*Bangladesh envoy says her freedom was a diplomatic victory
*Ditshwanelo insists there was no evidence against Molapisi
The release of Lesedi Molapisi from a Bangladesh prison this week may have ended a painful chapter for her family, a sigh of relief after their daughter was pulled back from the shadow of death!
Instead her freedom has become the subject of dueling narratives, her circumstances tangled in competing truths and the public left to wonder if her release was the fruit of legal exoneration or compassionate diplomacy.
The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the Republic of South Africa and Botswana, Shah Ahmed Shafi, has now sought to clear the air in what has become a confusing and emotionally charged debate.
In an interview with this publication on Wednesday, Shafi described Molapisi’s release as a diplomatic victory following sustained appeals by the Botswana government.
After the government issued a statement on the 34-year-old’s release and commended President Advocate Duma Boko and Minister of International Relations Dr Phenyo Butale for their efforts, Ditshwanelo Centre for Human Rights, released its own version offering a contradictory account.
Ditshwanelo asserted that the Bangladeshi High Court found no evidence of Molapisi’s involvement in the alleged smuggling and subsequently set aside the decision of the Sessions Court, an outcome they attributed to efforts by Dr Alice Mogwe.
However, Ambassador Shafi, who is based in Pretoria, dismissed that, saying it was a diplomatic victory not a legal exoneration.
“Following the appeal from the President of Botswana and a series of communications between our two governments, I also personally wrote a passionate appeal to my government to consider releasing the girl,” stated Shafi in an interview with this publication.
Shafi explained that a series of meetings between Butale and Bangladesh authorities happened and after that their own institution discussed the matter internally and a decision to release her through an acceptable process was reached. “We celebrate this diplomatic victory,” he said before adding that his government will officially release a statement on the matter.
This publication has since established that on February 25, 2025, the government of Botswana wrote a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Bangladesh, Khalilul Rahman, requesting that Molapisi be repatriated and also appealing for clemency.
It states that the former president and current president asked for a meeting with Shafi, wanting to know the view of Dhaka on clemency with the shortest period possible. On April 20 this year, Minister Butale wrote again requesting clemency from the government of Bangladesh through their Office of Foreign Affairs.
“We refer to two previous correspondences and recent bilateral discussions held on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Meeting and Antalya Diplomacy Forum. We reiterate our interest in strengthening bilateral relations with Bangladesh, and the main issue concerns Molapisi, who was arrested in possession of heroin and sentenced to death.”
According to the letter, an appeal was filed in June 2024 with the assistance of a volunteer and was awaiting review by the High Court Division at the time the Minister wrote the letter. Butale is said to have stated that Molapisi was unable to afford proper legal representation and requested the government of Bangladesh to consider granting clemency on humanitarian grounds.
“Like many unemployed young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, it highlights a large problem of being exploited and taken advantage of by international drug traffickers. Vulnerable individuals are often lured into the drug trade, manipulated by promises that prey on their socio-economic hardships,” pleaded the Minister in his letter before adding that the unfortunate situation not only evokes humanitarian concern but also tarnishes the goodwill shared between the countries.
In his closing statement, Butale wrote: “I urge the government of Bangladesh to consider a pardon for Molapisi on humanitarian grounds, recognising the systemic issues that have led her into this predicament.”
Molapisi’s ordeal began in January 2022, when she was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka, in January 2022 for possession of heroin weighing 3.145kg and sentenced to death by a Dhaka court on May 27, 2024, under the Narcotics Control Act, 2018.
