It Is Time To Face Death Penalty In The Eye

If he was a brother from our good neighbours, Zimbabwe, he would be called Happiness. The name for ever smiling peaceful children; a blessing, a reason for all that is good and joyful. But Thabo Masilo cannot be said to have lived to the good his name denotes. Not to the nation at least.

With violent crime now a permanent feature in our lives, it is no wonder that Masilo’s murder trial has always evoked strong emotions. When the then Botho College student was found hiding in a ceiling of a house in Phase 4 in Gaborone, and a young Kgale Hill college student, who had just written her final year exams, lying in a pool of blood, the anger was beyond measure.

The gruesome murder, after the rape of young Tshepang, once again brought to the fore the vulnerability of women and children. It showed that one needs not leave home to fall prey to rapists and murderers.  Then, former Gaborone West legislator, Botsalo Ntuane, led a public outrage mass movement for Masilo to be hanged by the neck, even before he could appear in court to answer to his deeds.

Editor's Comment
GBV: The big elephant in the room

Sadly, the country seems not to have proper tools and the extent to which women and the girl-child are being abused is not adequately measured.Almost every week there are reports of women being attacked by their significant others and while men are attacked as well, women seem to be more on the receiving end.On May 24, 2023 news broke that a woman who was receiving support from the Botswana Gender-Based Violence Prevention Centre in Gaborone, was...

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