Ditshwanelo

DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights strongly condemns the execution of Messrs Douglas Simon, Joseph Mokhobo and Gouwane Tsae on Friday, 19 September 2003.

DITSHWANELO, together with other human rights organisations around the world, remains opposed to the death penalty. We will continue to campaign for its abolition in Botswana. However, what continues to be of particular concern, is the secretive and arbitrary conduct by the Government of Botswana, in the administration of the death penalty. More recent examples of this have been the executions of Messrs Kobedi, Simon, Mokhobo and Tsae.

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 believe that the death penalty is neither reasonable nor justifiable, in a liberal democracy, such as Botswana, which is based on freedom and equality. We maintain that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent. There is no evidence which supports this argument.

DITSHWANELO is especially concerned that the four men were executed in secrecy, without prior notice to their family, friends, or lawyers. While we recognise that Section 119 of the Prisons Act only allows certain prison officials and religious ministers to attend the execution, nothing in the Act prevents the Commissioner from informing those close to the prisoner of the intended date and time of his or her upcoming execution. DITSHWANELO believes that such secrecy is unnecessarily cruel to the family and friends of the prisoner, who themselves are innocent of the crime for which the prisoner is executed.

We remain convinced that this is a consequence of the existing justice system. It is retributive in nature, focused on revenge and not on achieving justice. Instead the current justice system is only aimed at identifying the crime, the offender and imposing the death penalty for murder. We, however, argue that the focus should be on both the punishment of the offender and the healing of the victim and offender's families, as well as of the community. Retribution does not allow for reconciliation or restoration. DITSHWANELO believes that Botswana should adopt principles of restorative justice if we are all to work towards a compassionate, just and caring nation by 2016. These principles will go a long way in ensuring justice, rehabilitation and the restoration of human dignity. This, instead of the emphasis on alienation and punishment present in the current retributive justice system in Botswana. Restorative justice is about offenders taking responsibility for their actions as well as about giving the victims a role in the punishment process. Restorative justice is not a new concept and is based on the values and practices of many traditional African communities which aim to keep relationships in balance.

However, while the death penalty continues to be in force in Botswana, DITSHWANELO remains committed to working with people who are in danger of being executed by the State. We are concerned about the following issues relating to death row prisoners.

lack of clarification regarding its function, granted the officially stated position of His Excellency President Mogae, that "I am a retributionist". Is it possible for him to fairly assess clemency cases of those whom he believes should be subject to retribution or revenge?
the inclusion of the Attorney General of his/her representative on the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The Attorney General takes the accused person to court and will have argued for the death penalty. Is it possible for him or her to fairly review the case in order to advise the President to grant clemency. This would be asking for a decision which would go against what the Attorney General had sought in court.
the denial of access by the Committee to the accused or his/her legal representative prevents the Committee from identifying potential travesties of justice which may have occurred during the court process. In the case of Mr Kobedi, new evidence found by his lawyers in the Court of Appeal, could not be even considered for procedural reasons. Mr Kobedi's last hope therefore lay in this evidence being explained to the Committee. This could not happen.

In the case of Mr Mokhobo, he did not give any evidence in his defence, on the advice of his lawyer. This was officially noted by the Court of Appeal in its ruling. Mr Mokhobo subsequently wanted to give evidence, but due to procedural reasons, this could not happen.
secrecy of the workings of the Committee. The accused person is only aware that the clemency process has been completed when he or she receives the death warrant twenty-four hours before the execution. Neither the family of the accused nor the lawyers are officially informed of the decision. They learn about the execution by hearing it on the radio news or reading about it in the newspapers.

DITSHWANELO continues to encourage constructive, rational debate on the issue. We therefore congratulate the media for its engagement with the topic of the death penalty. We however urge the public to seriously reflect on the issues of justice and revenge as well as how we, as Batswana, may move towards a compassionate just and caring nation by 2016. This particularly, during the current Vision 2016 Week.