03 Oct 2018

Karowe Diamond Mine Mr Johane Mchive said statistics have confirmed that Boteti Sub-district was seriously affected by issues of gender based violence (GBV) as well as crimes and other forms of violence.

Mr Mchive said during crime prevention and road accident expo held in Letlhakane recently that information from the police indicated that the prevalent offences of such nature were murder and other forms of assaults, which included rape and defilement.

Rape, he said, was having sexual intercourse with any person without his or her consent or when consent had been obtained by unlawful means while defilement was having sexual relations with any person under the age of 16.

The leading cause, Mr Mchive said, was abuse of alcohol by both victims and perpetrators, imploring the public to avoid becoming statistics by abstaining from drugs and alcohol abuse.  

He urged the public to report the use of illicit drugs at an early stage.

Officer commanding District No 8, Senior Superintendent Sarah Gabathusi stated that the majority of offences against persons have recorded some increase while offences against property have reduced slightly.

The police, she said, were concerned with silence on GBV as well as withdrawal of cases, saying that being silent about or withdrawing such cases, the victims deny perpetrators a chance to receive correction on time.

Another worrisome issue she said was that of road traffic accidents and in particular those that claim lives.

Snr Supt Gabathusi said statistics for murder cases stood at 11 in 2016, and fluctuated to 16 in 2017 whilst 2018 has already registered 12 murder cases.

The rape cases she said stood at 104 in 2017 in No 8 policing area only.

That she said called for much effort and resources to be deployed towards bringing the trend down.

The most challenging issue in No 8 policing area, she said, was abuse of alcohol and drugs as well as GBV.

Snr Supt Gabathusi indicated that issues of men abusing women and girls were disturbing in the area, citing that on average a woman was raped every three days in Boteti.

She noted that in most cases, the victims got raped by people who were supposed to protect them such as friends, intimate partners, associates and relatives.

“Worst case is when men rape children as young as five months old,” she said.

Murder and other assaults, she said, were worrisome, saying most of the crimes were perpetuated by abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Snr Supt Gabothusi indicated that from the 12 murder cases recorded in the year 2018, seven were as a result of petty fights due to alcohol, one was a petty fight over a flash disk, three were fights between lovers and one was a suspected robbery.

Picking a fight she said could be easy but stopping it was very difficult and a lot could happen in between.

She said offences in which property  and cash were stolen also traced back to abuse of drugs and alcohol, noting that drug users break in and steal cash as well as property so that they could buy drugs.

Deputy district commissioner, Mr Ewetse Selelo said the objective of the expo was to sensitise the public on crime and road safety and forge a lasting involvement of the public and other stakeholders.

Mr Selelo said the aim was also to reduce incidences of crime and lawlessness, reduce road traffic accidents and related deaths as well as build a relationship of mutual understanding between the police and the communities they police.

Area MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe opined that since a large number of people who worked at BCL Mine in Selebi Phikwe migrated to Letlhakane to seek job opportunities, some resorted to crime when their dreams to find jobs were frustrated. ENDS