�Criminal lunatic� not to be tried

Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday February 7, 2017 15:47

 

The CoA recently dismissed an appeal by Andries Ditshotlo who was found guilty of murder and attempted murder and held in custody pending further direction from the President.

His grounds of appeal were that he was charged without being tried while he was fit to do so, therefore the procedure was irregular.

Ditshotlo committed the murder and attempted one while he was admitted at a mental hospital around May 2008.

He allegedly strangled a fellow patient and attempted to strangle another before the nursing staff intervened.

When dismissing the appeal, Justice Howie said the proceedings at the court a quo were in no way irregular.

He explained that the argument that the convict ought to have been given the opportunity to plead and testify was in large measure inspired by the last findings of a doctor which said he was able to follow court proceedings and was fit to plead.

“This cannot advance the appellant’s case. The issue before the court below was not whether the appellant was fit to stand trial. The question was whether or not he could stand trial, did he commit the acts charged and if he did was he criminally responsible at the time,” he said.

Howie said it was evident that had he been given the opportunity to testify on the merits, on the issue of criminal responsibility it was plain that he could not have given any evidence in conflict to what his counsel admitted on his behalf.

He maintained that the court a quo was right to find that he was guilty of the acts charged and its consequent order that he be kept in a place of custody pending further direction by the President, his detention there being “as a criminal lunatic”.

Prior to the alleged criminal acts, Ditshotlo was referred to the mental hospital by the Kudumatse Customary Court for mental assessment for other charges leveled against him.

According to court documents he was admitted on May 29, 2008 and a day later on May 31 he apparently strangled a fellow patient and attempted to strangle another. On June 2, 2008 a doctor’s medical report said Ditshotlo suffered from a schizophrenia complicated by depression and substance abuse.

He concluded: “He is highly dangerous and cannot be managed in a low security environment such as Lobatse Mental Hospital”.

Another report from a different doctor on December 17, 2009 came much to the same findings, adding that the convict had a poor compliance to treatment.

He concluded that his condition had been worsening since it started and that he was in relapse when the acts he was charged with were committed.