Unangoni Alton, who was convicted for a single charge of murder, was in April 2023 told he would have to hang by the neck for killing Kefilwe Mogorosi on October 25, 2012. He was sentenced by Gaborone High Court judge, Chris Gabanagae, after the judge said he found no extenuating circumstances and that it was a clear case where the death penalty must be imposed. However, in his plea before the Court of Appeal (CoA) bench, Alton believes the judge was wrong to sentence him to death considering what he was subjected to by the deceased girlfriend coupled with his intoxicated state having taken so many quarts of Black Label.
Through his counsel, Alton submitted that factors were present that cumulatively affected the accused’s inebriated state of mind at the relevant time and were of such significance as to reduce his moral blameworthiness. "Some of the factors being that he had been drinking and actually drank 12 quarts of Black Label beer the previous night non-stop up and until the commission of the offence the next day early in the morning," argued Alton. Alton reasoned that he was belittled with insults by the deceased, labelling him a useless individual of no value and that he was always after girls that he was grabbed by his testicles. Alton also said the judge ought to have found that there were extenuating circumstances. He said this is so because at the time he committed the offence he was convinced the deceased was cheating on him as he had actually found love messages on the deceased’s phone. The messages, Alton said, played a part in forming some irrational thinking in his head leading to the violent death as described by the pathologist. The State didn't oppose the application on reasons that the court is suitable to decide the appropriate sentence if it finds that there were extenuating circumstances.
