Bow and arrow tragedy

Cathrine Moemedi

Man gets 15 years in jail for killing best friend

Maun High Court has sentenced a 28-year-old man of Nokaneng village to 15 years imprisonment for killing his best friend with a bow and arrow.

Gothusang Mokwaipo was convicted of the murder of Joseph Twaimango in December 2021 after pleading guilty to the offence.

Mokwaipo caused the death of his friend on March 18th, 2016 by striking him with an arrow on the neck.

A fight had ensued between them when Twaimango refused to buy alcohol with his P20.00 after drinking P20.00 worth of beer bought by Mokwaipo.

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The background of the matter is that on the 17th of March, 2016 Mokwaipo and Twaimango were out drinking together at a shebeen in Nokaneng, before they left for the clinic for Mokwaipo to have a dog bite attended to by a doctor while Twaimango complained of back pains.

From the clinic, the duo went back to the same shebeen where a certain farmer offered them a job to look for his lost cattle for P20 each. They are said to have located the cattle and agreed to spend all the money on alcohol. However, after Mokwaipo had spent his money buying alcohol, Twainango refused to buy alcohol with his money despite their agreement to finish the whole P40 on alcohol. They started quarrelling and the altercation quickly progressed to a physical fight with Twaimango ganging up on Mokwaipo with his brother and brutally assaulting him.

Refusing to accept defeat, Mokwaipo ran to his house, which was about 500m away and came back with a bow and arrow, which he fired towards Twaimango, hitting him on the neck causing injuries that later claimed his life.

Passing the sentence, Justice Bugalo Maripe said that he found that there were exceptional extenuating circumstances in the matter that compelled the court to impose a sentence lesser than the death sentence.

“I consider the fact that the accused was intoxicated, the deceased had an agreement with the accused person, which he failed to honour and that there was a fight between Mokwaipo, Twaimango and his brother,” said Maripe, adding that the action was not pre-mediated and that Mokwaipo was still haunted by the death of his friend.

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Maripe further indicated that Mokwaipo had pleaded guilty to the offense, which showed that he was remorseful.

“The accused person pleaded guilty, which is a sign of remorse. He was also fingerprinted and no record of previous convictions were found,” added Maripe.

Mokwaipo had submitted in his mitigation that he was a breadwinner who took care of his ailing father and siblings. The court noted that he survived on menial piece jobs and worked as a herd boy.

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Mokwaipo has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment dating back to when he was incarcerated six years pending the finalization of the matter.

The bow and two arrows have been forfeited to the state for disposal.

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