Convicted rapist blames judge for ignorance

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.