Kabelo Masoabi
A 20-year-old man accused of raping a young woman has told a court the case against him is a fabrication, despite allegedly being caught in the act beside a road in Leribe.
Kamohelo Rakotoane, from Ha Mahlekefane village in the Ha Rakotoane area of Botha-Bothe, has denied a charge of sexual assault before the Leribe Magistrates’ Court this week, insisting that he was falsely implicated despite prosecution testimony alleging that he was found on top of the complainant.
Rakotoane pleaded not guilty before Magistrate ’Mapitso Rantja, telling the court that he had never met the complainant prior to his arrest by villagers at Ha Sebotha in Leribe on 2 July 2025.
He alleged that the accusations against him were fabricated by the state’s key witness, Mokete Kamohelo.
Testifying this week, the 66-year-old Kamohelo told the court that he was travelling with two other men, identified as Bulara and Tloaelo Ramokhoro, from Vuka-Mosotho village in Leribe when they heard a scream and encountered what appeared to be a man lying on top of a young woman beside a road near Ha Sebotha.
“One of the men, Bulara, shouted at the accused, asking what he was doing on top of the young woman,” Kamohelo testified.
“The man immediately jumped up and fled in the direction we were travelling.”
Mr Kamohelo said Messrs Bulara and Ramokhoro pursued the fleeing suspect while he remained behind to assist the woman, who had screamed for help. Upon speaking to her, he realised that he knew her father.
“She told me she did not know the man who was sexually assaulting her,” Mr Kamohelo said, adding that during their conversation the complainant was pulling up her tights.
The witness later joined the pursuit, overtaking the other men as he was riding a horse. He testified that he nearly lost sight of the suspect when the man climbed over a hill that was inaccessible to the horse, forcing him to take a longer route.
“With the assistance of a villager from the nearby village of Ha Sebotha, who had seen the suspect hiding in maize stalks, we managed to apprehend him,” Kamohelo told the court.
According to the witness, upon being apprehended, the suspect said he was from Ha Rakotoane in Botha-Bothe and claimed that he had been kissing his girlfriend, alleging that they had agreed by phone to meet at the scene.
However, the complainant again denied knowing the accused, insisting that she had been walking home from a shop in a neighbouring village when he overpowered her and sexually assaulted her.
Mr Kamohelo testified that he then contacted the complainant’s father by mobile phone. Upon arrival, family members reportedly wanted to assault the accused.
“I feared that they might kill him,” the witness said.
To prevent further violence, Mr Kamohelo said he instructed that the accused be taken to the local chief and later handed over to the police.
During cross-examination, defence counsel, Advocate Paballo Sentlo, disputed the witness’s version of events, arguing that his client was never pursued on horseback. He submitted that the accused had been mistakenly arrested while herding cattle and that this was the first time he had seen the complainant.
Adv Sentlo further argued that the accused was assaulted during his arrest and that the beating forced him to make a false confession in order to save his life. He maintained that if the complainant had been raped, it was not by the accused.
According to the prosecution, the complainant has since testified before the court and positively identified the accused as the person who sexually assaulted her.
Rakotoane remains in custody, and the matter was postponed to 10 March 2026, when a medical doctor is expected to submit a medical report to the court.
