CRI/T/47/99
IN THE HIGH COURT OF LESOTHO
HELD AT BUTHA-BUTHE
In the Matter Between:-
REX
V
TLALI MATASANE
JUDGMENT
Delivered by the Honourable Madam Justice N. Majara
on the 7th July 2008
The accused in this case appeared before me facing charges in regard to the murder of his wife Matseisang Matasane sometime in 1995. After the indictment was read and explained to him he pleaded guilty to the charge of culpable homicide and the Crown accepted the plea.
A brief outline of the admitted facts is that on the date in question, the accused was seen trying to help extricate the deceased from a fence wherein she was caught and he called out to P.W.1 who was passing by and informed him that his wife had fainted. When P.W.1 reached them and examined her, he noticed that accused’ wife was already dead. It is at that moment that he noticed a stick (thupa) which accused admitted he had used to ‘chastise’ his wife. It is common cause that the accused was intoxicated.
It is also common cause that the accused who works in the RSA had on previous occasions had several confrontations with his late wife over her alleged mismanagement of the joint estate finances. On the fateful day, the accused had reportedly gone to fetch his wife from a shop where she had been drinking and this was reportedly the cause of the confrontation.
The accused was later handed over to the police together with the stick which has allegedly since disappeared. An autopsy was carried out and in terms of the contents of the post mortem report death was due to a severe head injury.
Verdict:- Guilty of culpable homicide
Sentence
In passing sentence, the Court took account of the following factors:-
That accused is a first offender with no record of previous convictions; he pleaded guilty, which factor is usually considered a sign of remorse; he used a small rather than stout stick albeit it still having caused a fatal injury; this matter has been hanging over his head for well neigh thirteen (13) years; he has been left to single-handedly raise his two (2) minor children and is the sole bread-winner of his family.
On the other hand, the Court also sought to strike a balance between the above stated factors and the interests of justice especially the interests of the family of the deceased, those of the community and society at large. It therefore considered the following factors:-
That the accused had no right to assault his wife and while he admittedly beat her with a light stick (thupa), he obviously used considerable force that resulted in her being seriously injured and dying as a result; the accused was negligent in his conduct and should have known better than to imbibe and confront his wife whilst in that state; the public needs to have confidence in the courts and the justice system that crime will never go unpunished which factor should be realized byinter alia, imposition of appropriate punishment in deserving cases, as this will also discourage self-help; the Court ‘s displeasure at the ever-increasing easy resort to violence by some members of society in handling common problems and the casual manner in which many lives are taken away on a daily basis and for which it should accordingly show its disapproval.
It is on the basis of all the above factors that this Court finds that the punishment that would meet the justice of this case would be the for the accused to pay a fine of Five (5) Thousand Maloti (M5 000. 00) or imprisonment for a period of Five years, two (2) of which are respectively suspended for three (3) years on condition that he is not convicted of any offence involving violence committed during the period of suspension.
My assessors agree.
N. MAJARA
JUDGE
For the Crown : Mr. Mahao
For the Defence : Mr L. Molapo
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