A 36-year-old man was this week arraigned before the Gaborone West Customary Court President, Kgosi Graham Hambiri, charged with assaulting his wife on August 26, 2006. He pleaded guilty to the charge.
Letanang Sosome, 36, from Mmathethe told the Customary Court that his wife was always accusing him of insulting and beating her.
Letanang said that his wife, Boitumelo Sosome, works at Botswana Life Insurance as a Pay Holder Assistant but he does not even know how much she is earning per month and that, he said, is one of the main reasons why they always had misunderstandings, especially when Boitumelo complained that he gave her too little money.
Before passing the sentence Kgosi Hambira told the court that in cases such as these where a married couple always fights, the court always avoids flogging men because that could fuel a lot more problems between couples.
Kgosi Hambira said this couple had been to the police station on more than two occasions after insulting each other. He acknowledged that the most dangerous thing was that they were always fighting and urged them to seek counseling from parents when they have misunderstandings.
In mitigation, Letanang told the court that he is the one who is taking care of his wife together with their children.
However, Kgosi Hambira fined him P200 court fine to be paid before September 29, 2006 failing which he would be jailed for three months. He also sentenced him to six months in jail, wholly suspended for a year. He strongly advised Letanang to stop assaulting his wife.
