It Is Time To Face Death Penalty In The Eye :: Mmegi Online

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.

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