Maun High Court has convicted George Thekiso of Nxaraga village near Maun of attempted murder in a case in which he was accused of trying to kill his 28-year-old former lover.
The fateful incident is said to have occurred sometime in January 2019 at Shashe Ward in Maun where Thekiso reportedly shot the complainant, Ketshepaone Mbambo on her left shoulder. The convict had also assaulted and hit the ex-girlfriend on her head with a brick, leaving her unconscious.
Thekiso then fled the scene and returned to his grandmother’s home in Komana, where he reportedly confessed to her that he had killed his girlfriend and was contemplating suicide. His grandmother and another relative intervened, calming him down, until the police arrived to arrest him.
Mbambo however survived the ordeal and was able to testify against his former lover before the Maun High Court Judge Bugalo Maripe.
In his defence, the accused claimed that the woman wanted to end their relationship because she was seeing other men. He denied intentionally shooting her, adding that he had no intention of killing her. He told court that the complainant insulted and threatened him with a knife.
According to him, they fought over a gun, which accidentally discharged during the scuffle. He further claimed that she threw stones at him first, and he did the same in self-defense, and then hit her on the head. However, witnesses corroborated the victim’s account.
Although the court could not conclusively prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Thekiso fired the gun, it found him guilty of attempted murder based on the evidence of the head injuries and his admission of hitting her.
“It does not take much imagination to realise that the head is the most sensitive organ, from which all bodily activities are coordinated. Hitting a person on the head to the extent that bleeding occurs and they pass out indicates the intent to end the life of a human being,” Judge Maripe concluded.
The conviction emphasised the court’s view that the assault demonstrated clear intent to cause serious harm or death, even if the firearm discharge could not be definitively proven.
Thekiso’s sentencing has been scheduled for 24th of August 2025.
