Three men abducted by Rhodesian security forces in Botswana have appeared before a Special Court in Bulawayo. ABEI MAGINDI MAPANE and JOtha MASILILA BANGO, both citizens of Botswana from Mahatane, were captured by Rhodesian troops in December 1976. On 21 March they appeared before the court charged under the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act of being in possession of a quantity of AK rifles, ammunition and grenades, or that they conspired at various places in Botswana with others who later entered Rhodesia. It was conceded by the prosecution that neither of the two men had at any material time resided in or entered Rhodesia.
Before the accused were asked to plead, the court heard argument on whether or not it had jurisdiction in the case. On 22 March the Court President, Sir Hugh Beadle, referred a final decision to the Appellate Division but ruled that the Special Court was not entitled to judge the case. "To allow states not at war with each other to willy-nilly invade each other's territory and capture each other's nationals and then to bring them to trial against their will does not seem to me to be conducive to the preservation of law and order," he said. On 15 April, Beadle's decision was endorsed by the Salisbury Appeal Court, which ruled that the two men should be returned to Botswana.
In another case of a person captured and abducted from Botswana, however, the trial was allowed to proceed. BURUNYEWU NDHLOVU, of Moroka village and captured in December 1976, was charged with possessing arms of war in Botswana. According to the prosecution he had been born in Rhodesia but had lived in Botswana for several years. He was therefore presumed to be a Rhodesian national and by virtue of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act, which has extra-territorial effect, deemed to be a resident of Rhodesia.
There was no report of the trial of a fourth person, 16-year-old DISANG MODIAKGOTLA, abducted from Moroko village, Botswana in November 1976 and also due to appear before the Special Court in Bulawayo on 21 March. According to Gaborone radio, all four Botswanas had been held in prison in Bindura following their capture.
