Gaborone Regional Magistrate, Goodwill Makofi, this Tuesday granted bail to three Zimbabwean men accused of unlawfully manufacturing and selling hand sanitizers.
The three, Christopher Karimbika (30), Samson Chinga (31) and Mali Mazorodze 37 were arrested by Mogoditshane police at a warehouse in Mmopane Block 1 on the 15th of April.
Court heard that the accused persons were found in possession of big containers of sanitizers some labelled ‘Sunlight Sanitizer’.
Investigating Officer, Detective Morapedi, of Mogoditshane Police pleaded with court not to grant the accused persons bail indicating that they are a flight risk and likely to abscond.
He said Mali has a residence permit while Mazorodze’s passport has expired and Chinga does not have any travel documents.
He said it appears the accused have distributed a lot of the illegal sanitizers and the investigations are ongoing to seize them from the market.
“We are yet to identify some of the possible witnesses. The investigating team is still waiting for the report from Forensic and Botswana Bureau of Standards. We are not sure if they used the correct and right amount of chemicals to manufacture those sanitizers and they are likely to put people’s health at risk. If they are to be granted bail they are likely to temper with the police investigations,” said Morapedi.
Regional Magistrate Makofi dismissed the prosecution’s plea and granted the three accused persons conditional bail.
He ordered that they each pay P5 000 cash and provide two sureties who shall each bind themselves in the like sum.
They were ordered not to commit any offence in line with Covid-19 regulations and not to interfere with the police investigations.
The Magistrate also ordered that the three should report themselves fortnightly to the Investigating Officer at Mogoditshane Police Station.
The case continues on the 27th of August when the three will be appearing for mention and prosecution update court on their investigations.