Bame Piet
17 March 2008
Batlokwa deputy chief, Michael Gaborone, says that anyone who commits murder must hang. "Killers must hang.
Whether it is a minister, an official or an ordinary man. If it is found that they had planned to kill another person, they should be killed," he said. He asserted that even if he is to call Batlokwa to the main Kgotla this morning and raise the death penalty issue, they would all endorse it. "It is straightforward, killers must be killed, no compromise," he said.
Gaborone was adamant that the rights of people who kill with intention are not more important than the rights of the people they have killed. "Everybody must know that the murdered were people who also deserved rights, whose parents wanted them to be alive, and who got the right to live from God," he stressed. He said that Botswana should maintain the death penalty to deter would-be killers. He cited neighbouring South Africa where there is no death penalty and now innocent people are unable to enjoy their independence because criminals are holding them at ransom. "Even the most advanced democracy - the United States of America - is still maintaining the death penalty," he said.
He said that keeping a murder convict in jail for the rest of his life is costly to the taxpayer and in any case prisons are congested.
However, Pastor Biggie Butale of the End Time Ministries believes that the death penalty is cruel and not a solution to murders. He is of the view that giving a person a chance to live and repent is the right way to go. But he believes child molesters deserve the death penalty. "If I had my way, these are the people who should be hanged," he said. He disagreed with people who say that death penalty is a deterrent to crime. He added that a person's life is important and therefore expenses should not be mentioned as one of the elements for favouring the death penalty. "Motho ga a latlhwe, le fa a ka tswa a le seganana jang," he said. He added that he would be happy if the death penalty is abolished.
Meanwhile opposition parties, the Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Congress Party, still do not have a stand on the death penalty. Spokesperson for BCP Dumelang Saleshando said that they allow members to go with their conscience. He said even if his party wins the 2009 general elections, the matter would be decided by the majority.
Spokesman for BNF, Moeti Mohwasa, said that the party membership is divided over the issue. Others feel the death penalty is barbaric while some say it is a deterrent.
Women's rights activist, Ntombi Setshwaelo said that their organisation has not taken a position on the matter since they have been focusing more on gender issues.
Street vendor Tlhalefang (not his real name) said that he supports the death penalty because it hurts to meet a person who has caused you pain by killing your relative, sibling, or parents.
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