Robbery Convicts Granted Leave To Appeal

The Francistown Magistrate’s Courts had sentenced the duo of Oteng Chapson and Ronny Siziba, to 10 years each in jail in 2016. Chapson and Siziba then approached the Francistown High Court seeking leave to appeal both their convictions and sentences at the CoA. In one of their grounds to appeal their convictions and sentences, the applicants say that the trial court did not afford them a fair trial because it did not fully explain to them their rights to cross-examine state witnesses and a Case Management Conference (CMC) was not held which is contrary to Section 51 of the Magistrate’s Court Act.

It must be noted, Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe said, the applicants were not represented at the trial court, but were represented in the current application when they initially made their application.