The Elliot brothers notorious for brazen armed robberies targeting filling stations in and around the second city, when Botswana was under Covid-19 lockdown, have been convicted and sentenced to 13 years behind bars on two counts of robbery.
Moshe Elliot and 29-year-old Nametso Elliot’s accomplice, Talent Molao (41) who was found guilty for having a hand in the armed robbery of Dumela filling station was also slapped with 13 years in prison. The trio were lucky to escape a lengthy time in prison as the Francistown Principal Magistrate Tshepo Magetse ordered their sentences to run concurrently, with any other prison terms they may be serving.
Due to insufficient evidence, Magetse last Friday squashed and acquitted the trio of robbing Precious Filling station, along the A1 highway.
Police raided Moshe’s home acting on a tip off that he had an illegal firearm in his possession. After thorough search and turning his house upside down, a rifle was found tucked away in his bedroom. The 37-year-old builder who hails from Mathangwane admitted to have masterminded several armed robberies in his home village and Francistown.
During questioning by the police, Moshe implicated his sibling Nametso, a soldier based in Gaborone and his friend Talent Molao to be his partners in robbing Thrust Bore filling station and Total filling station in Dumela Industrial area sometime in June and July five years ago. The trio are said to have made away with P4577.60 in cash, six cellphones worth P4 350 and cigarettes, biscuits, biltong and engine oil worth P1 480.00.
In both robberies, the trio were armed with two pistols, axe and hammer threatening to shoot, if filling station employees resisted to take cover or tried to alert the police. The men went on to ransack the quick shops and emptying the cash tills, before speeding off in a rented silver-grey Honda Fit sedan.
Sentencing the three men, Principal Magistrate Magetse castigated their attitude and actions when the country was going the most challenging time. “In this most difficult of shared sacrifice and national endurance, unity was our shield and collective responsibility our lifeline. Yet, there were those who chose a different path, one of opportunism and lawlessness. The accused before this Court did not merely commit two brazen robberies, they exploited the vulnerability of a nation in a crisis,” charged Magetse.
“They defied not only the ordinary criminal law but also the extraordinary protective measures (curfews, and movement restrictions) crafted to save lives. In doing so, they placed themselves and others at risk, showing utter disregard for the sanctity of human life at a time when every life was precious.”
As the Elliot siblings join their brother, a former choreographer in the slammer, serving a 15-year jail sentence for raping his former girlfriend’s 14-year-old daughter twice, Principal Magetse urged the brothers to utilise the time in prison to reflect, rehabilitate and rebuild themselves.
“Gentlemen take this time in prison to reflect on your actions. I hope as brothers you will use this time to build a stronger family structure. By the time you exit prison gates you must be changed and better men. Society is ready to accept if you have reformed”, ended Magistrate Magetse.
