3 years for selling plot that wasn’t hers
A 38-year-old Ramotswa woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for obtaining by false pretences after selling a residential plot that did not belong to her.
Nakale Shatani advertised the plot on Facebook, eventually selling the land and even giving the buyer a fake certificate.
As well as losing her freedom, the mother-of-three’s pocket was also hit hard, as she was ordered to compensate the woman she had duped P23, 500.
Shatani, who pleaded guilty to the charge, learnt her fate before Molepolole Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The Siga ward native had been charged alongside Oratile Moshakga, 33, but the Bobonong man was acquitted on the same day that his co-accused was convicted.
The ‘sale’ took place on 11 January this year, after one Elizabeth Johane responded to a Facebook post from Shatani advertising land for sale in Maun.
Johane paid for the plot but immediately realised the certificate she was given was fake and so reported her concerns to the police.
Having admitted her guilt, Shatani presented her mitigation in the form of a written document.
Meanwhile, during sentencing, Molepolole Chief Magistrate, Goabaone Rammapudi-Lesedi explained she considered the nature of the offence and its gravity.
“In this particular case the accused disguised herself pretending to be somebody else and swindled the unsuspecting victim out of a large sum of money,” said Rammapudi-Lesedi, who chose to temper justice with mercy, taking into account the fact that Shatani is a first-time offender and has agreed to repay the victim.
“According to her mitigation, she is a mother of three children who depend on her and is not getting any support from their father. I also consider that she has pleaded guilty to the crime, which saved the court time and resources. I take it as a sign of remorse,” stated the Chief Magistrate.
Having already been in prison for four months, Shatani’s sentence was backdated to 15 May, the date of her original detainment.