LIFE IS CHEAP
Drunken driver fined P30,000 for killing two sisters in hit-and-run
For the Mokwaleng sisters - Kgalalelo, 22, and Galaletsang, 19, struck down by a drunken, hit-and-run driver two years ago, their lives were valued at P15,000 each.
This was the amount Molepolole Magistrates’ Court fined their killer, Pogisego Ramogotlho on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Botswana Prisons Service Warder pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by driving a motor vehicle while unfit due to consumption of intoxicating drinks. Amazingly, the charge does not carry a possible jail sentence, with a P30,000 fine the maximum possible punishment.
Ramogotlho was found to be five times over the drink-drive limit when he ploughed into the sisters by the roadside.
He also admitted failing to remain at the scene of an accident and driving without a licence.
The Mokwaleng sisters - both orphans - met their demise in the early afternoon of Saturday 2nd November, 2019 near Borakalalo junction along the Molepolole/ Letlhakeng road. They had just bought meat from a local butchery and were walking leisurely to meet a friend when their lives were cut cruelly short.
An eyewitness previously told The Voice that upon impact, the girls ‘went flying into the air’, landing on the ground in a crumpled, bloodied mess.
A third pedestrian was also badly hurt in the tragedy but recovered from his injuries after a short stint in hospital.
Facts of the case indicate police were alerted to the incident at around 1300hrs.
The cops arrived at the scene to find fire department officers assisting the injured pedestrians. They were able to obtain the offending vehicle’s registration number from an onlooker who had witnessed the accident.
Later that day, officers proceeded to Ramogotlho’s residence where they found the said car - a VW Golf 4 - parked up. The vehicle was missing its left-side viewing mirror, while the windscreen, bonnet, and left front fender were damaged.
Upon questioning the fatherof-two, the officers noticed he reeked of booze. A breathalyser test later recorded the alcohol content in his breath at 1.02 milligrams per 1,000 millilitres - the legal limit is 0.22gm per 1,000ml.
In mitigation, pleading for leniency, defence attorney, Sesupo Masaka, noted his client had shown remorse and even assisted in the dead girls’ burial.
“He found it fit that it won’t be fair for the deceased and pleaded guilty. For the past 30 years, he has been a law-abiding citizen who has not been convicted of any offence. The future is bright only from one direction, if because of his conviction, he loses the job, the future will be doomed,” argued Masaka.
The lawman also pointed out that should Ramogotlho’s pockets be hit too hard, his elderly mother, unemployed wife, and two young kids (aged three and five) will all suffer.
Ramogotlho was found to be five times over the drink-drive limit when he ploughed into the sisters by the roadside
“His job is also very sensitive, let the rock not fall on him but let him fall on the rock,” concluded Masaka.
His words obviously made an impression on presiding Magistrate, Rosemary Khuto, who chose to save Ramogotlho’s wallet from the maximum P30,000 fine.
Instead, she fined him P15,000 for each girl’s deaths, as well as P2,500 for fleeing the scene of an accident and an additional P500 for driving without a licence.
In total, he must pay P33,000 before 30th July or face up to nine months in jail.