09 Oct 2018

Member of Parliament for Bobonong says a Stock Theft  Amendment Bill aimed at addressing stock theft would be presented during the next Parliament session.

Addressing kgotla meetings in Gobojango and Mabolwe in his contituency recently, Mr Shaw Kgathi, said the amendment bill was prompted by concerns that farmers continued to lose valuable property to thieves hence need to review the act.

Mr Kgathi said there were concerns that the current penalties were not deterrent enough.

The bill will propose an increase of mandatory sentence to 12 years imprisonment for first offenders from the current five year jail term, and 15 years for recurrence of the same offence, and that the burden of proof shall lie with the suspect.

He said under the current act, the onus is with the prosecution to provide proof about the livestock in question.

He also stated that butchery owners found guilty of promoting such crime will risk losing their operating licences and would have to apply to the High Court to reclaim them.

The courts, he said, were also empowered to make suspects repay for the loss of livestock to the complainant when found guilty.

He said possessions used in the commission of crimes such as vehicles, and or guns would be forfeited to the state and urged residents to always be careful when they lend people  their property.

Mr Kgathi, who is also minister for Defence, Justice and Security, also explained that Parliament had amended the Penal Code on rape and its definition and removed words such as sexual gratification.

He said the age of sexual consent had been raised from 16 to 18 years to align it with the Children’s Act.

The Act also has a ‘Romeo and Juliet clause’ where parents of minors who engage in sexual relations would be required to address the problem provided the other person involved in the act is not more than two years older than the victim, Mr Kgathi said.

For instance, he explained that a 17-year-old who engages in sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old, would be guilty of an offence because of the difference of two years.

Also passed into law is the Cyber and Computer Related Crime and the law against keeping human flesh, he said.

Mr Kgathi stated that strategies were in place to address cross border crime, which was a cause for concern in the area, saying strategies which were a security  issue, could not be revealed in an open forum where some syndicates or link persons could be involved in the trade.

He said negotiations between Botswana and Zimbabwe were ongoing to come up with long-lasting solutions to the issue.

Concerning elephants, he said a subcommittee of cabinet on hunting ban social dialogue would address residents on what should be done about elephants that destroy people’s properties.

A resident of Mabolwe, Mr Vasco Kgwaraga appealed to residents of Mabolwe, Semolale and Gobojango to help government to mend the cordon fence along the Shashe River, while Mr Odirile Mmolwa of Gobojango welcomed the stock theft bill and also called for stern action on cross border crime.  ENDs