CRI/T/32/89

IN THE
HIGH COURT OF LESOTHO

In the
matter between:-

REX

and

SELESO
TLAPANA Accused

JUDGMENT

Delivered
by the Honourable Mr. Justice J.L. Kheola on the 3rd day of May,
1990.

The
accused was charged with the murder of Phutha Ratsuba on the 7th day
of May, 1988 and at or near Liphakoeng in the district
of Maseru. The
defence tendered a plea of guilty of culpable homicide which was
accepted by the Crown.

The
learned Director of Public Prosecutions then gave a very brief
summary of the facts of the case as follows: On the 7th May,
1988 the
accused and the deceased were seen by a number of people and they
were having an altercation and a fierce struggle over
a stick. The
accused was holding one end of the stick with his left hand and a
dagger in his right hand. He was

2

demanding
that the deceased should release his (accused's) stick to him and
pulling it from the deceased who was also holding the
other end of
the stick. He was saying he would release the stick on the following
day after explaining to elderly people as to
what had happened. All
of a sudden the accused stabbed the deceased on the chest with the
dagger he was holding in his right hand.
The deceased grabbed him and
they wrestled until they both fell down.

The
accused had stabbed the deceased once but the injury was severe
because according to medical evidence the left ventricle of
the heart
was perforated and the pericardiac sac was full of blood. He formed
the opinion that death was due to internal haemorrhage.

The above
facts were accepted by the defence counsel, Miss Ramafole.

Verdict:-
Guilty of culpable homicide.

Sentence:-
In passing sentence the Court took into conside­ration that the
accused was a first offender and that he has been
in gaol awaiting
trial for just over two years. He is accordingly sentence to four (4)
years' imprisonment.

My
assessors agree.

J.L.
KHEOLA

JUDGE.

3rd May,
1990.

For Crown
: Mr. Mdhluli

For
Defence: Miss Ramafole.