In the Shadow of the Noose
by Elizabeth Maxwell and Alice Mogwe
(Ditshwanelo)
Botswana’s reputation as one of the most democratic countries is Africa is marred by two issues — its treatment of the minority Basarwa and its maintenance of the death penalty. These two issues converge in In the Shadow of the Noose, which chronicles the struggle by Ditshwanelo, the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, to save two men from the gallows.
The saga began on January 13 1999 when the organisation’s director, Alice Mogwe, noticed a small report in a weekly paper on the pending execution on January 16 of two men, Tlhabologang Phetolo Maauwe and Gwara Brown Motswetla. Further investigations revealed that Maauwe and Motswetla were Basarwa from the Central District of northeastern Botswana. They had been convicted of the murder of Bashingi Majeremane, a Kalanga farmer and cattle owner. Coming as they did from a poverty-stricken, marginalised community, the two cousins did not stand a chance against a justice system that failed to observe their basic human rights and neglected to take into account their cultural, linguistic and socio-economic status — factors that should have provided sufficient extenuating circumstances to avert a death sentence.
Ditshwanelo exposed a long list of problems with the arrest, detention and sentencing of Maauwe and Motswetla, including inadequate interpretation from their native dialect Sesarwa and poor quality pro deo representation. Through the efforts of the centre and the assistance it mobilised from NGOs and lawyers locally and regionally, the two men were literally snatched from the shadow of the noose.
George Bizos, veteran human rights lawyer and former judge of the Court of Appeal in Botswana, notes in his preface that In the Shadow of the Noose provides “compelling evidence as to why the death penalty should be abolished not only in Botswana but everywhere … The book graphically brings to our attention that the right to life and dignity, the right to a fair trial, the right against self-incrimination, protection against torture and other cruel or inhuman punishments are fundamental.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes in the second preface: “This is a story about how we cannot give up on anybody. Restorative justice and botho or ubuntu are based on the recognition of the fundamental humanity of even the worst offender. The wisdom in our African societies recognises that a broken person needs to be helped to be healed … Restoration heals and makes whole while retribution only wounds and divides us further.”
The Maauwe/Motswetla case made legal history as it was the first time anyone had challenged their death sentence after exhausting all established avenues of appeal in Botswana’s legal system. Ditshwanelo’s intervention also marked the first time an NGO had become involved in such a case. One of the outcomes of the exercise was the big public campaign on the death penalty that sparked off a national debate in Botswana.
The book succeeds in its objective to provide, for the benefit of other NGOs, an account of the lessons learned. It also offers a useful set of recommendations addressed to the state, parliament, the government of Botswana, the judiciary, the Botswana police force, the department of prisons and rehabilitation, the legal fraternity and the media.
The lessons learned and recommendations are applicable not only to Botswana but to all countries in the Southern African region. Sadly observance of human rights of prisoners is not a strong point in all the countries of the region and the experiences of Mauuwe and Motswetla are not uncommon. If governments of the region would implement recommendations made in this book, we would have justice systems that are more sensitive to the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable in our societies.
In the Shadow of the Noose is a valuable resource for human rights practitioners and activists, members of the legal fraternity and NGOs. It is an important book for South Africans where disturbing levels of crime have led to increased public calls for the reimposition of the death penalty.
My main criticism is that while the detail it provides makes it a valuable reference book, it does not make for easy reading. Extensive photographs provide human interest but the book could have been much improved by editing to remove repetition. The book could have also benefited from a change of format from one that is more suited to an academic thesis to a more free-flowing narrative that would engage a much wider readership.
George Bizos will launch In the Shadow of the Noose at Exclusive Books, The Zone, Rosebank, Johannesburg on March 13 at 6 for 6.30pm. The book will be available only at Exclusive Books in The Zone