Zimbabwean man jailed for robbery in Botswana

A ZIMBABWEAN man and his Motswana accomplice have been slapped with a 10-year effective jail term each for an armed robbery which they committed in Maun, Botswana in 2018.

Llyod Choto (37) and Moagi Gabantheetse (43) subjected their victim, a woman, to a night of hell during the commission of the crime.

They were convicted on counts of robbery and theft of a motor vehicle when they appeared before Maun magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalo last week.

Mulalo sentenced the two to 10 years for robbery, and five years for theft.

The magistrate said the sentences would run concurrently.

The pair reportedly had spent some time in jail, with Choto having languished in prison for two years, while Gabantheetse had been locked up for a year. Their sentences were backdated to the time of their incarceration.

The two robbed Josephine Moetse, after subjecting her to torture.

During the trial, it was heard that they broke into her home in the early hours of September 30, 2018 after tampering with the alarm system.

Moetse, who was asleep and naked, woke up to turn off the alarm and was startled by the intruders in the hallway.

In her testimony, she said the two men beat and dragged her to the bedroom where they dressed her and demanded money.

She said she gave them her handbag and they took 300 pula, as well as her cellphone and credit card. They demanded the credit card pin from her.

They drove her to a bushy area after tying her up, and Choto went to withdraw cash using her card while Gabantheetse remained with her in the car.

After failing to withdraw the money, the two assailants left Moetse in the bush.

She eventually managed to untie herself and ran to the nearest homestead, where she borrowed a phone and called the police.

Her car was found abandoned in a field later that day.