Convicted Killer To Hang
Staff Writer | Monday February 5, 2018 13:06
Poloko, a graduate of counselling from Tonota College of Education, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2015 by a Francistown court, was appealing his conviction.
It has been a dark road for him as he had been trying to preserve his life after last March the High Court rejected his application for discharge in the murder of an Asian woman, Vijeyadeyi Kandavaranam.
According to the facts of the case, in January 2010 at Ntshe location in Francistown, Poloko killed the woman and attempted to kill her husband, while robbing them of two Nokia cellphones and P3,500. Judge Modiri Letsididi imposed capital punishment.
Confirming his date with his maker, Justice Monametsi Gaongalelwe said the appeal against the sentence of death was dismissed. Gaongalelwe explained as the trial court found there were no extenuating circumstances as the evidence suggested that he was determined to execute his mission. “In this case there was nothing suggesting anything in relation to provocation, intoxication nor immaturity.
He just came to rob as he knew the victims had been paid P8,000 for a Mazda and he equipped himself with a length of rope with which to strangle the deceased,” he said.
Gaongalelwe explained that Poloko was prepared to use violence even fatal one to achieve his purpose having immobilised the other victim and ransacking the house after strangling one of the victims. On the charge of attempted murder, Gaongalelwe quashed the sentence after the appeal succeeded noting that there was no reasonable inference that he had the intention to kill.
“He tied the victim with the rope but there is no evidence showing the way the rope was put around his neck nor its tenacity. It appears from the totality of the evidence that the primary intention was to search the house and commit robbery,” he said.
In regard to robbery, the court said there was ample evidence proving violence being applied to both victims of which one is the deceased and that items including cell phones were recovered from him.