A 26 year old man who is a cab operator in Gaborone was this week arraigned before the Urban Customary Court Deputy, Kgosimotse Sebele, charged with drinking liquor in a prohibited area.
He pleaded guilty to the charge.
According to evidence brought before the court by Sub Inspector Nthaiwa of Urban Police Station Onthusitse Mongalo [26], from Matlhalerwa ward in Molepolole, was arrested on the 1st of June 2006 while drinking St Louis beer in a prohibited area.
He told the court that when the accused saw the police coming to him he put the St Louis beer he was drinking next to the electricity pole.
Inspector Nthaiwa said while the police asked him why he was drinking beer in a prohibited area he ran away and was arrested after a long chase.
He told the court that the accused was arrested because he didn’t want to cooperate with the police.
Nthaiwa said the investigating officer Constable Bagwagi frog matched him to the Urban police station where he was charged and pleaded guilty to the charges.
Nthaiwa told the court that cases like this are giving police problems because people keep repeating the same offences in his area and said, normally, people like the accused do not cooperate with the police when they are being confronted. He said the court must give the accused a stiff punishment so that others could learn from it.
In his mitigation Onthusitse asked the court not to lock him up saying he will lose his job if sentenced to jail and asked for mercy. Sebele sentenced him to five strokes on the bum.
