10 Jul 2015

A woman who pleaded guilty to one count of infanticide was yesterday sentenced to five years imprisonment which was wholly suspended for three years.

According to the summary of facts in February 21, 2011 Gaone Tonto caused the death of her unborn baby at Kagiso in Selibe Phikwe. By then, the 27 years old woman was six months pregnant and emotionally distressed by the pregnancy.

Delivering the sentence, Justice Barnabas Nyamadzabo of Francistown High Court said that the court took into consideration the abuse suffered by the defendant from her former boyfriend. He said the court looked at circumstances leading to the offence and also safe guarded the interest of the community.

Justice Nyamadzabo said punishment should not be done in the spirit of anger but should consider other factors and not only mitigation.

However, he said the seriousness of the offense, which aggravates the plaintiff, should not be over emphasized with regard to mitigation. He explained that the court also looked at mitigating factors and readiness to accept wrongdoing by the defendant and also her intention of relating well with the community.

He noted that by showing remorse to the offence, it is clear that the accused person who pleads guilty does not waste the court`s time.

This, he said, brought leniency on her sentencing contrary to one who does not plead guilty only to be found guilty in their offense.

The court also considered the fact that she was a first offender at the time of the offence and this left the court with no option but to deliver a more merciful sentence and that the offence was committed when the defendant was at a youthful age of 23.

According to the summary of facts that were read before the court by state prosecutor, Bathusi Brown, Tonto was staying with her ex-boyfriend named Ompolokile John at the time. John, who started having an affair with another woman did not hide it from Tonto as he would even boast that when Tonto was away he occasionally took other women in.

The court also heard that John eventually threw Tonto out of his house and when Tonto`s sister was called to intervene, she did not turn up.

Tonto subsequently found a place to stay and met a certain girl known to court as Boingotlo to whom she bared her sorrow as she was looking for a shoulder to cry on. Seeing how Tonto was distressed, Boingotlo told her of a certain man who could help her.

Tonto then went to see the man who gave her a concoction to drink. After three days, on February 21, Tonto started having pains in her lower abdomen that worsened with time. She eventually felt something come out of her private parts.

“That thing was a baby. She then put it in a plastic bag and placed it near the toilet outside the house and went to sleep. A suspecting neighbour who was passing by saw the plastic bag, looked inside and found the baby. It was then reported to the police and Tonto was taken to hospital for medical examination,” he said.

When responding to the summary of facts earlier, Tonto agreed to Brown`s account and pleaded guilty. In mitigation of sentencing, the defense attorney, Kakanyo Mokwena of Mokwena Attorneys said the offence committed by Tonto was a result of a quandary.

First, she thought of keeping the baby but then she thought of how she would support it when she could not afford to support herself. For this reason Tonto took the legally wrong way to get rid of the baby. Emphasizing that her client was a first offender, Mokwena said there were circumstantial forces that led to Tonto killing the baby.

Though he noted that society expected mothers to protect their babies at all times, Tonto had no choice because her former boyfriend had chased her away from the house and she was distressed, hence she considered Boingotlo`s advice. In addition, he said she was also not getting emotional support from anyone.

Her former boyfriend who should have supported her financially and emotionally as he had not denied being the father deserted her and instead, took in another lover.

Mokwena stressed that although Tonto`s case was a serious one as it involved loss of life, due to the circumstances surrounding it, it should be treated as manslaughter and thus attract a lighter sentence.

He also noted that Tonto was currently in her last days of another pregnancy and that a heavier sentence could affect her. He prayed for leniency, saying society did not countenance babies being born in prison. Ends