Justice sleeps as ‘mother killer’ walks free
Pini Bothoko | Wednesday February 18, 2026 06:20
Delivering judgment recently, Justice Tshekiso Tshekiso ruled in favour of Kesentseng Tsietsa, who had applied for a permanent stay of prosecution over a murder allegedly committed on December 2, 2016, in Nata.
Tsietsa filed her application on September 12, 2025, arguing that the prolonged delay in bringing her to trial had violated her right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time. She maintained that the state’s inaction had caused her immense emotional distress and undermined her ability to defend herself.
According to court records, an argument broke out between Tsietsa and her mother on December 1, 2016, leading to a physical altercation during which her mother died. She was arrested shortly afterwards and briefly remanded in custody before being released on bail, which she remained on for most of the following years.
In her application, Tsietsa stated that investigations into the case were concluded by February 15, 2017, when the investigating officer recorded her statement. Despite this, the state failed to commit her to trial for several years.
She told the court that she had not contributed to the delay in any way, but that it was caused by negligence and complacency on the part of the prosecution. She further revealed that one of her key witnesses, her uncle, died in 2018, depriving her of crucial testimony.
Tsietsa also argued that the long delay had caused memories to fade, making it unlikely that witnesses would be able to accurately recount events. She said the pending murder charge had subjected her to stigma, emotional suffering, and prolonged mental torture.
The court heard that the case was initially withdrawn with liberty to reinstate on August 10, 2017, due to delays in filing committal documents. It was only reinstated on September 17, 2024, after which Tsietsa was arraigned afresh and committed to the High Court in November 2024. Her bail was revoked at the time, but was later reinstated pending trial.
In its response, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions admitted that investigations had been completed in February 2017 and that the case had reached its offices later that month. Prosecutors attributed the delay to staff resignations and reassignments. However, Justice Tshekiso dismissed these explanations, describing them as 'inadequate'.
“I do not understand what is difficult about the compilation of documents for committal that would take any prolonged time. In the absence of any explanation, I do not see how compliance with the law could have caused such delays, other than sleeping on the job,” he said.
The judge noted that the case lay dormant between March 2017 and 2022 and that no explanation was offered for further delays between 2022 and 2024.
“There is no reasonable explanation for the inactivity. It has nothing to do with prosecutors leaving employment. It has everything to do with prosecutors not doing their job before their resignation,” he said.
Justice Tshekiso criticised what he described as poor supervision and weak case-tracking systems within the prosecution service.
“It paints a terrible picture of the absence of adequate tracking and supervision. It cannot be acceptable that a case can lie dormant for eight years without action,” he said.
Although no direct trial-related prejudice was proven, the judge accepted that Tsietsa had suffered significant emotional harm. He said the unresolved case had prevented her from healing from her mother’s death and had likely caused her to drift apart from family and society.
“I am prepared to accept that the delay is so long that she would have been adversely affected in her mental health, and that she is not likely to have a fair hearing,” Tshekiso said.
Finding no alternative remedy, the court ordered a permanent stay of prosecution.
“The prosecution of the applicant for the offence of murder is hereby permanently stayed,” Justice Tshekiso ruled.