The Secretary for Defence, Justice and Security, Augustine Makgonatsotlhe, has said that Botswana and South African governments are amending their extradition treaty in order to make it easier for wanted criminal suspects in each of the two countries to be extradited from one country to the other.
Makgonatsotlhe said that an agreement was recently reached between the two countries when President Ian Khama was on an official visit to South Africa.
He said during this state visit, South African President Jacob Zuma had assured them that authorities in his country were working hard to make sure that a long lasting solution is found for the problem as he does not want his country to be turned into a safe haven for people who have committed crimes in other countries.
This comes after two incidents in which some Batswana had, after allegedly committing murder in Botswana, skipped the country into South Africa where they were arrested then released because the South Africans were demanding a guarantee that they would not be executed if found guilty.
Botswana authorities declined to give such guarantee.
The two Batswana are Jerry Tlhale, who was convicted of killing his girl friend in Jamakata.
The second one is Emmanuel who was also convicted of killing his girl friend then skipped into South Africa.
Botswana has given one such guarantee in a case Benson Keganne was found guilty of killing a Phitshane Molopo woman then skipped into South Africa.
Keganne is currently on death row and his case was early this year postponed to January 2011.
South Africa has been extraditing criminals such as armed robbers to Botswana when asked to do so but extraditing those wanted for murder has not been easy.
