BOTSWANA
HELD AT GABORONE
COURT OF APPEAL CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. CLCGB-010-15
HIGH COURT CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. CLHGB-000005-13
In the Matter Between:
Directorate of Public Prosecution
Appellant
Vs
Keamorata Nthebolang
Respondent
Issues
1. The sole issue to be determined in this Appeal is what are
the legal consequences of failure to put an accused person
through the entire process of arraignment and failure to
record his plea.
2. On September 2012, the Respondent was convicted by the
Magistrate sitting at Lobatse of one Count of Burglary, two
counts of stealing from a dwelling house and one count of
House Breaking.
He was sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.
3. He appealed to the High Court where the learned Judge
finding that ex facie the record before him no plea had
been taken quashed conviction and sentence in respect of
all counts on the basis that failure to record his plea
rendered the trial a nullity. It was ordered that he be
retried on the same charges before a different magistrate.
4. The sole ground of appeal is that the learned judge
"erred in law when he ruled that the trial
conducted before His Worship Bhekimpilo Sibanda
was a nullity on the basis that no plea had been