A Maseru magistrate, Nthabiseng Moopisa, this week criticised the police and the prosecution for bringing poorly investigated criminal cases before court. The magistrate said this as she granted Reabetsoe Bulane, 30, a M1 500 bail in a case in which he is charged with sexually assaulting a woman in the toilets of The Market at Maseru Mall.
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Magistrate Moopisa, while granting the bail, criticised the police for their shoddy job in investigating the case.
Magistrate Moopisa said the police were quick to bring the case before court without completing investigations.
“You should go back and close gaps in this case before bringing it,” the magistrate said.
She said the prosecution and the police are generally in the habit of bringing poorly investigated cases before court such that the general public believe the courts are in the business of releasing crime suspects for no good reasons.
“You should go and tell the public that it is the police that do not do their job properly, not the courts,” Magistrate Moopisa told journalists who had filled the press gallery.
She said a poorly investigated case is as good as one that does not exist before court.
Bulane, widely known as Katara, is alleged to have followed the woman to the toilets where he sexually assaulted her.
The restaurant’s surveillance cameras showed the woman being dragged from the toilets by more than one person.
The restaurant’s initial statement after the woman broke the news of her ordeal there said she was heavily intoxicated but later withdrew it, saying it protects the wellbeing of its patrons.
Staff Reporter
