"I think they are getting away with murder. It looks like you can kill as long as it is justified. But should that be the case," asked one of the activists, Lorato Moalusi-Sakufiwa. She said it is sad that people are given a platform in court to justify why they killed their partners. The coordinator of the Kagisano Women's Shelter said people should realise that there is no justification for killing another human being. Her comments come after recent cases in which it was felt that the murder convicts got away with lenient sentences.
In one of the cases, Lebogang Mothudi was slapped with a 10-year jail sentence for killing his girlfriend, Africa Ramothwa. In mitigation, Mothudi claimed that his late girlfriend cheated on him with a Lobatse-based private dentist. Recently, the Francistown High Court jailed a man for six years for killing his girlfriend. Molaosi-Sakufiwa said a prison sentence can never be enough when a life has been lost. "You can't bring back the person." She believes that killers have issues that lead to murder. She said the murderes have psychological problems that need to be addressed and it is important that they should show remorse. She called for a rehabilitation programme for the offenders. She said there should be a way the deceased's family could be helped to deal with the trauma. She said the deceased family members re-live their ordeal when they go to court and this could be alleviated by counselling. The acting coordinator of the Maun-based Women Against Rape (WAR), Mpho Mahopolo lamented that the sentences which are meted out to passion killers are insufficient.
