19 Aug 2013

A headman in Molepolole has complained that he is never informed about foreigners who stay in his area.

St Paul headman, Mr Mogotsi Kgosidintsi said the village leadership had resolved that every foreigner who arrives should be presented to the authorities. He said a majority of the foreigners in his ward were Zimbabwean men who were in love relationships with Batswana women while a few were tenants in the ward.

Previously, he said, he addressed kgotla meetings trying to warn the youth about the consequences of staying in relationship outside wedlock with foreigners. Mr Kgosidintsi stated that  he usually sends cluster police volunteers to ransack the ward searching for  foreigners, noting that those who stayed with them pretended that the did not know their names.

 “I encourage Batswana to stop this tendency of hiding foreigners in their homes, we need to know about them and also be shown their permits as proof that they have been allowed to stay in this country,” he said.

In an interview , Assistant Superitendent Gontse Segale of Molepolole police, said the number of foreigners who had been troubling them had declined. She stated that they had cases of Zimbabweans who unlawfully came to the country looking for temporary jobs, saying some overstayed.

“For this time it is much better because we do not sleep, we work day and night. We had 41 cases in June which involved seven ladies and 34 men, in July we registered about10 cases and for now we have about seven of them, even the cases for business and house robbery are very few,” said Segale.

Furthermore, she emphasised that they educated people in public meetings that staying with foreigners without permits was unlawful saying both of them, one who has allowed staying with that foreigner as well as the foreigner can be found guilty.

However she appreciated cluster police volunteers for their hard work saying they are assisting the police officers by going around the village searching for illegal immigrants. Ends