Even though he was exonerated and a charge of murder brought unjustly against him was withdrawn and struck from the roll by the Supreme Court, a Welkom man is still labelled as a murderer by the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC).
Koos Letshabo Togo says the government has failed him, “I feel like a nothing.”
For eight years now he has been fighting an unjust system to get his name cleared.
“I cannot find employment. I am a qualified driver, and I passed my advanced driving course, but when I apply for work and my prospective employer does a security clearance check they see I am listed as a criminal charged with murder.”
It all started in 2013 when he was first charged.
“The case went to court, but the charges were dropped due to no evidence.”
Then in 2015 the case was again put on the court roll with “new” evidence. Togo says the senior prosecutor at the time said in court he will show him.
“It was all very personal. I was sentenced to 15 years. I had gone to work that morning as a delivery man for a prominent paint and hardware business in Welkom. They came to my work and told me to be in court at 11:00. Within two hours I was sentenced, found guilty, and I went to bed an incarcerated man, a convicted murderer.”
His lawyer immediately appealed.
“I was none-the-less sent to the notorious Mangaung prison in Bloemfontein. I shared a cell with Thabo Bester. New Year was very bad, the prison guards were firing live ammunition, I hid under my cell bed. All the hardened and dangerous criminals are sent there.”
Togo was so traumatised he has developed post-traumatic stress disorder because of his ordeal. He spent nine months in Mangaung before his appeal was successful, and he was released.
On 2 June 2016 the High Court in Bloemfontein ordered that Togo’s appeal had been successful, the conviction on a charge of murder was set aside, and that the appellant is found not guilty and is discharged.
Togo’s file was returned to the Welkom Magistrates’ Court with the attached judgement.
“I believe I was persecuted by the local justice system, and it feels as if my case was personal to them. Eight years later I am still fighting the system to get my name cleared. It feels like my back is against a brick wall. I have nowhere to turn to. I am unemployed, I have lost my wife and child (who was three months old when I went to prison in 2015), and still I cannot get my name cleared.”
Togo has hit dead ends everywhere he goes begging to get his name cleared.
“Despite the High Court in Bloemfontein’s ruling saying I am innocent; my name is still on the register, and no-one seems to be able to get it off.”
He is desperate to get employment, to get his self-worth back, to be seen as a honourable member of society and not a murderer – a charge for which he was wrongfully prosecuted and incarcerated. When prospective employers run his name and identity number through the police’s LCRC for a clearance certificate, a notice is received that illicit activity is identified, and that he is guilty of murder allegedly committed on 14 October 2012.
He has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for this crime and declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Vista made an official enquiry to the police in Welkom concerning Togo’s case. Capt. Stephen Thakeng, media liaison officer for the police in Lejweleputswa, says Togo must consult with the Department of Justice to clear his name.
Vista understands that Togo has a strong case to sue the state for wrongful arrest, wrongful imprisonment, wrongful prosecution and crimen injuria, which is unlawfully and intentionally impairing the dignity or privacy of another person.
As a result of the chaos in his life, the stigma of his sentencing and the hardships that unemployment have caused, Togo’s wife took their son and moved to her family in Botshabelo.
In his community Togo remains stigmatised and shunned, as many still see him as the murderer who was convicted and sent to prison.
“The cloud of my conviction still hangs over me, causing many problems. Because of my financial situation I cannot travel to visit my son. I am innocent, yet I am still being treated like a criminal.
“I am a broken man. This situation has alienated and impoverished me,” says Togo.
