Manslaughter trio gets out of jail
Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday September 7, 2021 17:33
Lorryboy Fose, 23, Odirile Gabanakago and Samuel Ketsietso, both 22, were convicted of manslaughter after they killed their uncle, Tshweu Khunou, in Thabala in 2015.
The court heard that the accused murdered Khunou following an alcohol-fuelled drinking spree that ended with a misunderstanding.
Ironically, the evidence before court points to Khunou as the one that bought alcohol for his young relatives.
When sentencing the convicts to five years each in jail, Justice Bengbame Sechele said that the trio through their attorneys had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy by not sentencing them to lengthy periods.
In mitigation before sentencing, Sechele said that Fose’s attorney pleaded with the court to be lenient with him because he was of rustic background who only went up to Standard Two with his education.
“The accused’s attorney also implored the court to temper justice with mercy because the deceased is the one who provoked all the accused persons and was also influenced by peer pressure to commit the offence since he wanted to settle a score with the deceased. The court was also asked to take into consideration that the accused is a first offender who at the time of the commission of the offence was employed as a herd boy and was the sole breadwinner of his family with his meagre salary,” Sechele said.
Concerning Gabanakago, Sechele was asked to take into account that just like Fose, Gabanakago was barely aged 19 when he committed the offence.
“The court was told that the accused is also a first offender who went up to Form 3 with his education. It was also told that the accused now has intentions of furthering his education. The court was also asked to take into consideration that the accused were provoked by the deceased and the offence was not premeditated. The court also heard that the deceased also rebuffed reconciliation attempts before he met his demise. The court was also implored not to pass a sentence that will break the accused but one that will mould him,” Sechele noted.
Sechele added that with regard to Ketsietso, his attorney pleaded with the court to be lenient with him based on the mitigation that was tendered by his co-accused persons.
“Having noted what the learned defence counsels have said, I am of the view that the accused persons have committed a very serious offence which attracts a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The sanctity of life should under no circumstances be undermined. While it is clear that the deceased had escaped and hid under the bed of his grandmother after he provoked the accused, his escaping is a clear indication that the accused were no longer under any danger from the deceased. They could have left him after he escaped,” Sechele said.
The judge then said what compounded the woes of the trio is the fact that they followed the deceased to his grandmother’s place. They found him hiding under his grandmother’s bed and assaulted him. They also assaulted and injured two other people they found in the yard.
“However, I take the view that sending the accused to jail for long periods of time will not serve the interests of justice. The accused have already spent a considerable amount of time in jail ever since they were incarcerated. I think that has taught them a lesson. In the circumstances, the accused are each sentenced to five years in jail for the offence. Their sentence should be backdated to the time they were put into custody. The accused have the right to appeal their conviction and/or sentence if they are not satisfied with either of their conviction and/or sentence at the Court of Appeal within six weeks from today,” Sechele said.
According to the Penal Code of Botswana, any person who commits the offence of manslaughter is liable to imprisonment for life. While it is fact in legal circles that sentences should have effects of punishment, in the case of the convicted in this matter, the trio only returned to jail to take their belongings since they had already served their sentences from the time they were taken into custody beginning of March 2015.