R v Tlapana (CRI/T 32 of 89) [1990] LSCA 82 (3 May 1990)

CRI/T/32/89 IN THE HIGH C O U RT OF LESOTHO In t he m a t t er between:- R EX and SELESO TLAPANA Accused J U D G M E NT Delivered by t he Honourable M r. Justice J. L. Kheola on the 3rd day of M a y, 1990. T he accused was charged with t he m u r d er of Phutha Ratsuba on t he 7th day of M a y, 1988 and at or n e ar Liphakoeng in t he district of M a s e r u. The defence tendered a plea of guilty of c u l p a b le homicide which was accepted by the C r o w n. T he learned Director of Public Prosecutions then gave a very brief summary of t he facts of t he case as f o l l o w s: On t he 7th M a y, 1988 t he accused and t he deceased w e re seen by a number of people and they were having an altercation and a f i e r ce struggle o v er a stick. The accused w as holding o ne end of t he stick with his left hand and a dagger in his right hand. He was /2 - 2 - demanding that the deceased should release his (accused's) stick to him and pulling it from t he deceased w ho was also holding t he other end of t he s t i c k. He was saying he would release the stick on the following day after explaining to elderly people as to w h at had happened. All of a sudden the accused stabbed the deceased on t he chest with the dagger he was holding in his right hand. The deceased grabbed him and they wrestled until they both fell d o w n. The accused had stabbed t he deceased once but the injury was severe because according to medical evidence the left ventricle of t he heart w as perforated and t he pericardiac sac was full of blood. He formed the opinion that death was d ue to internal haemorrhage. The above facts were accepted by t he defence c o u n s e l, Miss Ramafole. Verdict:- Guilty of culpable homicide. S e n t e n c e :- In passing sentence t he Court took into conside- ration that the accused was a first offender and that he has been in gaol awaiting trial for just over t wo y e a r s. He is accordingly sentence to four (4) y e a r s' imprisonment. My assessors a g r e e. J. L. KHEOLA J U D G E. 3rd M a y, 1 9 9 0. For Crown For Defence: Miss Ramafole. : M r. Mdhluli