27 Apr 2023

Gaborone High Court has sentenced to death 36-year-old Unangoni Alton for killing Kefilwe Mogorosi on October 25, 2012.

Delivering the sentence on Tuesday, Justice Mokwadi Gabanagae said he had found no extenuating circumstances and it was clear that death penalty must be imposed.

He therefore  ordered that Alton be hanged by neck until he was dead, adding that the convict had six weeks to appeal the verdict.

Justice Gabanagae said when committing the murder at the age of 25, Alton was old enough to appreciate that he was killing a human being and his actions were wrong.

He said Alton, in his confession statement which was admitted by his attorney, had stated that he had a table knife when he went to the deceased’s place.

“He clearly went to the deceased’s place with the sole intention of killing her in view of the manner the deceased was stabbed,” Justice Gabanagae said.

He said eight stab wounds were found on different parts of the deceased’s body as well as wounds on her hands demonstrating that she was trying to block the convict’s knife.

He stated that the murder was aggravated in nature as the convict repeatedly cut deceased’s neck to ensure that she was dead.

He quashed the defence’s statement that the convict was intoxicated and did not know what he was doing.

“If intoxicated, he could not have had the strength to drag a person who was resisting from outside into the house, stabbed her numerous times, cut her throat, leave a knife stuck deeply on the neck, lock the door and jump the fence to flee the scene,” Justice Gabanagae said.

Further, he said it was not true that the deceased had hurled insults at the accused, adding that witnesses who saw him dragging the deceased into the house did not hear the insults.

Alton was convicted on a single charge of murder contrary to Section 202 of the penal code. Ends