12 Sep 2018

 Broadhurst Magistrates Court has imposed a seven-year prison sentence on Simon Kgowe, following conviction for two counts of unlawful possession of drugs.

For the first count on unlawful possession of cannabis, presiding magistrate, Mr Gaseitsiwe Tonoki, handed Kgowe the maximum sentence provided for under the Drugs and Related Substances Act; being three years’ imprisonment and a P1 000 fine.

On the second count of unlawful possession of methcathinone, Mr Tonoki, imposed a four years’ prison term and a P3 000 fine on Kgowe.  The magistrate said the sentences would run consecutively, and that in the event that Kgowe failed to pay the fines, he would serve an additional three years in jail.

Before handing down the sentence, Mr Tonoki said the court had, in reaching its decision, taken into consideration the fact that the accused had not been convicted a similar offence before.

The magistrate, however, highlighted the negative effects that drugs and related substances were having in communities; describing possession of habit-forming drug as a serious offence since drugs robbed society of its human and moral fibre.

He said the impact of drugs was not only limited to the user, but were far-reaching as even governments had to grapple with them.  He said governments bore great costs in trying to rehabilitate users as well as in running programmes aimed at combating drug use.

Magistrate Tonoki also added that thousands of drug-related deaths were being registered annually the world over.  In the local context, the magistrate said of late, the courts had seen a sharp rise in cases relating to drugs and that it remained important therefore for the courts in Botswana to send a strong and clear message that they will not tolerate illegal drug use.

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 grammes and 4.3 grammes of methcathinone.  Kgowe is also a suspect in the murder of Elizabeth Kerekang, whose headless body was found dumped in Maratanang ward in Tlokweng on July 30. ENDS