Capital punishment in Botswana is a legal penalty, and is usually applied for murder under aggravated circumstances. Executions are carried out by hanging.[1][2] Despite this, Botswana’s constitution guarantees right to life.[2] It is the only country in Southern Africa that still uses capital punishment as a punishment.[3]
There is on average one execution per year, and the execution usually takes place some years after the award of sentence by the trial court. In recent years, one execution has been carried out in 2016, two in 2018, one in 2019, and one in 2020.[4][5]
Notable cases
editA controversial case was that of Mariette Bosch, a South African immigrant who was sentenced to death for murdering her lover's wife. She was sentenced in 1999 and executed two years later. She was the fourth woman to be executed since independence in 1966 and one of the few white women ever executed in Africa. She was hanged in secret, without her relatives being notified.[6]
The human rights organisation Ditshwanelo has campaigned against the death penalty. By 2018 over 40 African countries had stopped capital punishment and Botswana was now the only country practising it in the Southern African Development Community.[7] In 2020, Mmika Michael Mpe was hanged for the 2014 murder of Reinette Vorster.[8]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Botswana". WCADP. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ a b Nleya, Mary-Jean (9 August 2018). "The Paradox of Botswana's Death Penalty | by Mary-Jean Nleya". Project Syndicate. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Botswana: Executions of two people show contempt for right to life under President Masisi's government". Amnesty International. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Death sentences and executions in 2016". amnesty.org. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Botswana Government Executes Mooketsi Kgosibodiba for Murdering His Employer – Venas News".
- ^ McGreal, Chris (3 April 2001). "Outrage at secret Botswana hanging". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ "DITSHWANELO Press Statement On World Day Against The Death Penalty 2018". Mmegi Online. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ KGAMANYANE, NNASARETHA (27 February 2020). "Ditshwanelo condemns murder convict execution". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
External links
edit- Winslow, Dr. Robert. "Botswana." (Archive) A Comparative Criminology Tour of the World. San Diego State University.
- "DEATH PENALTY: Five Years after Bosch, Nothing Changed in Botswana." (Archive) University of Westminster. 1 November 2011.
- Full article: Gabotlale, Bester. "DEATH PENALTY: Five Years after Bosch, Nothing Changed in Botswana." Inter Press Service.
- Novak, Andrew (student author). "Guilty of Murder with Extenuating Circumstances: Transparency and the Mandatory Death Penalty in Botswana." (Archive) Boston University International Law Journal. Spring (northern hemisphere) 2009. Volume 27, Issue 1, p. 173. ISSN 0737-8947. Available on EBSCOHost, HeinOnline, and LexisNexis Academic.
- Gabaakanye executed 25 May 2016
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