A South African national seeking political asylum in Botswana has being turned down.
Contacted for comment, the asylum seeker, Ramerafe Nkele, said: “I am very disappointed by the fact that my application has being turned down by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees”.
He said he was told that his matter was a human rights issue so a human right organisation can deal with it.
“I am scared to go back to South Africa because I might get killed by some of the South African police who are hired to assassinate me at any time,” said Nkele.
He said though his legal stay in Botswana is coming to an end, he does not know who to turn to because he is not sure whether the immigration department will extend his days.
He said he was optimistic that he will get assistance from Botswana.At first I was taken to the Directorate of Intelligence Services DIS where I was interviewed on two separate occasions.
He said after the interview with DIS, he was then finger printed. He then went to the Office of the President which wanted a letter from UNHCR.
“ I hope that they will re look in to my matter because I am not yet ready,” Nkele said.
Speaking to Sunday Standard the director of defence, justice and security, Ross Sanoto, at the Office of the President said ,“ I am aware of the matter but I was informed that the matter has been referred to the regional office of the UNHCR in South Africa.
Contacted for comment, the protection officer at the UNHCR, Madoda Nasha, said, “I do not discuss individual cases with the press”.
This follows after the South African Lotto researcher, Ramerafe Nkele, appears to have left no stone unturned in his quest for asylum away from hit men he believes are after his life for discoveries he made about how the lottery is run in South Africa.
He will not say exactly what he discovered about the operations of the Lotto, but he believes, contrary to what his assailants are willing to accept, that it could give the betting business a healthy facelift.
But this has only earned him fear for his life after his sister died from a gunshot that he believes was meant for him.
Nkele says he has reported his presence to the Botswana human rights centre, Ditshwanelo, who confirmed that indeed they had met him. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees refused to speak.
Without revealing details of Nkele’s plea, Ditshwanelo confirmed that they had given him a hearing.
Nkele’s web of fears and allegations enwrap the South African Police Services whom he believes have been paid off by a powerful and rich international organisation based in Britain to wipe him out.
According to Nkele, millions of Rand have been deposited with some SAPS officers to make it easy for him to be assassinated for his recent discovery of lottery numbers.
“My government has failed to protect me from the people who want to kill me and my family, therefore I am here in Botswana to seek protection from UNHCR and Ditshwanelo,” he said.
He further said the national intelligence agency and the Office of the President are fully aware of his assailants.
He threatened that if his problem is not solved, he is ready to spill the beans, causing the SAPS to lose face around the globe.
“I have been researching about lottery for a few years now,” he claims.
He said his life changed dramatically last year when he visited Britain and met with one of the top officials of the International Lottery Association, revealing to them what he had discovered.
On his return from Britain he soon learnt that he had been assigned a hit man. “By luck, how do I know that the hired hit man missed me when they shot and killed my sister? The matter was reported to the Meadowlands Police Station in Soweto,” says Nkele. “My discovery is not at all a threat to the lottery, but if it is accepted, then it can boost it”.
He stressed that he has good information about the plot to assassinate him as well as some of the SAPS officers who have been bribed to cover up after the event.
Flora Kedibonye, a para-legal officer at the human rights centre commonly known as Ditshwanelo says Ramerafe Nkele did seek assistance from them but “I can not divulge what kind of assistance he seeks from us as for now”.
A spokesperson of the Independent Complaints Directorate in Pretoria, South Africa, Grace Langa, said that Ramerafe Nkele had not reported to her office but they do have a complaint from Priscilla Nkele, a close relative of Ramerafe’s. The case is still under investigation, she said.
Provincial police commissioner, Norman Taioe, said Friday afternoon that he is not aware of the accusations Nkele levelled against the Meadowlands police station.
