�Taxi driver from hell� jailed for defilement
Lebogang Mosikare | Wednesday March 22, 2017 15:14
The accused, Christopher Mbulawa (not former Botswana Police Services spokesperson), of Monarch committed the offence in December 2015 at Phase 6.
Mbulawa then 29, was hired by the parents of the complainant to transport the Standard Seven student then aged 12 to and from school during the week.
Mbulawa, dubbed “Taxi driver from hell”, by the court because he abused the trust that the parents of the complainant entrusted on him, was also sentenced to six strokes.
Passing sentence, Principal Magistrate Dumisani Basupi expressed concern over the increasing cases of sexual offences in his jurisdiction. He also said at the time the offence was committed, Mbulawa was mature enough to distinguish between right and wrong.
“Like I said in an earlier case that I handled before this one, these types of offences are overwhelming our courts. They leave the complainants with emotional stress and permanent scars that the victims stay with for the rest of their lives.
Passing sentence, I will invoke Section 27 (3) which empowers me not to pass the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years with the hope that the accused will change from a bad to good person,” said the visibly worried magistrate.
Basupi also ordered that Mbulawa’s sentence should be backdated to the time he was first imprisoned. Sergeant Mbatshi Mafa represented the state in the matter.
In a related matter, Basupi sentenced a 33-year-old man of Dukwi village to six years in jail after convicting him of defiling a 14-year-old girl in 2013 in Dukwi. Passing sentence against Thato Noga, Basupi said he took into consideration that Noga was a first offender, a factor that works in his favour.
“It should be noted that these kinds of offences whereby some irresponsible men turn girls into women are increasing and worrying.
The accused was mature to know what he did was wrong at the time he committed the offence.”
“I would depart from sentencing the accused to the minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years with the hope that he will reform although that squarely rests with him…
The accused’s sentence should be backdated to the time he was first incarcerated,” said Basupi.