16 Jan 2020

The bodies of three Zimbabwean nationals who died in a horrific car accident at Mowana on January 4 have been identified by their family members at Nyangabgwe hospital mortuary.

In an interview with BOPA, Officer in charge of Traffic at Tshesebe Police Station, Assistant Superintendent Otlaadisa Mogotsi revealed that the last victim was identified this week while the two who were sisters were identified last week.

Assistant Superintendent Mogotsi revealed that the three women died when a Toyota Wish vehicle they were travelling in from Senyawe somersaulted near Mowana village, killing them on the spot.

Asst. Supt Mogotsi said the seven-seater Toyota Wish was carrying 15 passengers, 13 of which were Zimbabweans and two Batswana (a driver and a conductor). He said the car was smuggling illegal immigrants into Botswana through the border fence at Butale village to transport them to Gaborone.

The officer in charge stated that following the accident the other passengers were admitted at Nyangabwe hospital but were discharged during the the week.

He stated that identifying the deceased was a challenge as they had no identification like passports or identity cards.

Asst. Supt Mogotsi said smuggling of illegal immigrants was common in villages along the border especially during the night. 

However, he stated that it was difficult for police officers to make arrests due to the fact that perpetrators speed away from the police whenever they are stopped for checks.

He further noted that people in this kind of business were very smart and able to monitor police movements so that they could plan their escape tricks without being caught.

Asst. Supt Mogotsi said it was worrying that Batswana were involved in such illegal acts of transporting illegal immigrants into Botswana adding that they also put people’s lives at risks by overloading the cars.

However, he stated that the police were working tirelessly to put in place measures that would curb such activities, adding that residents of border villages should alert the police about suspicious illegal acts.

He said the driver of the car was still recovering at home, and he would be charged for committing serious crimes of smuggling illegal immigrants, reckless driving and overloading.

He warned perpetrators that this should be a lesson that crime puts people in danger adding that the Botswana Police Service would be reinforcing their operations to stop such acts.On other issues, he said the Christmas holidays were peaceful except for a few minor accidents where motorists hit livestock along A1 road.

He said the A1 road from Francistown to Ramokgwebana border was busy due to the fact that the border was open 24 hours to service the large numbers that were travelling. ENDS