of explosions as the fire crackers caught fire.
“By the time the entire belt had exploded, I was almost unconscious,” he said.
Dube was left for dead in the bush with serious burn wounds on his back and a few broken bones.
It was only after the intervention of some concerned villagers the next day that it was discovered that Dube had nothing to do with the missing phone. The gadget was in fact recovered from one of “Congo”‘s boys.
“It was the same boy who held my legs firmly as I was being assaulted,” Dube told The Voice.
Following his deportation, his concerned cousin Geraldine Dube said she fears the matter will never be settled.
“Congo has long threatened Dube with deportation should he pursue this case. He lived in fear of an ex soldier,” she said.
Geraldine says although she’s also an illegal immigrant she was going to make sure that the case does not die a natural death.
“What that man did to my cousin is unacceptable. It was a xenophobic attack and he needs to be punished,” she said.
Meanwhile Tatitown Police Station Commander, Superintendent Edward Leposo told The Voice that the matter cannot simply die because the complainant is outside the country.
“He can keep in touch with the police, and whenever the matter is ready for court he’ll be notified,” Superintendent Leposo said.
