Four employees of Nata Hardware store, a company in Nata Village that deals with building materials, on Friday appeared before Francistown Senior Magistrate, Kgololesego Segabo, to answer to charges of stealing by servant property worth over P130 000 belonging to their employer.
According to the charges, the accused, Kereng Akuje, Phenyo Khibanyane, Otisitswe Highcourt and Orateng Zuka allegedly stole properties of the company in excess of P133 781 between December 2008 and February 2009.
Giving evidence in court on Friday, one of the state witnesses told court that sometime in February 2009 the third accused, (Highcourt) approached her at her workplace in Zoroga Village and asked to see her boyfriend, who was at the cattle post at the time. She said that Highcourt, who was in the company of another man, then unloaded a fencing wire from a vehicle they were travelling in.
“The accused told me that he struck a deal with my boyfriend to sell him the fencing wire and demanded payment, so I told him that I did not have money,” she said, adding that the accused then left and came back after a couple of hours only to find her boyfriend back from the cattle post.
“He told my boyfriend that the fence costs P900 and my boyfriend agreed to buy the fence and he gave him P400, saying that he would pay the balance at the end of month,” said the witness.
She said that to her amazement in the evening of the same day, Highcourt came back in handcuffs with Police officers. The officers then confiscated the fencing wire from her boyfriend, saying that they were conducting investigations on the accused.
The accused have all not pleaded guilty to the charges.
However the state prosecutor, Mothosera Busang of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions pleaded with the court to afford him time to avail three other witnesses as they could not all come to court on Friday due to health complications.
The prosecutor also told court that some of the stolen property will have to be brought to court in a truck as exhibits.
All the four accused were not represented and are out on bail.
The trial continues on August 22, this year.
