Insatiable Love For Dagga Ends Tragically

•Convict sentenced to nine years for murder • Court gives convict chance to rehabilitate

FRANCISTOWN: An unrestricted chillout punctuated by intoxicating substances between youths of Monarch location ended in dire straits with one in the grave and the other in the slammer, escaping the gallows by a whisker.

Convicted Keabetswe Joseph, 26, escaped the hangman’s noose for the murder of Mbakisi Dick after Justice Barnabas Nyamadzabo sentenced him to nine years in jail, which he said would be from which period includes his pre-trial and post-trial incarceration.

He said his jail term before sentencing should be deducted from the sentence. Nyamadzabo pronounced when sentencing Joseph that there were extenuating circumstances before the commission of the offence.

“These circumstances, therefore, enjoin the court to deviate from passing the ultimate penalty of death. The general principle of sentencing in this republic is quite settled.

Sentencing is a discretion of the court seized with the matter, which discretion shall, however, be exercised judiciously by taking into account all relevant factors in the case... .” In mitigation, Nyamadzabo noted, the convict said that he has a minor child who he is taking care of since the child’s mother is unemployed in addition to taking care of his two siblings. “The convict is also an orphan who was taken care of by social workers following the death of his parents. The convict grew up in a dysfunctional family, which factor may have clouded his judgement when he committed the offence.

This is more so that the convict was relatively young when he committed the offence,” Nyamadzabo said. He added: “The convict is a first offender who also handed himself over to the police after he committed the offence, which is a sign of remorse on his part.

‘While the convict has committed a very serious offence, the deceased can also be blamed for the offence after he slapped the convict while they were arguing over who between them should smoke the dagga first.’ After sparing Joseph from the gallows, Nyamadzabo advised him to drink alcohol responsibly and never smoke dagga again after being released from jail.

“You should thereafter engage in something that will generate funds for you to support your minor child and siblings. I gave you a chance, which only comes once in life. If you commit a similar offence in future, you shall be given a stiffer sentence than the one you got today,” Nyamadzabo said.

Joseph was receiving his sentence for an incident that started jolly with his age mates in October 2015. While at a bar located at a popular Liquor Shopping Complex in Monarch, the night ended fatally for Dick.

Dick met his death after an argument between him and Joseph, then 20, that erupted over which one of them would take the first puff of dagga they were about to smoke.

In the ensuing alcohol-infused heated exchange and display of macho bravado, Dick slapped Joseph once across his face, oblivious it would lead to his last moments on earth. A sombre mood filled the atmosphere after Joseph drew a knife to fatally stab Dick once and seal his own fate.