DEATH IN A TOILET
MAN SLAUGHTERS LOVER, HIDES HER REMAINS IN PIT LATRINE FOR 10 MONTHS
AJEALOUS boyfriend who admitted stabbing his lover to death in a drunken, Chibuku-fuelled rage before dumping her body down a pit latrine, where it remained hidden for ten months, has been jailed for 20 years.
Lesego Bonang, 40, almost got away with murder. Indeed, he probably would have if he hadn’t confessed to the crime, spilling his guts out to a new girlfriend months later.
Pissed off after yet another lovers’ tiff, Bonang’s new beau eventually tipped-off the cops, with the boys in blue extracting a confession of their own.
Reported missing on 13th December, 2016, Onneilwe Oaitse’s badly decomposed remains were finally recovered in September 2017, the discovery sending shockwaves through the sleepy Central District village of Ratholo (some 70km from Palapye).
The young woman was found buried in a pit latrine, just three metres from Bonang’s home. Blood splattered pillows had been stuffed down the traditional toilet to block it off.
It was later discovered that on the day of the murder, both killer and victim had heavily imbibed Chibuku Shake Shake. They later quarrelled, with Bonang convinced Oaitse was cheating on him.
It was heard he had found her in a compromising position with another man, suggestive of a romantic relationship. The couple continued their argument at home, where Bonang carried out his deadly revenge.
Originally granted bail after his arrest, he later pleaded guilty to the murder and was convicted in August 2020.
On Wednesday, a little over two years later, Francistown High Court sentenced the killer to two decades behind bars.
Explaining why he saw fit to spare Bonang from the hangman’s noose, Justice Bengbame Sechele noted the killer had been intoxicated and steaming with jealousy, which affected his state of mind when committing the murder.
“As such bearing was sufficiently appreciable to abate his moral blameworthiness. During mitigation, the accused attorney stated that the accused is a breadwinner, was remorseful and that there were no signs of premeditation.”
Although Bonang escaped capital punishment, Sechele stressed a stiff sentence was still required to act as a deterrent to would-be passion killers.
“Gender-based violence cases are on the rise, more especially femicide. The sentence should pass a strong message; therefore, the accused is sentenced to 20 years in prison backdated to the period he spent in prison,” ruled Justice Sechele.