the monitor

Convicted rapist blames judge for ignorance

Justice Lot Moroka PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Justice Lot Moroka PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

A convicted rapist has blamed Justice Lot Moroka of the Francistown High Court's for his struggles to appeal his conviction saying he did not advise him of his rights when he sentenced him.

The convict, Gaoditlhong Keabetswe who came before the Court of Appeal seeking to be given a chance to file his appeal out of time, said he missed the deadline for appeal filing because he was never told that he could appeal directly to the Court of appeal (CoA).

He was convicted by the Gumare Magistrate’s Court but was committed to the High Court for sentencing. Keabetswe was then sentenced in March 26, 2021 to 15 years imprisonment and he applied to the CoA for condonation on June 13 a year later after he was sentenced. Reasons given by Keabetswe are that he fell victim to a non-functioning system causing him to miss a chance in time to fight his conviction and sentence.

Editor's Comment
Who watches the watchdog?

For a fact, in a democratic society such as Botswana, the media plays a crucial role of being watchdog, holding the powerful to account and exposing all possible wrongdoing for the benefit of the public.There has been a nagging question about who watches the watchdog after all? Perhaps, the investigations into alleged wrongful acts implicating those supposed to be playing the watchdog role will shed more light into what has happened such that the...

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