18 Mar 2015

Botsi Kefitile (28 ) of Molepolole was, on March 13, sentenced to three years for causing malicious damage to government property plus breach of peace.

His sentence would run concurrently with the 20-year-jail term he is already serving for various offences, among them armed robbery.

Sometime in June 2012, Kefitile apparently broke a court dock, uttered insults to the prosecutor, Sub Inspector Chenamo Orateng, caused havoc in court and damaged a government vehicle that was transporting him.

Last week, he pleaded guilty to all the charges before Molepolole magistrate, Mr Chris Gabanagae, who explained to the accused that a malicious damage to property charge carried a maximum sentence of not more than five years in jail.

“Although guilt cannot repair what has been damaged, it shows indeed that you have remorse on what you have done and that has saved court time,” said Magistrate Gabanagae.

During his mitigation, Kefitile said he grew up on a rustic background of which he was abandoned by his mother when he was eleven months old and left with his grandmother.  “I was never happy and grew up just like that, of which I ended my education at junior certificate level. 

I then engaged in criminal activities as a way to sustain myself, not knowing the repercussions,” lamented Kefitile. He confessed before court that he was now a born again Christian that he even has a passion to mentor others. 

Magistrate Gabanagae said he hoped Kefitile had learnt from his previous convictions and that he was legitimate about his plea. “I should never see you here again,” cautioned Magistrate Gabanagae. ENDS