04 Sep 2018

 The defence attorney in the case in which Simon Kgowe has been convicted for two counts of illegal possession of drugs has pleaded with Broadhurst Magistrates Court to impose a lighter sentence on his client.

Mitigating before Magistrate Gaseitsiwe Tonoki, Mr Gosiame Digangwa said the law enjoins the courts that in imposing sentences on convicts, they should consider such factors as the interests of society, the character of the accused as well as the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence.

Mr Digangwa said while the court has found that the accused has violated the provisions of the Drugs and Related Substances Act, the presiding magistrate needed to take into consideration the minute amounts of the drugs for which Kgowe was arrested and tried. 

The attorney said given the small amounts of the drugs, it was clear that the accused was not intending on dealing in the drugs, something that he said showed that society was not placed at any risk by the commission of the offences.

He said the small amounts of the drugs in question, coupled with the fact that the accused is a breadwinner responsible for the upkeep of his sick father, his daughter and nephews, the court should temper justice with mercy and mete a lighter punishment on him. Mr Digangwa told the court that his client was also responsible for taking care of the family’s property, particularly the house in Block 3 in Gaborone.

He added further that in deciding on the appropriate sentence to be imposed on the accused, the court should also be alive to the fact that upon his arrest, Kgowe had cooperated with the police and had not done anything to frustrate their investigations into the matter.

Furthermore, he said the accused had shown remorse during trial as evidenced by his decision to not cross-examine most of the prosecution’s witnesses, as it was his view that the evidence they tendered before court was for the most part true and therefore unchallengeable.

As for Kgowe’s previous convictions, Mr Digangwa said his client ought to be treated as a first offender as the record of convictions that the state had tendered in court indicated that the offences were not only totally unrelated to the present case, but had been committed 14 years ago. He implored the court to note that in the interim, the accused had been a law abiding citizen hence the need to treat him as a first offender.

He said if the court became heavy-handed when sentencing his client simply on account of him having previous convictions, Kgowe would have been punished twice for his past brushes with the law. In the end, Mr Digangwa submitted that imposing a heavy sentence would serve more harm to the accused rather than rehabilitate him.

The record of Kgowe’s previous convictions which was produced by the prosecution prior to mitigation included a December 2000 conviction for shop breaking and theft and a November 2012 offence of swindling.

The particulars of the offences averred by the state during trial were that the accused had, on May 21, 2016 in Block 3 in Gaborone, being a person not authorised, licensed or exempted in any manner to possess habit-forming drugs unlawfully had in his possession cannabis and methcathinone.

According to the state’s case, Kgowe was arrested in possession of cannabis weighing 11.3 grams and 4.3 grams of methcathinone.

Kgowe, who is also a suspect in the murder of Elizabeth Kerekang, whose headless body was found dumped in Maratanang ward in Tlokweng on July 30, will appear for sentencing on September 11. BOPA