Jealous murderer jailed for 15 years

Lebogang Mosikare | Tuesday December 12, 2017 17:12

 

Setlabosigo hit the deceased once on the head with a walking stick at Nthelolang cattlepost in the central district after finding him in a compromising position with his girlfriend on March 2011.

Before passing sentence yesterday, Justice Phadi Solomon ruled that there was an exceptional extenuating circumstance that led to the accused to commit the offence.

“The convict found the deceased with his girlfriend in a compromising position. He reacted violently. This reduces his moral blame-worthiness and I therefore find that there was an extenuating circumstance that exists in this case,” said Solomon.

In mitigation, the convict’s attorney, Reneetswe Rabosotho “urged the court to take into account the personal circumstances of the convict when sentencing him without trivialising the seriousness of the offence.

The accused has one previous charge of stealing stock in 2000, which is not related to the current offence. We submit that he did not have the emotional intelligence to deal with the situation whereby he saw his girlfriend with another man in an compromising position,” said Rabosotho.

He added that Setlabosigo used a walking stick to hit the deceased once on the head and not notorious weapons like knives.

“He then reported what transpired to one Mma Marusa who called the police. He did not escape from the scene. He also contributed a cow and goat towards the burial of the deceased, which clearly shows that he was remorseful for his actions.

“This matter has been hanging on the head of the deceased since 2011 which is a punishment on its own,” pleaded Rabosotho.

When passing sentence, Justice Solomon said she took into account what the convict said in mitigation.

“I take into account what the convict said in mitigation. I also take into account that he has no previous offences that have an element of violence and that he was remorseful for his actions.

But we must remember that a life has been lost. I therefore sentence the convict to 15 years in jail. The 22 months he spent in prison should be factored in this sentence,” said Solomon.