Francistown Principal Magistrate, Dumisani Basupi on Monday issued a warrant of arrest for a Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) prosecutor, Archie Makgowa for failing to appear in court for continuation of trial.
Makgowa was supposed to prosecute a case in which two accused persons, Alice Lekgobo Tshukudu and Goitsemang  Motshabi are facing seven counts of obtaining by false pretence money amounting to over P45 000 from various individuals in 2008.
As the case was just about to begin on Monday, the accused persons were left in limbo as the prosecutor was nowhere to be found. Upon being asked by the Magistrate on his whereabouts, his colleagues from the DPP also failed to explain.
The first accused, (Tshukudu) however expressed concern about the prosecutor accusing him of being incompetent.
“I am not shocked that he is not in court because he never takes his duties seriously. It is high time that the court takes stern measures against him because he is not serious. This matter has been postponed several times and it seems there is no commitment on the part of the prosecution,” she said.
The second accused also echoed the same sentiments, accusing the prosecutor of sleeping on his job.
“This matter is draining us financially and emotionally. We need to know our fate. The most disappointing thing about this prosecutor is that he hardly communicates with us,” he said.
Magistrate Basupi then ordered a warrant of arrest for the prosecutor and added that the warrant be suspended until the 25th of March 2015 where he (Makgowa) is expected to explain to court why he did not come to court.
“He should come to court on the 25th┬áof March 2015 to give an explanation for not coming to court. If he does not do so, his warrant will be activated immediately,” said Basupi.
The two accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the offences and they are out on bail.  They are also not represented.
Meanwhile the Magistrate has also sentenced a middle aged man of Francistown, Shepherd Annanias to 10 years imprisonment for rape. According to court documents, the accused raped a young woman on the 1st of September 2012 at the Francistown Golf Course. The man had offered the victim a lift to Gerald Estate location and on the way home he tied her hands, blind folded her and took a different route to the Golf Course.
The accused has however pleaded not guilty to the offence, asserting that there was consent between the two.
Sentencing the accused, Basupi said that there is overwhelming evidence against the accused that he raped the complainant. He said that the evidence he gave that there was consent between the two was an afterthought.
“I think the issue that the complainant agreed to have sex with the accused is a mere afterthought to mislead the court. He failed to tell the court why he tied the complainant whilst having sex if at all they had consensual sex,” he said in part of his ruling.
“In balancing the society’s interest and that of the accused, I sentence him to 10 years imprisonment. He has the right to appeal to High Court in 14 days,” concluded the magistrate.
