Kabelo Masoabi
A 35-year-old man accused of rape has applied to be discharged from the case, arguing that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie (convincing) case against him.
The accused, Mothobi Tšosane, of Linotšing Ha Mokokoana in Leribe, appeared before Magistrate Thoora Semela at the Leribe Magistrate’s Court this week in connection with an alleged rape that reportedly occurred on the night of 22 December 2025 in Ha Molahlehi, Maputsoe.
Magistrate Semela reserved judgment on the defence’s application and is expected to deliver a ruling next Thursday, 19 March, after studying submissions presented by both the defence and the Crown prosecution.
Tšosane is accused of raping a 37-year-old woman identified in court as Makarabelo Jeremane. According to the prosecution, the alleged incident occurred after the two met earlier that day at a local shebeen, where they had been drinking alcohol.
The Crown maintains that the complainant positively identified Tšosane as the man responsible for the alleged assault.
However, Tšosane’s Legal Aid lawyer, Advocate Potso Mokhachane, told the court that the evidence presented by the prosecution does not establish sufficient grounds for the case to proceed to trial.
Adv Mokhachane argued that his client appears to have been implicated mainly because he was allegedly the last person seen speaking with the complainant at the drinking establishment.
“Yes, it is true that the accused and the complainant met at the drinking spot and spoke to each other,” Adv Mokhachane told the court.
“However, he was not the only person who interacted with the complainant that day.”
According to the defence, Tšosane left the establishment earlier and saw the complainant exchanging mobile phone numbers with another man.
Adv Mokhachane argued that the unidentified man should instead be treated as a possible person of interest in the investigation, suggesting that the complainant may have later had consensual sexual intercourse with that individual.
The defence further submitted that the complainant had probably been heavily intoxicated on the night in question, which, according to Adv Mokhachane, raises serious doubts about the reliability and accuracy of her recollection of events.
The defence also told the court that the allegation of sexual assault only emerged after the complainant’s husband reportedly discovered that she had not slept at home that night.
According to testimony presented in court, the husband later found her asleep in a burned house with pieces of grass on her head.
“The complainant only claimed she had been sexually assaulted after her husband discovered her absence,” the defence argued. “She is playing the victim to protect her marriage.”
“It is our submission that the allegation was staged to conceal the fact that she had been drinking and had behaved irresponsibly that night,” he added.
The defence also criticised the testimony provided by the complainant’s husband, arguing that it relied entirely on hearsay evidence.
“Everything he told the court was based on what he had been told rather than what he personally witnessed,” Adv Mokhachane said.
The defence further informed the court that on the day of his arrest, Tšosane voluntarily went to the police station to report threats allegedly made against him by the complainant’s husband and brother, who had accused him of sexually assaulting the woman.
“He did not anticipate that he would be detained when he went to the police station,” Adv Mokhachane said.
“In normal circumstances, a person who has committed such a serious offence would not voluntarily present himself at a police station,” he argued.
“The prosecution’s case is therefore weak, which is why we are applying for the accused to be discharged.”
Tšosane has been in custody since January 2026 after the court denied his bail application.
Magistrate Semela is expected to determine whether the defence’s application for discharge will be granted or whether the case will proceed to trial.
