BOTSWANA

Marietta Bosch, 50, a South African woman had her capital sentence confirmed by the Appeal Court, on January 30. She was sentenced to death in February 2000 for murdering Maria Wolmarans, her best friend, in June 1996, so she could marry the victim´s husband. Bosch may be the first white woman to hang in Botswana since it won independence from Britain in 1966 unless President Festus Mogae concedes pardon. Duma Bokoa, a member of the Human Rights Committee and the Law Society of Botswana, said: "There is no case were a person has been pardoned by a president before. The death penalty is strongly supported here and I think President Mogae will be cautious when taking a decision, if approached," Bokoa added. The Appeal Court included commonwealth judges Sir John Blufeld from England, Lord Weir of Scotland, Timothy Aguda from Nigeria, Justice Patrick Tebbutt from South Africa, and another judge from Zimbabwe. "She was a wicked and despicable woman. The murder had been planned over a long period, no doubt as a result of jealousy and infatuation," said chief judge Timothy Aguda. Marietta Bosch was represented by British barrister Desmond de Silva. After the court hearing she was led away to the Gabarone prison´s death row.