22 Oct 2020

Police have expressed concern over people who host parties in farms and bushes to avoid being apprehended by law enforcement officers.

Addressing the North East District COVID-19 task team, Masunga Police Station commander, Superintendent Gaolatlhe Ngayaya said people had resorted to hosting chill sessions in areas far from residential areas so that they could contravene the COVID-19 protocols without being reprimanded.

This, she said, was a disappointing behaviour in the sense that COVID-19 protocols came into effect to protect people from contracting the virus, adding that those rendezvous could pose a high risk of spreading the virus.

Supt Ngayaya highlighted that it was every individual’s responsibility to take precautionary measures to be safe rather than being followed around by law enforcers to exercise precautions.

Supt Ngayaya further stated that the police had observed that public servants in the district gathered in large crowds for house chill sessions.

She said such behaviour could not be condoned, more so that public servants were supposed to be helping the police to fight crime.

She called on the working class to desist from hosting house parties and observe the COVID-19 protocols, more so that they were well educated and aware of the dangers of the virus.

In his remarks, Tshesebe Police Station Assistant Superintendent Otlaadisa Mogotsi reiterated that some people were contravening the protocols by gathering in numbers and failing to wear masks.

He stated that Tshesebe police experienced an influx of illegal immigrants on a daily basis, who were arrested during patrols and police check points.

Assistant Supt Mogotsi noted that some immigrants spent close to a month in police cells while awaiting test results before they could be repatriated to their countries.

He said Tshesebe policing area, which stretches from Moroka to Jackalas 2, was experiencing an array of criminal activities from petrol smuggling, house break-ins, tobacco and alcohol smuggling as well as illegal immigrants entering Botswana at these border villages.

He called upon Batswana to be vigilant at all times and report any suspicious behaviour to law enforcement officers.  BOPA