29 Aug 2023

Ghanzi Magistrate court has sentenced a 25-year-old woman to 12-month imprisonment for neglecting her two children, in contravention of section (56) of the Children act.

The sentence was wholly suspended for five years on condition that she does commit a similar offence.

Mpolokang Dipuo, who is unemployed, is said to have unlawfully neglected her two children aged 6 years and 2 years, abandoning them in the custody of her elder sister and showing no further interest, between the July 24  and 20 August at Khurakhura Ghanzi Township.

Before passing the sentence, on August 28 Ghanzi Senior Magistrate Mpho Molema, said court had taken into account her guilty plea, which saved court’s time, adding “plea of guilty was a sign of remorse.”

Court also took cognizance of the fact that the offender was fairly a young woman and first offender who has never been on the wrong side of the law.

“First offenders may be spared from jail sentences for certain circumstances but the rule is not cast in stone,” the magistrate warned.

The magistrate said that for the court to arrive at a just sentence, it needed to consider the nature of the offence and how it has been committed. He noted that neglecting children might be classified as serious offence.

Mr Molema said the court was of the view that the offender was young and had a chance to rehabilitate. He further ordered that Dipuo undergo counseling before a social welfare officer. Sub inspector Kefilwe Makepe of Botswana police was prosecuting the matter. Ends