A ruling in the case brought by DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights, which led to the interim suspension of the execution of Mr. Tlhabologang Maauwe and Mr. Gwara Brown Motswetla will be delivered in the High Court in Lobatse this week.

Judge Reynolds had previously issued a direction that during the October hearing, the legal counsel for both sides should restrict their arguments to the issue of a mistrial. The arguments during the October hearing were therefore based on whether or not Mr. Maauwe and Mr. Motswetla had received a fair trial when they were sentenced to death.

If the Judge finds that there had indeed been a mistrial, then the initial proceedings against Mr. Maauwe and Mr. Motswetla would be vitiated and their case would go back to court to be re-tried. This would mean that Mr. Maauwe and Mr. Motswetla would no longer be under the sentence of death and therefore all arguments relating to the constitutional issue of the death penalty would be irrelevant.

The ruling by Judge Reynolds on the issue of a mistrial is to be delivered in open court on Friday 29 October 1999.