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He stressed that the courts have to show disapproval wherever people carry knives to drinking places. Gaongalelwe expressed his concern this week when delivering sentence in a case in which 23-year-old Walephakela Ramatshu of Sesung village has been convicted of manslaughter. Ramatshu was found guilty of killing his cousin, Laone Ramatshu in 2002 and was sentenced to six years and three months imprisonment. Three years of the sentence have been suspended. Ramatshu was set free after the sentence because he has already spent three years and three months in jail when he was awaiting trial. When passing sentence, Gaongalelwe said the offence that Ramatshu was convicted of, involved the termination of the life of another human being. However, the judge said that as stated by the defence counsel, the accused was a first offender and had pleaded guilty to the charge. The judge said the fact that the accused pleaded guilty demonstrates remorse. He noted that when the incident occurred, the accused had taken alcohol which means he was not a full master of his actions. The judge said the summary of the facts demonstrates that the accused tried to avoid the fight but the deceased persisted in provoking him. "It all started when the deceased took the chibuku which was bought by the accused." Gaongalelwe said another factor that has to be taken into consideration is that the deceased was a cousin of the accused. "He has lost a relative and will probably be haunted by the incident for the rest of his life," the judge said. Earlier when he was mitigating for his client, defence attorney, Oduetse Langwane pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy. "By pleading guilty, the accused has not only saved everybody time but has shown remorse for his action. At the time of the commission of the offence, the accused was only 19. It is clear that immaturity played a part in his irrational action," he pleaded. Langwane said the incident took place in an alcohol drinking place and his client is from a rural background. However, the judge asked him: "Does that mean people from the rural areas are more barbaric?" The defence told the court that the accused has never been to school, leading the judge to ask: "Does it mean that people who have never been to school are rough". He told the court that even though the accused fatally stabbed the deceased, the stabbing was not brutal. "It was a single blow by a person who has been trying to run away. It was a stab injury on the chest," the defence counsel said. He said all these factors taken together should make the court temper justice with mercy and give the accused a suspended sentence. Attorney Samantha Mbikwa of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, represented the state.
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