Botswana’s leading human rights organisation has critisised the government for upholding the death penalty, rejecting comments by foreign minister Komati Merafhe that the policy is backed by public demand.
In a statement the Botswana Centre for Human Rights (Ditshwanelo) said there were flaws in the country’s legal system and the rendering of justice – particularly for the poor - which undermined the use of capital punishment.
"That there is a lack of skilled personnel in Botswana's pro deo [legal aid] system has been recognised frequently ... Ditshwanelo believes that the serious problems afflicting the pro deo system [primarily poor legal respresentation] of this country are indeed a testament to the inappropriateness of the death penalty in Botswana," the organisation said on Friday.
Merafhe, however, defended the government’s determination to keep capital punishment on the statute books. "When you take one's life, you forfeit the right to retain yours. People outside Botswana are opposed to the death penalty. I have had delegations which sought me to persuade the government to abolish the death penalty. I have told them categorically that it is sovereign matter for Botswana," he told a press conference earlier this month.
Merafhe added: "I can't go to my constituency and tell the people that we have to abolish the death penalty, simply because outsiders want us to do so. They will vote me out because they want it [the death penalty]."
Questioning the merits of upholding capital punishment, The Midweek Sun, an independent local newspaper, described the death penalty as an "anachronistic principle of an eye for eye". It added that the penalty should be reviewed since it had not achieved the deterrent effect intended.
The paper noted that the application of the death penalty would need an independent and competent judiciary, and there were many cases where innocent people had been convicted.
Earlier this year, the government Law Review Committee decided to retain capital punishment as well as the controversial whipping of petty criminals. According to Ditshwanelo, the landlocked southern African country has executed 38 people since it gained independence in 1966.
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In a statement the Botswana Centre for Human Rights (Ditshwanelo) said there were flaws in the country’s legal system and the rendering of justice – particularly for the poor - which undermined the use of capital punishment.
"That there is a lack of skilled personnel in Botswana's pro deo [legal aid] system has been recognised frequently ... Ditshwanelo believes that the serious problems afflicting the pro deo system [primarily poor legal respresentation] of this country are indeed a testament to the inappropriateness of the death penalty in Botswana," the organisation said on Friday.
Merafhe, however, defended the government’s determination to keep capital punishment on the statute books. "When you take one's life, you forfeit the right to retain yours. People outside Botswana are opposed to the death penalty. I have had delegations which sought me to persuade the government to abolish the death penalty. I have told them categorically that it is sovereign matter for Botswana," he told a press conference earlier this month.
Merafhe added: "I can't go to my constituency and tell the people that we have to abolish the death penalty, simply because outsiders want us to do so. They will vote me out because they want it [the death penalty]."
Questioning the merits of upholding capital punishment, The Midweek Sun, an independent local newspaper, described the death penalty as an "anachronistic principle of an eye for eye". It added that the penalty should be reviewed since it had not achieved the deterrent effect intended.
The paper noted that the application of the death penalty would need an independent and competent judiciary, and there were many cases where innocent people had been convicted.
Earlier this year, the government Law Review Committee decided to retain capital punishment as well as the controversial whipping of petty criminals. According to Ditshwanelo, the landlocked southern African country has executed 38 people since it gained independence in 1966.
on/tdm/oa
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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