2021: The year of the hangman
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday December 27, 2021 06:00
Nthoiwa Maxala sentenced to death Maxala was sentenced to death for the 2015 gangster style murder of Thuso Mlalazi. Mlalazi -a former Physics teacher at Tutume McConnell-was shot and killed by Maxala on September 13 at Somerset East in 2015. Justice Matlhogonolo Phuthego said when sentencing Maxala to death for Mlalazi’s premeditated murder: “In this case, after the accused had a scuffle with the deceased, he went to his place and took his gun and loaded it and thereafter started to look for the deceased. He then went to Savemore to continue to drink. He had time to cool off and properly reflect on the actions that he was planning to take. When he heard that the deceased was in Francistown, he drove about 20 kilometres from Borolong to Francistown to look for the deceased. When he spotted the deceased, the deceased ran away.” Phuthego added: “The accused was determined to end the life of the deceased. He followed the deceased and upon cornering him, he took his loaded gun and gunned down him which led to the death of the deceased... When the accused committed this offence he was no longer a child... In the result, no exceptional extenuating circumstances exist in this case, the accused is sentenced to death and he shall be hanged by the neck until he dies... .” Moses Kanika A jealous man, who could not fathom the fact that his ex-girlfriend was no longer in love with him, was sentenced to death Thursday for her murder.
The accused, Moses Kanika, was sentenced to death for murdering Wanani Tafila on January 16, 2016 in Selibe-Phikwe. “I therefore, I am of the considered view that there are no extenuating factors in this matter. The evidence is that the deceased owing to dissatisfaction with the accused because she was subjected to emotional and physical abuse, ended their love relationship in November 2015. On January 16, 2016, the deceased was preparing to leave for work when the accused purely came to her place with an intention to kill her... The deceased shouted saying ‘please let’s talk and don’t kill me’ whilst the accused was stabbing her. Neighbours heard the deceased screaming but he did not stop to stab her,” said Justice Lot Moroka.
“The excuse that is used by some lovers to kill their partners because they no longer love them must come to an end in this country. From the consequences of the aforementioned, I find that no extenuating circumstances exist in this matter. I am therefore enjoined to prescribe the following sentence: The accused is sentenced to death. He shall be hanged by the neck until he dies. May the lord have mercy on his soul. He has the right to appeal both his conviction and sentence in six weeks starting from today,” Moroka added.
The deceased’s father, Pelaelo Morotsi, welcomed the sentence. “This is the sentence that we have been waiting for. The accused should follow my daughter because he brutally murdered her,” said Morotsi with tears welling up in his eyes. Kanika did not show any emotions after he was sentenced. He even with a smile still managed to greet one and bid farewell to one of his relatives who was seated in the front row of the public gallery in court before he was quickly whisked away by prison officials.
Atlholang Mojanki
The courts in Botswana will be opening the flood gates for murder cases if they do pass sentences that will deter some people from murdering others for flimsy reasons, Justice Lot Moroka said that recently when sentencing a murder convict. Moroka underscored that when sentencing Atlholang Mojanki, a former police officer to the gallows for the 2014 murder of Bokani Socks, a former nurse at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital. When passing sentence, Moroka explained that there was ample evidence uncontroverted evidence before court that showed that Mojanki was abusive towards Socks in their love relationship.
To illustrate that, Moroka explained that the first prosecution witness testified that Socks told her that she had on countless occasions reported Mojanki for abusing her at Francistown Police Station where Mojanki was stationed to no avail. In fact, Moroka added that after Socks reported Mojanki at Francistown Police Station, Mojanki will later come home with the report record and boisterously tore it up in front of Socks telling her that she just was wasting her time by keeping on reporting him.
This, Moroka noted, was in stark contrast to the love that Mojanki professed to have towards Socks. Moroka said that assuming that Mojanki loved Socks just like he claimed even though there is evidence to the contrary, Mojanki could not have mustered the courage to murder Socks for merely telling him that she was impregnated by another man. “It boggles the mind why Socks could have risked her life by telling Mojanki who was in the habit of abusing her that she was impregnated by another man. It is improbable that only Mojanki who was abusive towards Socks knew about that pregnancy while Socks’ family members didn’t know about it,” said Moroka. Moroka lamented about the alarming cases of gender-based violence(GBV) cases in Botswana especially the murdering of women by men under the pretext of love and the patriarchal believe that men have total control of women in love relationships. To the contrary, Moroka noted that men have no right to claim ownership of women like what Mojanki did in his relationship with Socks and vice versa. Gobuamang Ntsuape While Mmegi is not prejudging the fate of Gobuamang Ntsuape, there is a possibility that he may also be sent to the gallows.
After finding Ntsuape guilty of murder, Justice Lot Moroka briefly put it to Ntsuape that he should show cause in his submissions on extenuation why the court should not pass the maximum sentence of death against him. Ntsuape was convicted for, amongst other charges, the murder of Sadi Kgosietsile, the mother of his former girlfriend, Dorcas Kgosietsile. He was also convicted of attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend Dorcas, her father Chief Kgosietsile, her siblings Tiro and Segolame Kgosietsile, and Ntsuape’s son, Maatla Kgosietsile. The convict was also found guilty of arson (setting fire to a house belonging to Ontiretse Kgosietsile) and malicious damage to property (burning two cars, a Mazda Demio and a Nissan Sentra, belonging to Chief and Dorcas respectively).