22 Jun 2020

Botswana Police Service (BPS) has expressed concern at the growing number of missing person cases that concern the youth, especially teenage girls who steal away under the pretence of visiting relatives.

Assistant commissioner Senior Superintendent Dipheko Motube told BOPA in an interview that in most cases, parents or guardians also made it difficult for the police by submitting false information when reporting missing young persons.

“When relatives come to open a missing person case, they do not tell us the truth about the alleged missing person. Rather, they give us information which in any case will slow the search and finding of the person,” he said.

Mr Motube explained that it was important for the police officers in charge to be told the factual character, traits and tendencies of a missing person.  He said in most instances, time is spent trying to figure out where the person is when family and friends could have told the police history of that individual.

“Despite false alarms of missing persons we usually get, Botswana police is always ready to assist the public,” he said.

He said they have two categories of missing persons in their files, those who got lost while doing some chores like collecting firewood or herding cattle and those who have the means to visit, but are reported missing.

“When a person is reported missing, they will remain missing until reported found.  We do not have a time frame at which we close a file of a missing person or to nullify it when they have not yet been found no matter how long it takes,” he said.

Also, Mr Motube noted that they were unable to keep statistics of missing persons; those found and those not yet found. He said statistically, 95 per cent of people reported missing are those who leave home due to some misunderstanding or did not tell the truth as to where they were going, but eventually end up being found.

He said five per cent comprises of those who are never found or those who are found dead, suspected to have been killed by wild animals, other people or drowned in water.

“I am appealing to the nation that whenever they find their missing loved ones, they report back to us,” he said.

He, therefore, encouraged the community not to lose hope by assuming that missing people are never found. Mr Motube said they do not have the means or a programme which allows them to give the community some feedback as to whether the missing persons have been found or not, except for few cases when the person is found dead. ENDS