Investigating police officers have suffered a huge blow following the death of a prime suspect believed to be the Kanye serial killer, who was allegedly found hanging from the iron bars of the police cells two days after his arrest.
In what could have been regarded as a major breakthrough in the brutal killing of about 6 young women, Oreeditse Mokoti, commonly known as “KB” of Metlobo Village near Mmathethe, was arrested last Monday as the prime suspect in the horrific murders that had unsettled not only Kanye residents but the country as a whole.
Last Wednesday, two days after his arrest, Mokoti was allegedly found hanging in the cell in which he had been confined.
It is understood that he used the cloth lining the edge of his prison blanket as a rope.
It is reported that, before his arrest, the suspect attended all the kgotla meetings that were called by both President Khama and the paramount chief of Bangwaketse on separates occasions.
It is further understood that the last public gathering that he attended was last week when the Botswana Democratic Party held its conference and where he, allegedly wearing a BDP uniform, is said to have managed to steal a mobile phone.
It is said that on Monday, the investigating team, using hi-tech listening equipment, managed to locate the suspect and arrested him at his Zimbabwean girlfriend’s Kanye house.
Although an affidavit in the form of a confession had not been recorded and commissioned before a judicial officer yet, the suspect is said to have confessed before the investigators that he is linked to only four killings out of the 6 reported cases, allegedly taking investigators to the scenes of the crimes.
It is believed the suspect was at first shackled while detained with a few illegal immigrants who were in the process of being repatriated to their home country. On Wednesday, Mokoti is said to have been left alone in the cells after the illegal immigrants had been taken away for deportation.
When investigating offers arrived at Sejalo Police Station where he was detained, an officer was sent to collect Moloko from the cell but allegedly found him hanging from an iron bar.
It is understood that on the day that the suspect was found hanging, a sample of DNA tests came back positive, allegedly building a very strong case against the suspect.
However, some investigators told the Sunday Standard, on condition of anonymity, that “this is a huge blow to our investigations because we have many questions and few answers”.
Senior Assistant Police Commissioner Mathews Lestsholo said “as the police, we are concerned about the increasing number of suspects who commit suicide in police cells”. He was, however, unable to share the statistics of those who have already committed or those who attempted to commit suicide inside police cells.
Lestsholo said that investigations are underway to find out how the suspect hanged himself.
He added that consultations are on-going to come up with the best ways to prevent such occurrences, conceding, however, that the best cells would not stop a prisoner from killing themselves, if they put their mind to it.
