/ 26 August 2008

South Africans escape the noose in Botswana

The Botswana justice department has honoured an agreement not to sentence two South Africans to death, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news reported on Tuesday.

Kagiso Sebi and Amos Moloi have been sentenced to 18 years in jail by the Lebatsi High Court for the murder of businesswoman Gloria Mahowe.

The other accused, a Botswana national who was said to have masterminded the murder and robbery, was sentenced to death.

The agreement not to hang the two South Africans was entered into during an application for extradition, the SABC reported.

They were also sentenced to 12 years in jail for the armed robbery of a general dealer in Phitsane Village.

All sentences would run concurrently from the day they were arrested.

Moloi and Sebi have six weeks to appeal their sentences. – Sapa