Confessions of a former hangman :: Mmegi Online

From spending time with the condemned in their isolated cells, to watching them eat their final meals, to operating the trap door sending them falling to their deaths, a former prison guard shares his experience of executions. He speaks on condition of strict anonymity to Staff Writer, ZOLANI KRAAI

The recent execution of convicted serial murderer and rapist, Patrick Gabaakanye continues to send ripples through public discourse, reinvigorating the debate around capital punishment.

In the midst of the furore, a former prison guard this week approached Mmegi to share his experience of the execution process in Botswana. The guard worked in Gaborone and other prisons countrywide in the 1990s and 2000s, during which Botswana attracted international attention for several high profile executions. The prison warder, Kgomotso Peloethata*, asks for his identity to be kept absolutely secret for fear of victimisation and reprisals from certain sections of the public.

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