23 Aug 2022

 Merapelo Iyelele (28), has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend at Sese village in 2018.

When passing sentence on Monday, Justice Abednego Tafa  of Gaborone High Court said he took into consideration mitigations articulated by the convict’s legal representative, Mr Lethogonolo Makgane.

He said among the factors that soothed the sentence was that Iyelele was a young man when he committed the crime and had no previous criminal record.

He said from the trial proceedings, it had been made clear that the accused had not intended to kill his girlfriend, nonetheless, he had committed a serious offence of murder. 

Justice Tafa said the court must send a strong message to the youth that they should use their energy on useful things, rather than on drinking alcohol and engaging in unruly behaviour.

He said in sentencing Iyelele, the court had taken into account that the deceased had told the convict that he had another boyfriend, which might have hurt him.He however, said women had the right to choose whom they associate with and men must respect such, adding that the accused’s claim that the deceased had told him to find an alternative place to sleep must have hurt his feelings.

“The cumulative effect of alcohol intake and being jilted must have had a bearing on his actions on the fateful night. This to me is an extenuating circumstance,” Justice Tafa said.

He added that what could be adduced from the evidence was that the accused had taken copious amounts of alcohol on the fateful night, but the attack on the deceased was unlawful and without justification, hence he was guilty and convicted of murder.

Justice Tafa also added that the accused, who committed the offence aged 24, should be given a chance to come back to society and make up for his wrongs, hence he imposed a 15-years sentence, which was the minimum mandatory sentence prescribed by law.

He ruled that any period that the convict might have served in prison would be deducted from the sentence.

Iyelele was found guilty of the 18 January 2018 murder of his girlfriend, Kelebogile Florence Tumelo, whom she stabbed with an Okapi Knife in Sese, over a conflict that erupted during a drinking spree. ENDS