A 40-year-old father of Gaborone has been sentenced to a minimum mandatory sentence of 30 years' imprisonment for repeatedly raping his own daughter.

The father, whose name cannot be mentioned to safeguard the victim's identity, was sentenced by Justice Bafi Nlanda of the Gaborone High Court on October 17, after the matter was previously referred to the High Court by a trial magistrate last year.

"As a biological father, he knew or should have known better than to look at the child with a lustful eye," Justice Nlanda said in his sentence.

The judge said the court had observed an increase in cases of child abuse, which called for stringent penalties, noting that rape was no longer considered a trivial matter.

"Rape is bad, but when committed by a father against his own biological minor child, it is barbaric and unforgivable," Justice Nlanda said. 

He said the convict started raping the child, whom he was supposed to protect, from the age of 12 to 13, adding that the father not only failed in his responsibility to care for the child but also violated the child's rights as enshrined in the Children's Act.

The convict, he said was entrusted with the duty to guide his minor child, but instead, he chose to abuse her for his selfish sexual gratification.

Justice Nlanda said the ordeal, which lasted for about one year and seven months, happened at home, a place considered safe haven for the child.

Justice Nlanda noted that the incident would forever traumatise the victim and leave a lasting scar, given that it was perpetrated by her own father.

 He said the law prescribed a minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life imprisonment for persons in positions of authority who commit such offenses against minors.

In this case, the convict was a father, and the child was a minor below 14 years who stayed with him.

 The judge emphasised that the convict had been entrusted with the responsibility to guide the minor child but chose to prey on her instead.

Justice Nlanda further noted that the convict had not provided any exceptional extenuating circumstances that would warrant a departure from the prescribed mandatory sentence, hence he sentenced him to 30 years' imprisonment.

In passing the sentence, Justice Nlanda the judge considered that the convict was a first offender, had pleaded guilty, exhibited remarkable remorse, and had another child under his care.

The court also ordered that the period already spent in prison be computed towards the sentence. ENDS