16 Jun 2022

A law specifically dealing with ritual murder is long overdue, and is urgently necessary given the increasing number of people who are being murdered for ritual purposes.

 Mr Olatotse Mmusi of Serule said this when presenting before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Review of the Constitution here, yesterday. 

And for punishment, he chose a rather peculiar penalty for the convicts of the heinous crime: They should be turned into state property. 

He proposed that in addition to them being condemned to spending their lives behind bars, the convicts should be turned into state property. 

“Ba ba bolayang ba bangwe ba ba dira dipheko, goromente a a ba rue. A seka a ba bolaya, goromente a a ba rue botshelo jwa bone jotlhe, a ba berekise ditiro tsa gagwe go fitlhelela letsatsi la bone la phitlho,” he said, meaning ritual murderers should do hard labour until their last breath.

 Mr Mmusi then chastised the law for paying lip service to Batswana’s respect for their culture and the norms that it was synonymous with. “Go nale kgang e nngwe e e ntshwenyang ya manyalo a bong jo bo tshwanang. Eo ga se ngwao ya rona; ga gona golo mo go ntseng jalo,” he said, as he protested same-sex marriage, which he said was alien to Batswana, and should be shunned. 

Of the couple of issues that one Mr Josefa Mokgethwa raised, he emphasised the need for reforms in bogosi. 

He proposed that all the different levels of positions for dikgosi, save for those of paramount chiefs, should not be hereditary; the objective of that being to standardise the process by which dikgosi assumed their positions. 

He also proposed for the law to remove former presidents from being provided for by government, arguing that it was an unnecessary expense. 

“Like every Motswana, upon leaving office, he/she should survive on what they accumulated during their working life. The youthful members of our society being in a position to vie for the presidency is indication that we have entered an era where we will one day find ourselves with ten former presidents. Are we then going to channel millions into their care at the expense of pushing our developmental agenda!” he retorted. 

Sharing his bit on bogosi, Mr Modisa Khuto requested that dikgosi should be transferable, saying their stationing in one place for too long made them biased when handling cases.

 In their submissions, Messrs Mokaedi Kgosietsho and Dipogiso Ookeditse asked for the establishment of a body that would provide oversight to the president. 

The latter said the committee keeping tabs on the presidency would ensure that the country enjoyed successive fruitful presidencies as its existence would restrain any sitting president from deviating from his/her mandate.

 To Ms Gagoitseope Kaunda, the increase in child molestation called for stiffening of penalties against perpetrators. 

She alleged that the law was also lax on parents, particularly fathers, who abdicated responsibility. 

“Bana ba tletse ka malwapa mme borraabone ba a tshela ba ja borotho mme ba sa tlhokomele bana. Fa o re o ya go ikuela kwa gotweng borre ba isiwa teng, motho yoo o feta a tlogelwa a sena go raa lekgotla a re ga a bereke. Molao-motheo oo a o baakanngwe go seka gatwe go sekisiwa ba ba berekang fela, yo o sa berekeng yo, o mo tshotse a dirile jang a sa bereke! ” ENDS