Mariette Bosch

Mariëtte Sonjaleen Bosch (1950 – 31 March 2001, later named Mariëtte Wolmarans ) was a South African woman who was executed in Botswana on 31 March 2001. Bosch was convicted for the murder of Maria Magdalene "Ria" Wolmarans, both members of the white expatriate community in Gaborone, in June 1996. Due to these two factors, the murder case received significant attention outside the country and was referred to as "Botswana's White Mischief".

Background

Mariette Bosch was the daughter of an affluent liquor store owner in South Africa, and with her husband Justin had moved to Gaborone, the capital of neighbouring Botswana, due to the latter country's lower crime rate and a bustling economy. She had three children .

In 1995, Justin Bosch died in an automobile accident. Shortly afterwards, Mariette Bosch and Tienie Wolmarans began having an affair. The following day she smuggled the gun into Botswana. Justice Isaac Aboagye of the High Court of Botswana found Bosch guilty of Wolmarans' murder, and in February 2000, he sentenced her to death.

At that stage, the only possibility of Bosch being saved from execution would have been a pardon from Botswana's President Festus Mogae.

While awaiting her death sentence, Bosch was imprisoned in the Gaborone Central Prison. Up to the end, she insisted that she did not kill Ria Wolmarans, did not show remorse, and accused a third party of being the real culprit.

Execution

In Botswana, the mandatory punishment for murder is death, unless extenuating circumstances warranting leniency are found. on 31 March 2001. Tienie Wolmarans said he had attempted a scheduled visit the previous day, Friday, to give Bosch some items, but was told that there was an inspection and so they were unable to conduct the visit. Bosch's death warrant was given that day. Wolmarans said that the prison authorities had lied to him.

Human rights groups from South Africa and other countries criticized the execution; it had been conducted hastily and in secrecy to avoid further controversy, that the family was not aware of the execution until it had already happened, and that the execution was rushed after the appeal failed and as Bosch was asking for clemency from Mogae.

The case was compared with the book and film White Mischief, The book and film were based on a murder in Kenya in the World War II era involving a man, Sir Henry Delves Broughton, tried for killing another man who became romantically involved with his wife. Therefore, people referred to it as "Botswana's white mischief". A documentary about the Bosch murder case had been made. In 2001 the government of Botswana refused to broadcast it, saying that the documentary could result in litigation. After the decision, Chris Bishop, the head of the television news network of Botswana, resigned.