Five men and a woman charged with theft of M17 million from Standard Lesotho Bank, which was electronically transferred to their bank accounts by one of them, will know the fate of their bail application on Friday. Senior Resident magistrate Peter Murenzi having heard arguments from both defense and crown reserved the ruling until Friday.
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Nov. 22, 2018
NAT MOLOMO
2 min read
M17 million theft suspects seek bail
Standard Lesotho Bank
The magistrate told the packed courtroom 8, with members of the public, that since new developments have taken place, with the addition of two more accused, he had to consolidate both applications for bail. Added to the list are Thabiso Mapetla, 41, of Maseru East, and Makhetha Thaele, 39, of Masowe III, who joined Joel Lerotholi, 30, of Quthing, ‘Mamothibeli Titi, 34, of Ha Hlathe Majara, Khubetsoana, Mokone Lucas Bereng, 35, of Hlotse, Lisemeng, staying at Khubetsoana and Qetelo Abiel Moletsane of Sekameng, Mafeteng.
The accused being charged with contravening section 57 (1) (2) of the Penal Code Act N0.6 of 2010 read with section 9 of the same Act.The crown alleges that upon or during October and early November 2018, the accused acting in and furthering their common purpose, they unlawfully stole money belonging to the Lesotho Government in the tune of M17 million which was electronically transferred to their different bank accounts.
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They are alleged to have worked together in stealing money belonging to the government of Lesotho which they withdrew from the sub-accountancy accounts of Leribe and Mohale’s hoek offices using cyber-crime theft. One of the defense lawyers Advocate Molise Molise motivating his application for bail for his clients said the court should grant bail unless there is any likelihood of the accused to prejudice the ends of justice. This, he said, was consistent with section 12 of the Constitution of Lesotho, which states that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court. “We pray that the accused be granted bail,” he submitted, indicating that he would demonstrate these by personal circumstances.
He said some of his clients like Makhetha Thaele cooperated with the police at the time he was arrested and until the time he was detained. He said he was a family man, have children and is a citizen of Lesotho and a businessman. He said his clients have properties and they cannot abscond. However, Advocate Dominic Metlae on behalf of prosecution, argued that issues of bail are the discretion of the court, which had to weigh all the circumstances before it can make its ruling. He reasoned amongst others, that sections of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act 1981 states that even the interest of the community also have to be accommodated by the court.
“Where is the next hit going to be?” the prosecutor asked indicating that if the court is going to grant bail, it should also take into consideration the integrity of the legal system. The prosecutor said much as he understood, the accused rights in terms of the constitution but that very constitution is also intended to protect the rights of others.
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