Mampori, who is already on death row for the murder of another woman, remains a serious and continuing threat to society – particularly vulnerable women, Chief Justice Ketlogetswe said.
Serial killer Simba Mampori will spend the remainder of his life behind bars after the High Court in Gaborone sentenced him to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment on Wednesday for the brutal murders of two women.
Delivering sentence, Chief Justice Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe said life imprisonment was the only appropriate punishment to protect the public, especially women, from Mampori’s repeated pattern of violent offending.
Mampori had previously been convicted on two counts of murder under Section 202 of the Penal Code. The court did not impose the death penalty after finding that extenuating circumstances existed, namely a chronic psychiatric condition that has affected him since his early twenties.
A central feature of the court’s decision was a psychiatric assessment prepared by Dr. Sreekanth Davu, a consultant psychiatrist at Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital in Lobatse.
The assessment followed a detailed medical examination ordered by the Extension II Magistrates’ Court. Dr. Davu diagnosed Mampori with Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD), a condition commonly associated with psychopathic and sociopathic behaviour.
According to Dr. Davu’s testimony and written report, ASPD is characterised by a deeply rooted inability to follow social norms, impulsiveness, aggression, deceitfulness, and an apparent absence of remorse or concern for the rights and feelings of others.
The court found that Mampori’s condition was non-psychotic and did not meet the legal threshold for insanity or unsoundness of mind. It nevertheless held that the disorder substantially reduced his moral culpability and amounted to extenuating circumstances under Botswana law.
Dr. Davu’s report also painted a bleak picture of Mampori’s prognosis. It stated that no effective medical treatment exists for the disorder, while psychological therapies have achieved only limited success. The psychiatrist concluded that, during periods when the condition manifests through criminal behaviour, long-term incarceration remains the only dependable way to prevent further violent offending.
In his ruling, Chief Justice Ketlogetswe said Mampori’s psychological profile revealed a pronounced risk of reoffending and represented a grave danger to the wider community.
“Paragraph 9 of the psychiatric report is particularly instructive as to what would be a condign sentence in this matter,” Justice Ketlogetswe noted during the proceedings.
“It seems to me that the accused will continue to pose a danger to other people, in particular women that may unknowingly fall in love with him.”
The Chief Justice also referred to the fact that Mampori is already subject to a death sentence for the murder of another woman in a separate case. The court said it could not disregard that history when assessing the danger he posed to the public.
The court determined that the central purpose of the sentence had to be incapacitation and public protection. Mampori was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment on Count One and a further life sentence on Count Two, with the sentences to run concurrently.
“Having considered all the circumstances of this case, and the fact that it is in the best interests of society that the accused should be placed in a situation where he poses no further danger to other women, I think this is a case where this Court should impose a sentence of life in respect of both counts,” Ketlogetswe declared.
Mampori was formally advised of his right to appeal both his convictions and sentences to the Court of Appeal.
