03 May 2023

Domestic violence should be classified as a criminal offence rather than a civil matter, says Kgosi Arnold Somolekae of Gaborone West Customary Court.

Contributing during a workshop organised by the Ministry of Defence and Security, he said   justice was not served under the current laws where domestic violence cases were referred to dikgotla.

At the kgotla, the main remedy was reconciliation and therefore dikgosi treated such cases as merely common assault.

“This means we treat them as we would a case of two guys brawling for a bottle of beer at the bar,” he said adding that the matter would most likely be settled in the same manner.

He stated that the treatment did not reflect the gravity of domestic violence.

Kgosi Somolekae pointed out that the kgotla system was not about punishment, the applicant and respondent would go back home and continue staying together.

He argued that if domestic violence continued to be treated as a civil matter, cases  would continue unabated.

Kgosi Somolekae lamented that the penal code was also silent on domestic violence.

“I have read it from the first to the last page and I have not seen anything that addresses domestic violence,” he said.

Commenting, gender equality expert, Ms Valencia Mogegeh  said while gender imbalance or domestic violence fighting efforts were commendable, there was still a lot that needed to be done.

The aim of the workshop was to validate the draft guidelines for gender mainstreaming within the justice system. ENDS