03 Oct 2019

A 32-year-old Zimbabwean man has been apprehended and is likely to be charged with murder in connection with the death of his 28-year-old girlfriend.

She was found hanging from the rafters of her house on September 28 at Ditladi village in the Tonota Sub-district.

Superintendent Oteng Ngada of Tonota Police said in an interview on Tuesday that investigations had revealed the woman might have died during a fight with the boyfriend.

According to police, the duo is believed to have had a misunderstanding which resulted in the boyfriend strangling his lover.

Her body has since been taken to Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown for postmortem to establish the actual cause of death.

“The boyfriend has been arrested and is expected to appear before the court of law this week to face the charges of both murder and illegally staying in Botswana,” Supt. Ngada said.

Still in Tonota and on the same day, another 32-year-old-man was nabbed for allegedly raping a five-year-old. 

The suspect, a relative to the victim, is said to have snatched away the sleeping toddler while other family members were fast asleep before raping her. 

The child’s parents reported the incident to Tonota Police.

On another matter, 10 people were arrested for drinking liquor at areas not designated for such an activity while five bar owners have been charged for failure to observe stipulated operating hours.

“We have also charged some people for brewing traditional beer without prior licensing as per the requirements of the regulations,” said Supt Ngada who added that six more people faced the music for driving while under the influence of alcohol. 

Three others were charged for driving motor vehicles without a license, he said.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Lebalang Maniki of Francistown Police Station has expressed happiness that unlike in the previous year, there had been a marked reduction in criminal activities which he attributed to heightened public education campaigns and community participation prior to the holidays.

Superintendent Maniki also said police visibility had proven to be a useful strategy in the fight against crime. 

He however was not happy with growing incidents of motorists who failed to obey traffic lights.

The situation, he said, had forced police to deploy some officers at  certain traffic lights within the city of Francistown.

Supt Maniki said the deployment of officers at traffic  lights did not bode well with the organisation’s wishes to have more police on the ground to attend to other equally important matters.

According to Supt Maniki, six motorists were arrested for driving vehicles with smooth or worn-out tyres, a trend he said was on the rise this time around compared to a single case recorded the same time last year.

“We have also charged nine people for using their cellphones while driving. This has grown compared to the same time last year, where we recorded five such incidents,” he said.

Overall, Supt Maniki said, save for one or two minor accidents recorded over the independence holidays, there was relative calm in the area of his jurisdiction.

Tati Town police Station Commander, Superintendent Edward Leposo said his policing area was quiet over the independence holidays except for a few minor assault cases. 

“The only serious incident that we recorded was towards Botswana Day where a Combi collided with a Toyota Camry near Francistown/Orapa junction, killing one person in the process,” he said. ends