A Zimbabwean gardener is being accused of stealing P3,9 million from his dead employer in Botswana.

Bhekizwe Nkomazana and his girlfriend, Ketshepile Sharon Lompehu, have appeared before a magistrate on charges of stealing P3.9 million from the late Solomon Tlhapane.

The Voice newspaper reports that the investigating officer, Detective Senior Superintendent Sergeant Marapo, told court that he received a tip off that there was a dead body of an old man that had been lying at Travel Mortuary for the past five months.

He said he indeed found the dead body of Solomon Tlhapane.
Marapo said, they established that Nkomazana had been working for the deceased for the past 25 years and he was taking care of the deceased whose two daughters stay in South Africa and UK respectively.

“We went to Tlokweng border post to confirm if the deceased came to Botswana dead and the investigations revealed that Tlhapane left Botswana on the 24th of May alive and came back dead on the 1st of September. Lompehu identified herself as the daughter of the accused. I extended my investigations to the banks and I found out that when the deceased was in South Africa his property, house and a commercial plot were sold and the money was deposited in Nkomazana’ bank account,” said Marapo.

Nkomazana pleaded with court to grant him bail claiming the old man died of illness and the mistake he did was failure to inform the old man’s children about his death.
Another reason for the bail application was that he has dogs at home and that they have not been fed since Friday when he got arrested.

The first accused Nkomazana was remanded in custody and he will appear before court for his bail hearing on the 23rd of December.