A ZIMBABWEAN man has been fined 200 000 pula by a Botswana court for illegal possession of a pangolin skin.
Praisemore Mashindi (34), a vendor from Gokwe, was being represented by defence attorney Farayi Mahwite when he appeared before Botswana’s principal magistrate Solomon Setshed. He pleaded guilty and was convicted.
According to reports from Botswana, following his conviction, Mashindi, through his lawyer Mahwite, submitted that he was a first offender who did not waste the court’s time as he indicated that he was guilty during arraignment.
“My client was arrested on June 9, 2024 and arraigned on June 17. He spent eight days in holding cells, a practice you warned was unlawful when I was a prosecutor. No monetary value was attached to this scale and pleading guilty is a sign of remorse,” Mahwite said.
He further argued that Mashindi was not a sophisticated man, but rather an uneducated man from one of the most marginalised areas in Zimbabwe, where it is common for locals to be in possession of pangolin skins.
“He is a family man with five children, he was trying to make ends meet (and) he comes from a religion which values polygamy, called Mazezuru. Do temper justice with mercy which these courts do, these are finable offences,” Mahwite said.
Mahwite quoted a case before a Francistown court, Habangana vs the State judgment, 1986 BLR 479, where a sentence of 12 months was quashed and the convict was fined P150.
The magistrate considered the mitigatory factors cited by Mahwite and ruled that Mashindi was a first offender who has, prior to the commission of the offence, had no clash with the law and this favoured him as a mitigating factor.
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He said in passing sentence, the court should strike a balance between the interest of the State, society and those of the accused.
“However, the interest of the State must not override those of the offender. I have taken note that the accused is a lay person and has not benefited anything from the commission of the offence,” the magistrate said.
He then ordered him to pay a fine of P200 000.
Mashindi was caught attempting to sell a pangolin skin to police officers in a sting operation on June 9 inLetlhakeng village in the Kweneng district without a licence or permit.
This was after the Narcotics, Fauna and Flora Investigation Department in Gaborone received a tip-off that Mashindi was in possession of pangolin skin in Letlhakeng.
Law enforcement officers from Botswana Police Service, Botswana Defence Force and Wildlife officials acted on the report and upon arrival in Letlhakeng, found Mashindi at the bus stop.
After introductions, Mashindi was asked what was inside his bag and he said he was carrying a pangolin skin, before he excitedly took it out in an attempt to sell it to the officers.
This led to his arrest.
