SETLAGOLE — The Moral Regeneration Movement (MRM) has strongly welcomed the life sentence handed down to 21-year-old Monnapula Abel Lobese for the rape of a 15-year-old girl.
This comes after the Atamelang Regional Court delivered the sentence on Monday, 29 June 2026, bringing closure to a case that dates back seven years.
According to police spokesperson Captain Majang Skalkie, the horrific incident occurred on Friday evening, 19 July 2019. At approximately 19:35, the victim and her friend were walking home from a local filling station in Setlagole when Lobese confronted them and threatened them with a knife.
The terrified teenagers attempted to flee, but Lobese managed to grab the 15-year-old victim. He forcibly dragged her to an abandoned house, where he raped her.
The MRM, a civil society-led movement that promotes the Charter of Positive Values and the spirit of Ubuntu, stated that severe sentences like this are crucial for restoring public confidence in the criminal justice system. Pastor Lesiba Kgwele, the convenor of the MRM provincial committee, highly commended the prosecution and investigation teams for securing the successful conviction.
“The sentence should serve as a deterrent and send an unequivocal message to perpetrators of despicable gender-based violence acts with lifelong mental, emotional, psychological and physical scars to victims that there is no place for them in society,” Kgwele remarked.
Kgwele emphasised that the ongoing war against gender-based violence (GBV) can only be won if criminals face the full wrath of the law.
He called on local residents to play an active role in shifting societal norms to protect women and children.
“We must enhance sound community values that are intolerant to the senseless violence against women and girl children, as well as strive to make our communities safer for the most vulnerable in our society,” Kgwele underscored.
