Court frees Patlakwe

A magistrates court in Gaborone discharged and acquitted Patlakwe on a single count of rape in May last year and the DPP appeal to the High Court, was heard in June this year. The rape allegedly took place in Mogoditshane in June 2007 and the prosecution called in nine witnesses during the trial.

The DPP based their appeal on four grounds: the magistrate misdirected herself on a point of law as to the standard proof required by law in criminal matters; argued that the magistrate misdirected herself on a point of law by failing to apply statutory provision as provided for in section 239 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act; that the magistrate failed to correctly apply the cautionary rule and that she incorrectly applied the admissibility of the doctor's medical report therefore misdirecting herself to come to a wrong conclusion.