04 Aug 2019

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was among hundreds of Batswana, who thronged the National Stadium on August 3 morning to celebrate Botswana Police Service’s (BPS) 135 years of existence.

President Masisi was accompanied by the First Lady, Ms Neo Masisi.

Dr Masisi, who is Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, took a lap of honour in his official vehicle before inspecting a ceremonial parade mounted by men and women in uniform.

Even though the police day event is still struggling to draw huge crowds to the stadium,  it has become more popular in recent years.

Spectators were treated to a programme of events, which included tug of war, calisthenics, aerobics and athletics relay.

The popular dog display from the K9 unit drew cheers from the crowd.

The unit, which is managed by the Special Support Unit (SSG) of the BPS, trained dogs to the highest standard of obeying instructions, sniffing out weapons and illicit drugs.

Another interesting feature of the day was the parade drill.

The drill reflected the discipline and teamwork amongst members of the BPS who were kept on rhythm of their slow and quick marches by music from the band.

The synchronised motorcycle display, which was introduced last year, once again mesmerised the crowd.

The police float displayed a number of high tech equipment used on police’s daily routines and on their anti-poaching operations.

The police also embraced a quick response policing strategy to deal with challenging crime activities such as cross border crimes and cybercrimes.

The BPS operations date back to 1884, the time when 100 men were part of the then Bechuanaland Mounted Police.

It evolved from the infant force to Bechuanaland Border Police in 1885 and Bechuanaland Protectorate Police in 1902. Eventually the name changed to Botswana Police Force at independence until it was rebranded to BPS in 1997.

Mr Simon Hirschfield was the first Motswana police commissioner and the incumbent Mr Keabetswe Makgophe took over from Mr Thebeyame Tsimako in 2012. ENDS