Botswana Jails A Zimbabwean Overstayer Who Claims To Be A Diplomat
A village chief magistrate in Botswana has slapped a Zimbabwean man with a 2-year jail sentence after he reportedly overstayed in the neighbouring country claiming he was a SADC intelligence officer deployed to Botswana, Newsday reports.
Philimon Sithole reportedly plead guilt to 2 counts when he appeared before a village chief magistrate, Batho Kgerethwa, who then convicted and sentenced him to 2 years in jail.
Sithole reportedly overstayed the term he had been given by immigration officers by 90 days and the court heard that:
On April 24, 2020 near Gaborone West Police Station, Sithole lied to local police that he worked for SADC as an intelligence officer and political analyst. When further asked to produce other documents to prove that he was a diplomat, Sithole gave them a diplomat card for Sadc issued in 2019 and expiring in 2030.
On the same day, Sithole produced a forged residence permit to the police. The detective then called SADC, which denied having an employee by the name Sithole. The police recovered a gun during a further search in Sithole’s car.
The investigating officer told the court that Sithole also misrepresented that he was a director at Current Logistics Company and implicated one Edmore Murufu for producing his fake documents.
More: Newsday
