DEATH PENALTY PRESS STATEMENT - MAAUWE/MOTSWETLA CASE

RETRIAL PROCESS COMMENCED

The retrial of Mr Maauwe and Mr Motswetla is set to begin on 11 March 2003.

Mr Maauwe and Mr Motswetla, two Basarwa (San) men, were arrested in 1995. In April 1997, they were convicted of a single count of murder and sentenced to hang by the neck until they are dead. They stole an ox which had been placed in the charge of the deceased. In an effort to track down the ox, the deceased come upon the two men who then killed him and burnt his body in an effort to conceal any evidence of the offence. On July 1997, the Court of Appeal confirmed the death sentence of both men. 

On 15 January 1999, following action by DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, the High Court of Botswana issued an interim order suspending the execution of the Mr Maauwe and Mr Motswetla, which was set for 16 January 1999. In October 1999, Judge Reynolds, who had issued the interim order, decided that the two men had been denied a fair trial. He set aside both the convictions and sentences of death imposed on them. He stated in his judgement, that the Attorney General had both the right to decide on the nature of the charges to be brought against the men as well as the right to decline to prosecute at all. On 11 February 2000, the State charged the two men in the High Court for murder. 

The retrial date was set for 11 - 14 March 2003. However, in February 2003, the Attorney General applied for a postponement of the case due to technical difficulties including some relating to evidence from the initial trial. Mr Maauwe and Mr Motswetla were first tried in 1995 and have been in custody since. This will be their 9th year in prison. 

The two are represented by the same lawyers who represented them during the application for the stay of execution. These are Attorney Kgafela Kgafela of K-Kgafela Law Practice and Advocate Brian Spilg (SC) of Sandton Chambers in South Africa. The State is represented by Mr Lizo Ngcongco of the Attorney General's Chambers.

DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, continues to monitor and campaign against the death penalty in Botswana. We are closely monitoring this particular case.

DITSHWANELO respects the right to life and condemns all forms of murder whether perpetrated by individuals or by the state under the pretext of punishment. We maintain that there is no evidence which supports the argument that the death penalty is an effective deterrent. What is required instead, is the effective addressing of socio-economic conditions which contribute to the prevalence of crime.

DITSHWANELO also maintains that a fundamental component of the right to a fair trial is access to proper and adequate legal representation. Lack of adequate resources hampers the individual's ability to effectively engage the justice system. In 1997, after their trial before the High Court, Mr Maauwe and Mr Motswetla wrote a letter to the Registrar of the High Court stating their dissatisfaction with their lawyers and asking that the lawyers be replaced. The letter was not acted upon at all and consequently, their letter was never placed before the Court of Appeal. The same lawyers represented them at the Court of Appeal level. The death penalty is a final, irreversible process. For that reason there needs to be absolute certainty to guarantee that innocent persons are not wrongfully executed. Unfortunately, there can be no foolproof judicial system.

DITSHWANELO reiterates its call to the Government of Botswana to implement a moratorium on the death penalty. In the words of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan: 

"The forfeiture of life is too absolute, too irreversible for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process" - (December 2000)

10 March 2003
Gaborone