Gale Ngakane
16 April 2008
Francistown — Convicted robber, Caiphus Atlholang does not waste time when it comes to his freedom.
He was slapped with an eight-year jail term by acting chief magistrate Lorraine Makati-Lesang but when he was told he could apply for bail pending an appeal, he went into action. He stood up right after the sentence and applied for bail. In his application, he said that ever since he appeared before the court, he has never taken a plea and hence he feels the proceedings against him were faulty. The magistrate granted him his wish and said she would make a decision tomorrow on the bail application. He told the court that he was only 22-years-old when he committed the offence and this seemed to strike a chord in Makati-Lesang's mind especially when he quoted from past cases involving youth.
These included Justice John Mosojane's judgment in the 2005 case of on one Zhung Fu and others and the decision of Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi in the Gabatlwaelwe Seme and another. The offenders in the cases were teenagers.
Atlholang argued that in the Seme case the suspects were sentenced to 10 years in prison by a lower court, but on appeal, Phumaphi reduced their sentences to three years on the basis that they were of tender age at the time they committed the crime. In making the decision, Phumaphi is quoted as having said: "The appellant sin this case are both very young people and I consider it totally inappropriate to keep such young people, one of whom is a young offender, in prison for a long time. In my view the courts should always bear in mind to give such first offenders the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and turn a new leaf".
Quashing Atlholang's argument, Makati-Lesang countered that he was 22-years when he committed the crime and thus does not fall in the categoryof 'tender age'. She explained that she imposed the eight year sentence on Atlholang because he participated in the planning and execution of the robbery which was carried out with expert precision. "Had it not been for greed, there is no way we could have been here today prosecuting this case. The culprits would never have been caught," she said. The case was cracked after Atlholang and the accomplice witness shared the money they were supposed to give other conspirators. Consequently the conspirators blew the whistle.
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