Tragedy befell a family in Tonota village when a 14-yearold boy accidentally shot and killed his sister, 6, at Mogobewabasadi cattle post on Wednesday.
The accident happened after the father allegedly borrowed the fire arm from one of the farms to scare away predators.
While the father was away, the siblings are said to have taken the gun which they played with, leading to the tragic incident.
The matter was reported to the police who took the child to the clinic where she was certified dead and the 41-year-old father arrested.
The Zimbabwean national, Sibangalizwe Ncube, was arraigned before Francistown Magistrate Court charged with negligence of the fire arm which led to the death of the child.
The court papers read thus, Ncube on the 15th September in Tonota without any lawful excuse recklessly and negligently left a loaded fire arm unsecured resulting in the death of Caroline Benkele.
The death of Ncube’s daughter opened a can of worms for the distraught father as he was also charged with ill treatment of his children as it was established that he neglected his other two children Melusi Ncube and Alex Ncube by staying with them at the cattle post denying them the right to education.
As if that was not enough for the mourning dad, a case of entering Botswana without travelling documents was also leveled against him, being the only charge he pleaded guilty to.
State prosecutor, Kenneth Edward, told court that investigations into the matter are complete. “We pray that we set the date for facts reading in relation to the count of entering the country without the travelling documents. The accused shall be served with copies of the statements and since he is an illegal immigrant we pray he be remanded in custody until the completion of this matter,” pleaded Edward.
When the accused person was asked if he had anything to say, he stated that the deceased was his baby and that he loved her so much.
“I even named her after my mother. Concerning the charge of entering Botswana without the travelling documents, I was forced by the situation back home. I was born in time of war and after seeing people who were coming to Botswana I tagged along,” said Ncube.
He added that his children and the girlfriend depend on him for survival and that they will have no one to take care of them should he be incarcerated.
Ncube also pleaded with the court to allow him to bring a Motswana surety who could vouch for him that if granted bail he would not abscond.
His plea was not successful as he was remanded in custody and he will be back in court on October 16th.
