Botswana Defence Force Commander, Lieutenant General Tebogo Masire, says he sympathises with the four army officers who have been convicted and sentenced for killing John Kalafatis because “they are being persecuted for committing an honest mistake while in the line of duty”.
Addressing the media at Sir Seretse Khama Barracks last week, Masire said the officers committed an honest mistake, which is to be expected in a combat environment, and that their objective was not to kill Kalafatis but just to arrest him.
“There was never any instruction from above that Kalafatis should be killed. The objective was to arrest him. Even in the instance that there was such an order, they would not have done it in such a haphazard and unprofessional manner. In any conflict situation there can be mistakes, but those should not be used to malign the good name of the BDF,” he said.
Masire said he understands why the army officers would feel hard done by the conviction and sentencing.
“Of course, they feel short-changed. The very law that they were trying to uphold is now persecuting them,” he said.
He said there is nothing that the BDF or President Ian Khama can do to protect the army officers because the independence of the judiciary has to be respected. He, however, promised that the BDF will support the army officers and their families in whatever way they can, adding that the convicted officers will not lose their benefits. Masire said the officers will appeal their sentences as “they have to fight this all the way”.
While he insists that the army officers were under strict instructions to assist the police in the arrest of Kalafatis, Masire was unable to explain why the police were absent during the shooting. Neither was he able to explain why the army officers reported the shooting to a senior BDF official.
Masire’s comments come in the wake of a brouhaha that erupted after the four army officers were jailed, during which questions arose as to who gave the order for Kalafatis to be killed.
When giving evidence before the court during the trial, Kalafatis’ brother, Costa, said security personnel had told him to warn his brother that they were going to kill him. Before the trial, Kalafatis’ lawyers also revealed that their client feared for his life days before he was killed.
When convicting the army officers for the murder, Lobatse High Court Judge David Newman said it was evident that they intended to kill Kalafatis.
“By the time the security officers embarked on the search for Kalafatis, they intended to take his life. They had already formed in their minds to kill Kalafatis. This circumstance, from the onset, was accompanied by malice aforethought,” said Justice Newman.
He further slammed the four army officers of trying to cover up for their transgressions by planting live bullets in Kalafatis’ car.
In the end, Justice Newman sentenced Gotshosamang Sechele, Ronny Matako and Boitshoko Maifala to 11 years in prison, while Dzikamani Mothobi was convicted of being an accessory to murder and sentenced to a total 4 years in prison, 3 of which were suspended.
