SOUTH AFRICA COMPUTER THEFT FROM UNIVERSITY BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST VICE CHANCELLOR'S SON Andnetwork.com for breaking news second by second about Africa from an African perspective in video, audio, photos and feature stories: "Botswana: Deputy Vice Chancellor?s Son Facing Theft Charges

Thursday, 26 January 2006,

By Jacob Nthoiwa

The son of Professor Lydia Nyathi-Ramahobo, the new Deputy Vice Chancellor for student affairs at the University of Botswana, is facing six counts of criminal charges for alleged theft of computer equipment. To make matters worse, the victim of the thefts was the university itself.

During 2004 and 2005, Oabona Marang Ramahobo is alleged to have broken into university offices on a number of occasions and stolen laptop computers and other IT equipment worth thousands of pula. Ramahobo is a former student at the university, but was booted out in 2002. The professor's son is also alleged to have broken into various houses in Gaborone and even to have been involved in some muggings in the city. In one incident he is accused of attacking a woman near the Parliamentary Flats in central Gaborone and stealing her cellphone and hand bag containing a Zimbabwean Passport and less than one hundred Pula. Ramahobo will be held in custody until January 31. His case is to be heard on February 1st at Extension 2 in Gaborone. Efforts to get a comment from Professor Ramahobo, who is also a prominent cultural activist and the leader of the Kamanakao Cultural Association, which promotes Wayeyi 'traditional values', were futile. "