Suspect jumps to his death at court

A suspect jumped to his death from the third floor of the Leribe High Court yesterday after he was sentenced to 14 days in prison for insulting a magistrate. Pule Mahanetsa, 25, was facing charges of rape and stabbing a police officer with a knife. Mahanetsa whose bail had just been reversed after it was brought to the attention of the magistrate that there was an earlier decision to remand him in custody, started insulting the magistrate while still in front of him.

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The magistrate initially sentenced him to prison for seven days for contempt of court and when he kept on insulting him he increased the sentence to 14 days.

When he was about to be taken into custody, Mahanetsa sprinted to the third floor of the building, with warders giving chase. He then jumped to his death.

Mahanetsa was applying for bail from the dock saying he was not feeling well and he wanted to be allowed to go to his home to nurse himself but the magistrate denied him freedom on account that he had violated his bail conditions.

Mahanetsa was charged with rape in 2022 but was granted bail.

Prosecutor Molemohi Ntebele told thepost that the bail conditions indicated that he should attend remands which he failed to comply with.

The case was set for hearing in March 2023 but he did not appear before the court and did not give reasons for his failure to do so.

Advocate Ntebele said the court issued a warrant of arrest and when the police went to apprehend him he stabbed one of them with a knife.

“The court then cancelled his bail and ordered that he be kept at the correctional service and attend remands while in custody,” Advocate Ntebele said.

He said Mahanetsa had since been having mental problems and was still taking his medication from Mohlomi Hospital in Maseru.

“When he was still in Mohlomi, he was still attending remands at the Maseru Magistrate’s Court,” he said.

He said Mahanetsa was transferred to Leribe to attend remands until last week when he pleaded with the court that he was not feeling well so he should be released to go home and take care of himself.

Advocate Ntebele said he went back to his file to check and found that there was an order cancelling his bail.

’Malimpho Majoro

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