A Zimbabwean illegal immigrant who was badly assaulted by a
retired Botswana Defence Force officer in 2019 was deported along with his
kinsmen during the State of Emergency.
A sickly Benjamin Dube, 58, was on May, 09, 2019 beaten to
a bloody pulp by a group of six young men led by a retired army officer known
as Moiko “Congo” Tsogang.
The matter was reported at Tatitown Police Station, and the
then Assistant Station Commander, Superintendent Clarkson Mbereki told The
Voice that the culprits were likely to be charged with unlawful wounding.
A trusted handy man in Borolong village, the humble
Zimbabwean had been staying illegally in the country for over 10 years when he
met his fate at a secluded area along the river bank.
Dube who was doing a piece job for the current Borolong
Councillor and retired BDF Major Gofamodimo Kamogenge was accused of stealing a
Samsung cellphone worth P2 400 by “Congo.”
After receiving a few hot claps from “Congo” and his
henchmen, Dube was led gagged, blind folded and his hands tied behind him and
taken deep into the bush where the group took turns torturing him.
“I could tell I was in a small river, where I was ordered
to crawl on all fours to the amusement of my captors,” Dube told The Voice in
an interview on May, 15 2019.
He said later “Congo” took out a belt of fire-crackers
which had multiple fuses, and lit one and stuffed it inside his shirt. He told
The Voice that what what followed was a sequence of explosions as the fire
crackers caught fire.
“By the time the entire belt had exploded, I was almost
unconscious,” he said.
Dube was left for dead in the bush with serious burn wounds
on his back and a few broken bones.
It was only after the intervention of some concerned
villagers the next day that it was discovered that Dube had nothing to do with
the missing phone. The gadget was in fact recovered from one of “Congo”‘s boys.
“It was the same boy who held my legs firmly as I was being
assaulted,” Dube told The Voice.
Following his deportation, his concerned cousin Geraldine
Dube said she fears the matter will never be settled.
“Congo has long threatened Dube with deportation should he
pursue this case. He lived in fear of an ex soldier,” she said.
Geraldine says although she’s also an illegal immigrant she
was going to make sure that the case does not die a natural death.
“What that man did to my cousin is unacceptable. It was a
xenophobic attack and he needs to be punished,” she said.
Meanwhile Tatitown Police Station Commander, Superintendent
Edward Leposo told The Voice that the matter cannot simply die because the complainant
is outside the country.
“He can keep in touch with the police, and whenever the
matter is ready for court he’ll be notified,” Superintendent Leposo said. Voice
0 comments:
Post a Comment