22 Dec 2020

 As the year 2020 comes to a close, it is worth looking back at the positives and negatives it brought to bear. 

Just like in previous years, court rooms were abuzz with high profile cases ranging from money laundering, cybercrime, murder, rape and gender-based violence (GBV),. 

Just like the health practitioners who never had rest since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the law enforcement cadre was equally busy, frequenting crime scenes, one after the other, while court rooms were always busy, with lawyers sweating for ‘justice to prevail’.

As it was the case across the globe, Botswana was not immune to some notable, memorable, disheartening and sophisticated criminal acts. 

The year 2020 saw its share of criminal acts that left many wondering where it all went wrong, to destruct the tranquillity and peace the nation is known for. 

One of the disconcerting and rising criminal acts during the year under review was gender-based violence with the girl child and women being the majority of the victims; while men were the primary perpetrators. 

Mounting concern over the increasing cases of GBV resulted in all stakeholders speaking in a solitary voice; consenting that drastic measures were needed to arrest the social ill. 

The leadership of the country, through the political wing was equally concerned; a situation that resulted in the drafting of a bill aimed at naming, shaming and shunning perpetrators of GBV; among them child molesters and rapists. 

The bill will result in the establishment of a register of offenders. 

The increase in the number and gravity of GBV cases prompted Mahalapye East MP, Mr Yandani Boko to table a motion calling for the President to set up a commission of enquiry on GBV, rape and other sexual offences as a matter of urgency. 

However, the motion was later amended to replace the commission of enquiry with an inter-ministerial committee. 

It also saw government, through the justice system, taking swift action to speed up prosecution of GBV perpetrators by setting up special courts dedicated to GBV cases. 

As Kweneng appeared to be the epicentre of GBV, a special court was established in Molepolole, with branches at Letlhakeng and Takatokwane, among others effective December 1. 

During a Kweneng District Council session in November, Officer Commanding, District No. 11, Senior Superintendent Modise Gabatshwane reported that Molepolole had registered 1 037 GBV cases, from January 2018 to September 2020, with 107 rape, 124 threat to kill and 107 defilement cases registered between January and September.

In some instances, GBV cases ended in pain and suffering as victims, mostly women, lost their lives, some at the hands of their lovers and husbands. 

Even though the nation promotes conflict resolution through dialogue, the notion seems to be hitting a snag, as some unscrupulous males in the society have resorted to solving their differences by ending the lives of their rivals - real or perceived. 

One such case, which is still pending before the Maun and Gaborone courts, was where Moabi Molapisi of Matlapana ward in Maun allegedly murdered his mother and former girlfriend on June 29 and June 30 in Maun and Ramotswa respectively. 

In another murder incident, which caught the eyes of the public, Oabile Sekwati (31) was arraigned before the Molepolole Magistrate Court for the murder of 37-year-old Kweneng District Council employee, Ms Mpho Steven. 

The Molepolole man was suspected to be her lover. 

Particulars of the offence were that the accused person allegedly chased and shot at the vehicle driven by Ms Steven, who was in the company of a male colleague. 

In a twist, in May, a 19-year-old teenager, Koketso Mswanti of Gaborone appeared before court for allegedly murdering her 24-year-old boyfriend. 

The accused person was alleged to have stabbed her boyfriend with a pair of scissors after a misunderstanding.  

Moreover, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in measures such as lockdown, which restricted people’s movement in an effort to combat the disease, reportedly worsened the situation. 

However, the ‘stay home’ measures turned into a breeding ground for criminal acts as large numbers of cases of incest, rape, defilement, with some resulting in teenage pregnancy, were recorded. 

In one of the rape cases, 41-year-old Tumelo Thebe of Mosanta ward in Mochudi was on June 4 arraigned before Chief Magistrate Linah Mokibe-Oahile of Broadhurst court on numerous charges of rape alleged to have occurred at Kopong and surrounding areas. 

Meanwhile, one of the high-profile money laundering cases, which involved funds amounting to P250 million from the National Petroleum Fund, took a dramatic twist as accused persons approached the high courts with interim applications, questioning their alleged involvement in the criminal act. 

This happened at a time when the main case was still pending before court, as the prosecution was engaged in securing evidence from sources outside the country; regionally and internationally. 

Two of the accused persons, the Kebonang brothers; Sadique and Zein were in October, discharged by a full bench of the Gaborone High Court made up of Justices Mokwadi Gabanagae, Abednego Tafa and Matlhogonolo Phuthego, after failing to deduce from the case report, evidence linking the duo to the alleged charges of money laundering. 

The duo had approached the court to review and set aside the decision by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute them on the grounds of lack of evidence.

The acquittal of the Kebonang twins was followed by another interim application by Bakang Seretse in November. 

Seretse had also launched an interim application before Judge Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe of the Lobatse High Court, asking the court to intervene and direct the prosecution to release his money exceeding P82 million, as well as other property including vehicles. 

Seretse succeeded in his application, as Justice Ketlogetswe ordered the prosecution to release the funds and property in question - within a 24-hour period. 

However, the prosecution appeared to be resistant to the order, resulting in Seretse going back to court, accusing the prosecution of contempt of court as they did not honour the court order. 

Another high-profile case was that of Welheminah ‘Butterfly’ Maswabi, a former Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) agent, who was charged with three counts of possession of unexplained property, financing terrorism and false declaration of passport. 

However, due to the difficulty in gathering evidence from outside the country relating to the financing terrorism count, the prosecution, on November 17, decided to drop the charge. 

The case will continue in 2021 for status hearing at the Broadhurst Magistrate Court, with a view to setting trial dates.   

In one of the ongoing cases before the Gaborone High Court, former Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP), Carter Morupisi, wife Pinny and R7 Group also appeared before Judge Mokwadi Gabanagae on three counts of corruption and money laundering.

The first accused, Morupisi, is facing two counts of corruption and is also jointly charged with R7 Group and Pinny on a count of money laundering. 

After the prosecution completed its case, the defence team submitted an application of no case to answer. 

However, after getting the views of both parties (prosecution and defence), Justice Gabanagae, on November 10, ruled that the accused persons had a case to answer. 

He said the prosecution had, without doubt, gathered enough evidence to argue their case, and therefore the accused persons must also present their evidence to justify their plea of not guilty. 

The case will continue in January.

Another ongoing case is the one where the duo of Justice Motlhabani and Oratile Dikologang are accused of having published information against government efforts of combating the COVID-19. 

Motlhabani and his co-accused are facing four charges; the first two being of publishing statements with the intention to deceive people about the COVID-19 pandemic, and the other two being of the use of offensive electronic communication. 

With all measures put in place, as witnessed by numerous campaigns aimed at combating social ills and other criminal acts, the nation remains hopeful that 2021 will be a much better year, full of new possibilities, tranquility and peace. ends