Women are not properties-Judge warns murderers

FRANCISTOWN: The sentencing of Christopher Tirelo to jail for murdering Malebogo Masilo in 2017 at Mothabaneng village near Bobonong village happened in the wake of a scathing attack by various civil society organisations (CVOs) against the majority Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) legislators after a motion by an opposition MP to set up a Presidential Commission of Enquiry to investigate issues of GBV in Botswana did not succeed in Parliament.

While the wording of Justice Matlhogonolo Phuthego in the Tirelo case differs from what the CVOs say about GBV, their messages are clear and similar-GBV strips off the dignity of women and children, and in some dire instances, their Constitutional right to enjoy their lives are abruptly ended. The 2020 ranking by the World Population Review places Botswana on the second spot after South Africa out of the top 10 countries with the highest rates of rape in the world.