Manchester Sand appeared in court yesterday for judgment and sentence. Sand defaulted in paying maintenance for eight months in 2008 and was found guilty on eight counts of failure to comply with a court order. In passing his sentence chief magistrate Mokwadi Gabanagae said that he could only suspend the sentence on one condition. "Your sentence is as follows; six months in prison for each count. I can only suspend the sentence if the accused pays the arrears by 4:30 today. If you do not pay the P4000 today I will release a warrant for your imprisonment," he said.
The accused who left the courtroom in a hurry did not seem to believe his ears as he asked for clarification. In reading his judgment Gabanagae said that it was clear that the accused person did not pay the money even though he wanted to claim that he did. "Common cause is that on May 26, 2002 the accused person was ordered by the Francistown magistrate court to pay a fee of P250 for each of his children as maintenance until they turned 18 or were self-supportive and the accused person failed to do so," said the magistrate.
