CHIEF JUSTICE MAINTAINS COURTS WILL APPLY DEATH PENALTY AS PRESCRIBED BY LAW

Article By: Gilbert Manenye

The Chief Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe has dismissed suggestions that Botswana’s courts may hesitate to impose the death penalty, saying judges will continue to apply the law as it stands.

Speaking at the Administration of Justice Performance Update, Ketlogetswe said there was no controversy within the judiciary about whether capital punishment should be imposed, stressing that the law on the death penalty is clear and judges are bound to apply it.

While President Duma Boko has not publicly clarified whether he intends to sign any death warrants since the UDC government took power, the Chief Justice emphasised that the judiciary’s role remains unchanged, insisting that courts will continue to impose the death penalty, where the circumstances of a case demand it.