- Also gets a 2-year prison sentence wholly suspended
Maun Magistrate Court has sentenced a 21-year-old man of Bodibeng village in the North West to two years in behind bars, wholly suspended after confessing to setting fire to his employer’s property following a wage dispute. The court has further sentenced the young arsonist to six lashes of the cane on his bare back for the same offence.
Lengwe Maphogo appeared before the Maun Magistrate Court where he was convicted on a charge of arson. Magistrate Gofaone Mosweu sentenced Maphogo to two years in- prison.
Mosweu suspended the custodial sentence and ordered that Maphogo receive six strokes of the cane at a customary court. The court further instructed that he compensate the complainant for property lost during the incident.
The offence dates back to July 13, 2022, at Bokamoso Ward in Bodibeng village. The court heard that Maphogo deliberately set alight a structure belonging to the complainant Johannes Kangora after a disagreement over P1,600 he claimed was owed to him for work performed at a cattle post.
When the matter previously came before court, Maphogo pleaded guilty, explaining that he acted out of anger and frustration after failing to receive payment for his hard work.
The fire destroyed a number of items kept inside the structure. Among the damaged property were a tent valued at P3,800, four blankets worth P300 each, a jacket valued at P300 and food items estimated at P800. Two axes worth P300 each, a net shade valued at P100, a pair of shoes worth P400, four shovels valued at P120 each and two mattresses worth P200 each were also lost in the blaze.
The complainant further indicated that the sum of P20,000 in cash, together with a livestock certificate and a national identity card, were destroyed in the fire. However, he stated that he was not so sure as to how much money was in the tent to be exact as he had been saving some money from his while also using some.
Passing the sentence, Magistrate Mosweu stated that Maphogo would be required to repay the complainant for the proven value of the damaged items. However, she clarified that the P1,600 the accused claimed he was owed would not be deducted from the compensation order.
“The court is not satisfied that the alleged P20,000 was proven, and it will therefore not be included in the compensation,” she said.
The magistrate further observed that the total value of the damaged property exceeded the amount Maphogo claimed he was owed. Maphogo will undergo corporal punishment in line with customary court procedures.
