09 Aug 2021

Adorned with a red robe trimmed with black and wearing a white wig on the far end of court room six at High Court in Francistown, Justice Phadi Solomon is presiding over her last case as a Judge. 

One may ask what could be going through her mind knowing she is dispensing justice, at least within this particular jurisdiction for the last time?

After all, Justice Solomon is not an ordinary Judge. Having reached Judges’ mandatory exit threshold of 70 years hers has been a decorated and illustrious career spanning 44 years. She exits the Administration of Justice a legal wiz having risen through the ranks to make it to the revered bench.

As she read out witness statements from this murder case where accused persons Abel Thapelo and Olebile Molosiwa are said to have on the 23rd of April 2016 at Pakame lands near Lerala acted together in common purpose to murder Mooketsi Molefe, Justice Solomon seemed so engrossed at the task before hand and oblivious to the fact that it was her last day and in fact her last case in office.

“I find that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons acted with malice aforethought in terms of Section 204 (a) of the Penal Code (Cap 08:01) because inflicting a stab on the neck with enough to puncture the lungs demonstrated an intention to do grievous harm.

Since the accused persons had the necessary mens rea and do not have a legal defence to the charge of murder they are both convicted as charged” she said dispensing judgment while maintaining her cool demeanor.

The two were each given a 10 year jail sentence for murder following mitigation by their defence attorneys.

Justice Solomon said when issuing out the sentence that she reflected on an array of factors including among others the fact that human life was not cheap and abhorrent act that should never be entertained under any circumstance.

She said also that youthful exuberance due to the fact that the duo was barely out of their teens and inebriated at a time when they committed the crime were factors worth noting before meting out a sentence.

Although the court could have given the duo a maximum of life imprisonment, Judge Solomon gave a rehabilitative ten year jail sentence to each of the accused with the hope that they will learn from their mistakes and become better persons in future.

A Kanye native, Justice Solomon relayed later in an interview  that fairness was to her both a creed and virtue throughout her distinguished career.
Interestingly Judge Solomon has sent only one person to the gallows throughout her ten years in the bench.

“I did the best I could and ensured my verdicts were fair. I leave office with no qualm,” says the LLB holder from a top Australian institution of higher learning.

Prior to her overseas training, Justice Solomon was conferred with a BA in Law from the then BOLESWA.

She said she was invited to the bench in the early 1990’s; a move she stated did not come to fruition. Afterall she was also not prepared for the bench at the time until she applied for the same in 2011. This time around she became successful.

Asked about the independence of the judiciary as the third arm of government, Judge Solomon relayed there has never been any outside influence in as far as her verdicts were concerned throughout her career in the judiciary.

“I have a burn out, I just want to go home and play with my grandchildren,” were her last words as the BOPA crew left her office. ENDS