A MOTSWANA woman who eloped with her boyfriend from the neighbouring country to stay in Zimbabwe illegally after her visa had lapsed was on Tuesday convicted and fined $100 before being deported to Botswana. STAFF REPORTER
Flora Mapatsi (29) pleaded guilty to staying in Zimbabwe without a residence permit when she appeared before Bulawayo senior magistrate Sibongile Msipa. She was fined $100 or 30 days in jail.
In mitigation Mapatsi said she was married to a Zimbabwean man with whom she had four children.
When asked why she committed the offence, Mapatsi said: “I committed the offence because I came with my boyfriend. He said we should come here to stay with our children.”
The court heard that sometime in June 2013, Mapatsi entered Zimbabwe and stayed in Bulawayo without a residence permit. Her luck ran out when she encountered some cops in Mountain View in Lobengula West who asked her to produce her identity particulars after they got wind that she was not a Zimbabwean.
She produced her Botswana passport which showed that her permitted days in the country had expired and she was immediately arrested.
