Just four days before the two killers were hanged at Gaborone maximum prison, the Botswana Prisons Services (BPS) Commissioner- Mr Silas Motlalekgosi was shown the door by His Excellency the President Dr. Mokgweetsi Masisi.
The letter written by the Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP)- Mr. Elias Magosi, who is also the Head of Public Service reads as follows:
His Excellency the President has directed me to inform y he has, in exercise of the power vested in him by Section 8 of the Prisons (Amendment) Act No. 14 of 2017, decided to retire you from the Botswana Prison Service with immediate effect.
As a result of the decision aforesaid, that you will, in addition to payment of salary in lieu of notice, receive other terminal benefits to which you are entitled under the law.
His Excellency would like to thank you most sincerely for the years of service to the Botswana Prison Service and wishes you well in your future endeavours.
It remains unclear whether this removal from office, which happened within the same time frame with the executions of two killers is in any way related to the recent executions or not.
Meanwhile United Nations (UN) have once again condemned these death penalties, βThe death penalty is cruel and inhuman, and there is no credible evidence that it has a greater deterrent effect on crime than imprisonment. Instead of resorting to executions, the authorities should focus their efforts on strengthening the justice system, giving people fair trials and addressing the causes of crime. The vicious cycle of executions in Botswana must end. Amnesty International calls on President Masisi to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.β
