Match made in hell: Death penalty and murder
Friday, August 26, 2016
In short, in Botswana, premeditated murder is punishable by death. Period.
In most instances, murder cases and the sentences thereafter meted out to the convicted, are like a match made in hell (the opposite of heaven). It leaves a sour taste in the minds of those against state-sanctioned retribution and on the other hand satisfaction and closure for the victims and their loved ones. The story of Mariette Bosch, the South African white woman who murdered her best friend in Botswana with a gun she borrowed in her home country so that she could marry her husband is a case in point.
It is not uncommon in this part of the world for parents to actually punish their children when they show signs of depression associating it with issues of indiscipline, and as a result, the poor child will be lashed or given some kind of punishment. We have had many suicide cases in the country and sadly some of the cases included children and young adults. We need to start looking into issues of mental health with the seriousness it...