For four family members who dished out a severe beating to the man they suspected had just killed their younger brother, although they took matters into their own hands, it was their bottoms that paid the consequences.
Appearing before Maun Magistrates on Tuesday, the quartet from Somelo settlement (located on the outskirts of the tourist town), admitted assaulting one Tshepiso Bosele at a drinking spot on 12th November, 2019.
The four: Tshabue Qabatee, 29; Kehupetse Kehupetse, 41; Onthusitse Dagame, 22, and Gaolathe Kehupetse, 27, beat Bosele to a pulp before the police could arrive to arrest him on suspicion of their slain sibling’s murder.
For their violent act of revenge, each man was sentenced to three strokes of the cane.
Earlier, Defence Attorney, Charles Tlagae, had pleaded with court to spare his clients, noting they had all pleaded guilty as a sign of their remorse.
“The accused are illiterate, unemployed and rely on odd jobs for a living. They come from the Basarwa tribe and are often hired by commercial farmers. The matter has been hanging over their shoulder for a long time now and that on its own is enough punishment. They carried themselves well before the eyes of the law and the court should impose a fully suspended sentence,” argued Tlagae.
However, although he decided against both jail time and a suspended sentence, presiding Magistrate, Keneilwe Kgoadi, ruled corporal punishment was the best way to teach the quartet a lesson.
Meanwhile, Bosele, who ended up in hospital after his assault, is currently in custody awaiting his murder trial, which is yet to be committed to High Court.
