Mariëtte Sonjaleen Bosch (1950 – 31 March 2001, later named Mariëtte Wolmarans) was a South African woman who was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

in Botswana on 31 March 2001.Penketh, Anne.
America and the world's executioners join efforts to block UN moves to end death penalty
" ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. Thursday 15 November 2007. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. Bosch was convicted for the murder of Maria Magdalene "Ria" Wolmarans, both members of the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

community in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

, in June 1996.Bird, Maryann.
Until Death Us Do Part
" ''

TIME Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. Monday February 12, 2001. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. "Barring a presidential decree of clemency, Bosch—who still maintains she is innocent—would be the first white woman to be executed in Botswana's history."Bosch loses appeal
" '' News 24''. 30 January 2001. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. She was the first white woman to be executed in Botswana, and was the fourth woman to be hanged since the country's independence.Love-triangle murderer hanged
" ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

''. Monday 2 April 2001. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. 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 A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors (typically in bottles), wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom ...

owner in South Africa, and with her husband Justin had moved to

, the capital of neighbouring Botswana, due to the latter country's lower crime rate and a bustling economy. The Boschs settled in Phakalane, a neighbourhood in Gaborone that was popular with affluent

White South African White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original colonists, known as Afr ...

s and often referred to as "Little

Sandton Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs, Sa ...

". Mariette became a member of the Gaborone

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

and entered into

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

, becoming friends with Ria Wolmarans and her husband, Marthinus "Tienie" Wolmarans.McGreal, Chris.
Love, loot, lust and loathing
" ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Monday 22 January 2001. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. She had three children.Morrall, p
61
In 1995, Justin Bosch died in an automobile accident. Shortly afterwards, Mariette Bosch and Tienie Wolmarans began having an affair. The Wolmarans had separated in 1993 but had moved back in together the following year, despite Tienie promising Bosch that he would

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

his wife.

Murder

In June 1996, Bosch travelled to

Pietersburg Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

, South Africa, and received her father's pistol from one of her friends. The following day she smuggled the gun into Botswana. Bosch entered the Wolmarans' residence, located two blocks away from her own, by climbing a security wall and shooting Ria Wolmarans twice, hitting her in the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

and

ribs The rib cage or thoracic cage is an endoskeletal enclosure in the thorax of most vertebrates that comprises the ribs, vertebral column and sternum, which protect the vital organs of the thoracic cavity, such as the heart, lungs and great vessels ...

. There were no witnesses to the crime. Originally, police believed that the murder occurred in the process of a

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

and named no suspects. Bosch told her sister-in-law, Judith Bosch, that she loved Tienie Wolmarans and wished to marry him. Judith, with whom Bosch had an acrimonious relationship, persuaded Bosch to give the murder weapon to her and her husband, saying that she would give it back to the gun's original owner, who was a mutual friend; Mariette gave the gun to Judith's husband. Three months after the killing, Bosch ordered a

wedding dress A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. Wedding dresses hold a significan ...

from a designer in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. Upon discovering the facts about the gun and the dress, Judith took the gun to the police. The police arrested Wolmarans on suspicion that he was involved in the murder, but he was released after one evening and was never charged.

Legal process

Botswanan prosecutors said that the murder encompassed "the four Ls of murder — love, loot, lust and loathing." After Mariette Bosch's arrest, Tienie Wolmarans married her in 1997 and supported her. Bosch was originally held in the

Botswana Prison Service The Botswana Prison Service (BPS) is the corrections agency of Botswana. It holds pre-trial and convicted prisoners.Lobatse Prison. Chris McGreal of ''

'' said, "The trial was at times bizarre". A psychologist serving the

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

, Dr. Louise Olivier, had also worked as a magazine's "sex doctor." A psychiatrist, who served as the defence's

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

, argued that Bosch did not have the profile of a killer and was not capable of lying. McGreal said that Bosch's daughter cried in court and that her family "were horrified at the circus atmosphere". On 13 December 1999, Justice Isaac Aboagye of the

High Court of Botswana The High Court of Botswana is a Superior court, superior court of law in Botswana. It is based in Gaborone with branches in Lobatse, Francistown, and Maun, Botswana, Maun. It operates above the Magistrates' Courts of Botswana, but below the Court ...

found Bosch guilty of Wolmarans' murder, and in February 2000, he sentenced her to death. In January 2001, Bosch appealed. The British barrister Sir Desmond da Silva represented her. A panel of judges from the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

served as a court of appeal, and da Silva attempted to convince them that the Botswanan government had not revealed, during the trial, that it had granted

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

to a suspect in exchange for testifying against Bosch. On 30 January 2001, the Court of Appeal of Botswana denied the appeal, ruling that Bosch's explanation of the case was not convincing.Barrow, Greg.
South African woman to hang
" ''

''. Tuesday 30 January 2001. Retrieved on 27 March 2013. At that stage, the only possibility of Bosch being saved from execution would have been a pardon from Botswana's President

Festus Mogae Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Motswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004. After ten ...

. From 1966 until before Bosch's execution, 33 people had been executed in Botswana. On the weekend before Bosch's execution, Mogae said that he was not considering granting

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

.Warby, Vivian.
Murderess Mariette Bosch executed in Botswana
" ''

IOL News Cherchell () is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kingdoms of Numidia an ...

''. 2 April 2001. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. While awaiting her death sentence, Bosch was imprisoned in the Gaborone Central Prison. The

government of South Africa The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary ...

declined to intervene in her case. 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.Morrall, p
62

Execution

In Botswana, the mandatory punishment for murder is death, unless extenuating circumstances warranting leniency are found. After Bosch had spent one year on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

, she was hanged at 5:30 amMcGreal, Chris.
Outrage at secret Botswana hanging
" ''

''. Monday 2 April 2001. Retrieved on 10 April 2013. on 31 March 2001. The execution took place at the Central Maximum Prison in Gaborone. Bosch's family and lawyers were not given advance notice of her execution. The day after the hanging occurred, her family were driving to visit her when they learned about the hanging over the radio.Bosch film row
" ''

''. Wednesday 2 May 2001. Retrieved on 27 March 2013. 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. The Botswana criminal justice system does not have a designated

last meal A condemned prisoner's last meal is a customary ritual preceding execution. In many countries, the prisoner may, within reason, select what the last meal will be. Contemporary restrictions in the United States Contrary to the common belief t ...

for the executed. No sedatives are given to a prisoner before execution. Joe Orebotse, a man who spoke on behalf of the commissioner of the Botswana prison system, said that a religious minister, a medical officer, a hangman, and prison officials were present, but that no relatives were permitted access. In Botswana, relatives are not allowed at executions. Wolmarans said that he was not aware of the location of Bosch's grave on prison grounds. Her lawyers said that she had been executed with an unusual quickness and criticized the execution.

Aftermath

On 2 April 2001

South African President The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Fo ...

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

had been planning to launch a petition to get Bosch's death sentence overturned, not realizing that she had already been executed. Interights, a

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

based in the United Kingdom, and some undisclosed parties had argued that the execution was unfair. On Monday 8 December 2003 Mogae's office said that the execution was not in contradiction of the

African Commission on Human Rights The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective rights, collective (peoples') rights throughout the Africa, African continent as well as interp ...

and that the ACHR had ruled that Bosch's rights had not been violated by her being executed during the 34th Ordinary Session meeting that was held in

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. Human rights groups from South Africa and other countries criticized the execution;

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

argued that 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 Botswana human rights organisation

Ditshwanelo Ditshwanelo (Setswana for "Rights"), or the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, is a human rights organisation founded in 1993 in Botswana. It aims to improve human rights through education and governance. The group has campaigned against capital pu ...

also criticized the execution.Press Statement – Botswana Execution Update April 2001 Execution of Mariette Sonjaleen Bosch
"

. 2 April 2001. Retrieved on 26 March 2013. The case was compared with the book and film '' White Mischief'', and the atmosphere of wealthy white people in the colonial-era Kenya that the series depicted.'White Mischief' trial begins
" ''

''. Thursday 18 January 2001. Retrieved on 27 March 2013. The book and film were based on a murder in Kenya in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. He was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the ...

, the head of the television news network of Botswana, resigned.

References

Additional sources

* Morrall, Peter. ''Murder and Society''.

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...

, 2 October 2006. , 9780470030226. *
In the Court of Appeal of Botswana Held at Lobatse Court of Appeal Criminal Appeal No. 37 of 1999 High Court Criminal Trial No. 34 of 1997 In the matter between MARRIETTE SONJALEEN BOSCH APPELLANT and The State Respondent

Archive
– Appeals Court Ruling, hosted by the South African Legal Information Institute (SAFLI)

External links

* .
Archive
'' Daily News''. 31 January 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bosch, Mariette 1950 births 2001 deaths South African people convicted of murder South African female murderers 2001 in Botswana 1996 in Botswana People convicted of murder by Botswana People executed by Botswana by hanging South African expatriates in Botswana Executed South African women South African people executed abroad Botswana Christians 21st-century Botswana people 21st-century Botswana women Members of the Dutch Reformed Church Members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed Christians 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed Christians South African people of Dutch descent South African people of Afrikaner descent South African emigrants to Botswana 1990s murders in Botswana 1996 crimes in Botswana 1996 murders in Africa Incidents of violence against women