The 24-year-old man of Bodibeng Village convicted for raping his ex-girlfriend in 2018 was this week sentenced to ten years imprisonment by Maun Chief Magistrate Thebeetsile Mulalu for the offence.
The accused person, Keboetswe Machaba is said to have on the night of the 3rd of July 2018 gone to the complainant’s house where she was sleeping with her boyfriend and began throwing stones on the roof.
Following the incident, the victim and her boyfriend proceeded to find an alternative accommodation elsewhere but the accused person followed the couple and continued throwing stones at them.
He is reported to have then grabbed the complainant and dragged her to his house where he raped her. Court heard that the accused person raped the victim despite her telling him that she was on her menstrual period.
Machaba was arrested the following morning where a bloody condom was recovered from his house while the victim was taken for medical assessment at Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital.
Sentencing the accused, Mulalu said he took into account that the accused person’s mitigation plea for a lesser sentence where he indicated that he is a young man who has plans to better his life.
“There is no previous offence of the accused person and therefore I shall treat him as a first time offender,” Mulalu noted.
However, Mulalu said he also took into account the fact that the accused person stands convicted for an offence that is prevalent in his jurisdiction which he also said undermines government’s efforts to combat the alarming prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
“It is upon the court to do its part in ensuring that the situation is brought under control through among other things imposing proper sentences on sexual offences,” Mulalu said.
He explained that a lesser sentence is only passed if the accused person had extenuating circumstances to commit the offence noting that in this case he did not find any.
“I therefore sentence the accused person to ten years in prison, taking into account the 19 days he spent in custody pending his sentencing,” Mulalu concluded.
When giving her sworn testimony during trial, the complainant told court that the accused person raped her using a condom though she told him that she was on her menstrual period. She stated that on her attempt to call for help the accused person allegedly threatened to kill her.
In his defense the accused person disputed the rape allegations arguing that he was in a love relationship with the complainant. He told court that he only dragged the complainant from where they were and left her at the gate of his home where the complainant willingly followed him to his house. He claimed that later after having consensual intercourse he took the complainant to her place.
A forensic analyst told court that a DNA test confirmed that there was sexual contact between the accused person and the victim. Another state witness, the complainant’s boyfriend confirmed the incident and further testified that the accused person dragged the victim adding that he failed to assist his girlfriend since he was afraid of him.
