Defilement Accused Kasane Top Cop Granted Bail!

Kasane Police Deputy Station Commander, Assistant Superintendent Othusitse Marape who is accused of defiling a 15 year old girl has been granted bail by the Kasane Magistrate’s Court.
The 60-year old police officer was remanded in custody on the 4th December 2024 as per the request by the prosecution and the investigating officer of the case, who both indicated that investigations on the matter were still ongoing.
The state also argued that owing to the accused’s rank as assistant superintendent and deputy station commander, Marape may interfere with the investigations or jeopardise the proper functioning of the criminal justice system.
Presiding magistrate Wame Mosugelo then concurred that the accused is a police officer holding a high rank and his social influence cannot be ignored, and subsequently remanded him in custody.
However, when appearing in court this week, Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) Chief Counsel Moffat Dick told court that the 15-year-old victim has been temporarily relocated and that the investi-gations into the matter are almost complete.
He noted that they are only waiting for a mobile phone report concerning the accused and the victim’s communication from some local mobile network operators while other investigations are complete. He therefore did not object the accused person being granted bail.
Magistrate Mosugelo subsequently granted Marape bail on conditions that he bind himself with the sum of P5, 000.00 and that he shall also provide two Batswana sureties to sign in their recognizance also in the sum of P5, 000.00.
She also ordered that the accused should not communicate in text, audios with the complainant and her mother regarding the case.
Mosugelo further ordered that the accused shall not influence communication with the victim and the mother either through friends and well-wishers. She ordered Marape not to go near the complainant and to also surrender his travelling documents to Kasane Police Station Commander.
Marape has also been ordered to appear in court as and when required to do so, and no to be reasona-bly suspected of having committed any GBV related offence.
The top cop is alleged to have had sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old girl of Kgaphamadi ward in Kasane near Chobe Junior Secondary School sometime in May this year. In 2008, Marape was convicted and sentenced to 10 years for another defilement case that was however later set aside by the Court of Appeal after squashing the conviction. He was then accused of having had sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old teenager in March 2006 at Gumare village where he was working as a police inspector. The ac-cused person will appear in court again on the 23rd January 2025 for status update.