Tshireletso Motlogelwa
3 July 2009
Mysterious robbers broke into Joseph Piet's house, making away with a file containing a copy of the witness statement he delivered to the police a month and a half ago on the John Kalafatis' execution.
Piet, a sculptor, together with Ray Gare another artist were in the company of Kalafatis when he was shot execution-style by people that are believed to be security agents.
The thieves found their way into Piet's house on Wednesday night through the main door without forcing the security door and went into the house and rummaged through the pile of papers in his house. "They didn't seem to be interested in anything else apart from the papers. I had very expensive material in the house, from electronic equipment to even bank cards but they did not take anything valuable" says Piet.
Piet says he is concerned that the robbers seemed to have been looking for documents and not anything that would be valuable to ordinary thieves. "There is a file in which I had a number of documents among them a copy of my statement to the police on the incident (Kalafatis' shooting). That is what they took. They left everything else" he explains. Piet however says since he has made multiple copies of the statement and stored them at different locations, he is sure he has the statements secured.
Piet has since reported the matter to the Gaborone Central Police Station who, he says, have promised to investigate. Gare says the recent incident shows that the two men, who are perhaps the most important witnesses to the shooting, need security.
"Given the attention this incident has been given, and the various interests competing in this case it would make sense if we were given some sort of security. We need to be safe. Who knows what might happen to us if we continue in this condition?" wonders Gare.
Piet concurs. He feels that as important witnesses to the case they should be under tight security to prevent things that may jeopardize their safety. The commander of Gaborone Police Station was not available for comment.
Kalafatis was shot in mid-May under controversial circumstances. Various sources allege that top security officers had been under orders to eliminate Kalafatis allegedly to fulfill the wishes of one man with connections to the top national leadership.
Officers from the Military Intelligence and the Directorate of Intelligence and Security are fingered in the allegations. The Minister of Defence Justice and Security, Ndelu Seretse announced that the execution of Kalafatis is under investigation.
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