Botswana Prisons Service has confirmed the execution of Moabi Mabiletsa and Matshidiso Boikanyo, both convicted murderers.

Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal in February 2019.

They were both hanged early this morning.

The killers were convicted in 2017 for the brutal murder of cab driver, Vincent Mopipi, stabbing him 44 times with a knife.

The Botswana CoA bench dismissed their appeal citing that the High Court’s finding of no extenuating circumstances was accurate. Handing down judgement, Justice Zibane Makhwade said the circumstances of court of quo came to the correct conclusion when finding that there were no extenuating circumstances and sentenced both the accused persons to death.

He explained that the prosecution submitted correctly aggravating factors of which included the fact that the murder was not committed at the spur of the moment but was premeditated.

“This was clearly a planned murder. It is immaterial whether one or both accused persons physically inflicted the injuries that caused the death of the deceased (Mopipi). What is clear, however, is that they were jointly involved in the execution of the murder. The first appellant called the cab and the second appellant was in possession of a weapon that was used to kill the deceased. This was clearly a joint enterprise,” Makhwede said.

Makhwade said there is no requirement in law that persons should have known each other for them to form a common purpose. He further submitted that the trial court found that it is the first appellant who arranged for a taxi to collect him from Tlokweng.

“It was further established that he changed the destination from UB to Block 9. The deceased was killed at Block 9. The murder weapon was found in the second appellant’s possession. There is no rational basis for holding that the first appellant parted with the deceased at Block 9 and then the deceased met with the second appellant who murdered him independently of the first appellant.