A Maun man is facing serious jail time for whipping his seven-year-old son with an electric cable, a severe beating that left the little boy badly injured.
Dragged before the Magistrates’ Court, Gonna Mogapi, 33, admitted he had messed up and readily pleaded guilty to the offence of cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment and or punishment of a child.
The Gxhabara ward resident’s transgression dates back to 16th September, 2023, when he arrived home hungry, only to find the food he had left in the pot was finished.
Furious, Mogapi blamed his young son for polishing off the food and, in a fit of rage, beat the child with an electric cable, causing deep wounds to the boy’s head, hands and back.
After the assault, the child skipped school for two days.
When he returned on the third day, his teacher noticed the injuries and reported the matter to the police.
Prior to the incident, the youngster was reportedly staying with his mother in Serule when Mogapi expressed his desire to transfer the youth to Maun to stay with him.
The child has since been sent back to his mum with the assistance of Social Welfare.
Magistrate Gofaone Mosweu revealed the minimum sentence for such an offence is seven years imprisonment or a P30 000 fine or, worst case scenario for the suspect, possibly both.
“After going through the medical report form and the social welfare report, I believe it’s important to call a social welfare officer to advise the court on how the sentence is going to affect the child because at the end of the day we do not want to prejudice him,” added Mosweu.
The magistrate further advised Mogapi to prepare his plea in mitigation as the court will be passing sentence on his next appearance, set for 21st November. The accused child-beater will remain out on bail until then.
