Zimbabwean men denied bail in Botswana

Two Zimbabwean men are languishing in a Botswana jail after being arrested for being linked to a store robbery.

One has been freed. The three were linked to a robbery at a major store where P61 470 was stolen. The Zimbabweans denied being the thieves and the police's only evidence against them is that two people were seen running away and the Zimbabweans were found close by.

A magistrate's court has ruled in favour of the prosecution that there is a prima facie case against the Zimbabweans.

The accused, Dennison Mutembera, Lot Deka and Peredzai Moyo are accused of allegedly breaking into Pep Store at Galo Centre at around 2 am on March 1, 2013, stealing cash amounting to P61, 470.60 in the process. In their previous appearance before magistrate Sijabuliso Siziba, the accused applied for bail denying any link to the offence at the store.

The prosecution had submitted that the Zimbabweans had a case to answer since they were near the scene of the crime when the break-in occurred. In his ruling concerning the bail application by the accused, the magistrate said only Mutembera and Deka might have a hand in the commission of the crime.

He said the prosecution had demonstrated that there was a prima facie case against the duo because they were found near the scene of the crime at odd hours. Mutembera and Deka had earlier on denied any link to the offence. They said it was a coincidence that they were found near the scene of the crime because they only went to Engen Filling Station, behind Gallo Mall, to fill water in their black BMW car that was over-heating.

The prosecution told the court that they heard a loud explosion when the offence was committed. After they heard the explosion, they saw two men running towards what was probably the get-away car. The police then gave chase but when the men were about five metres from the car, they changed direction and ran away.

It was then that the police found Mutembera and Deka who explained to the officers the purpose of their presence at the filling station when most people were sleeping. Their answer did not convince the police, hence the police suspected them of having a hand in the matter.

However, the magistrate dismissed evidence led by the prosecution concerning the third accused, Moyo. He said the prosecution had failed to identify if he was one of the two men who came running towards the car after the crime was committed.

He said the police did not even find him at the scene of the offence. He said the police only link him to the crime because he is the owner of the BMW.  The magistrate said in his view this is not sufficient enough to link Moyo to the offence. He said the next morning, after the police impounded the car, Moyo went to the police station to claim it.

The magistrate said Moyo's gesture demonstrates the action of an innocent person because it is rare for a thief to go to a police station if he knows that the police are looking for him for a crime.Moyo was however not lucky because he had overstayed in Botswana. The magistrate ruled that he be taken to the Francistown Centre for Illegal Immigrants. He said the police were free to ask him any questions concerning the crime if the need arose.

He also ruled that Moyo's car be impounded. In conclusion, the magistrate advised Mutembera and Deka to approach the High Court if they were unhappy with his ruling. He ruled that they should be remanded in custody because the police are yet to arrest two men who fled after the commission of the offence.

He fears that they might interfere with police investigations because the money stolen from Pep Store has not been recovered.