A 22 year old cleaner at the Botswana Nurses Association, was this Friday arraigned before the Urban Customary Court President, Kgosi Dikwalo Monametsi, charged with being found in possession of suspected stolen property.
Kgomotso Mokgaka, 22, from Motlhabi Ward in Digawana, was on the 17th/08/2006 arrested and charged after she was found with a Motorola C113 cell phone worth P400.
According to the State Prosecutor, Constable Ditiro Phirinyana, from the Central Police Station, the accused was found with the cell phone, suspected to have been stolen after P1000 went missing along with a Nokia 1100 cell phone belonging to her colleague, Magdalene Thipe. Phirinyana told the court that the accused was one of the suspects and was found with phone.
The State Prosecutor told the court that all the workers were body-searched by the investigating officer, Constable Seleke of Central Police Station.
The accused told the police officer that the phone, which was switched off at the time, did not have a Sim Card and that it was for her friend. Kgomotso later told the police officer that she had picked up a phone in the Nurses Association Hall after a meeting and kept it for herself.
The court heard that the accused tried to sell the phone for P200 to one Edward Kasambwe, but she failed.
In mitigation, she asked the court not to send her to jail because she was working and that, since her mother passed away a long time back, she was the one taking care of her kid. She said she regretted keeping the phone that she had picked up in the Hall and asked the court to forgive her.
Kgosi Monametsi cautioned her and discharged her. The phone was given to the state by the court.
