By BAKANG MOKOTO
A case of public violence against seven accused from Molelema village, near Taung was postponed by Taung Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Gaorongwe Mooki, Kenny Letebele, Ompolokile Leeuw, Malefane Motswakae, Chris Motsewaone, Olebogeng Monchusi and Tebogo Makoloi were arrested during protest at Molelema last week.
The seven accused, briefly appeared at Taung Magistrate’s Court and they were remanded in custody until 3 April 2018 for formal bail application. One of community leaders, Makoro Mothibi said they were disappointed and the community lost confidence in the justice system.
“We are very disappointed after the court denied our fellow brothers bail. We believe that there is a third force behind the decision. There are people who wanted to see our fellow brothers spending Easter holidays in custody. However, we are content and we will never budge.
“We are fighting for our rights and the department promised to construct D208 and D209 roads respectively. As the community, we handed over a memorandum which the department acknowledged. Now, they want to send us from pillar to post without giving us proper answers. We will meet with community on Thursday to discuss way forward,” Mothibi said.
He also dismissed allegations that their march was politically-motivated. Mothibi said their grievances are genuine and they are also aware of those who are against developments in their area.
Molelema Primary School, community hall and shops were torched and ransacked. North West MEC of Education and Sport Development department, Sello Lehari condemned the arson after Molelema Primary School’s administration block and the National School Nutrition Programme kitchen were reduced to ashes.
“The destruction of schools was never a solution to challenges residents face in communities. On behalf of the department, I condemn in the strongest terms the burning of the two schools in the province. Last year pupils of GS Phoi Secondary School lost about three months of teaching and learning due to strikes.
“At the end of the year in the matric results, they were at the bottom of the district with results of 46%. I am pleading with our communities to desist from burning schools as this act creates a huge backlog in the infrastructure for schools,” he said.
North West Public Works and Roads department MEC, Mmule Maluleke said: “We have met with Molelema community and requested them to give us seven working days. We will revert to them after we met with relevant authorities to come up with solution to this matter.”
The Guardian 