13 Sep 2022

Kanye police are investigating an incident in which a 38-year old man died following a tyre blast at Shell fuel station in Kanye on September 12.

Kanye police station commander, Superintendent Mmoloki Mogale said the man was reportedly inflating the truck tyre when the incident happened.

“It is reported that he was holding the tyre between his legs and inflating it when it blast and hit him on the face. He was taken to the Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital where he was certified dead on arrival,” he explained in an interview.

He said they had identified his next of kin and arrangements were ongoing for post-mortem tests to be conducted on the body.

Supt Mogale appealed to people to take caution and maintain the highest standards of safety while dealing with such matters following a similar incident which claimed the life of another man who was on duty at a construction site a few months ago.

“This is the second incident to happen in Kanye this year, another one happened in June and a man from Bobonong succumbed to injuries after a few weeks,” he noted.

On other unrelated matters, Supt Mogale said he was concerned about the high rate of defilement cases in his policing area. He said two cases of defilement were reported this week in which two junior secondary school girls were defiled on different occasions.

He said in one incident a case was reported on September 11 after realising the girl was six months pregnant. 

“It was reported that the 16-year-old girl was in a love relationship with a 22-year-old man of Kanye, and the parents came to report the matter after both sides failed to reach a consensus regarding the matter,” he said.

He noted that they were awaiting a DNA test to be conducted after which the suspect would be arraigned and charged with defilement.

On another matter, Supt Mogale said the parents of another 16-year-old girl reported a suspected case of defilement on September 12 after realising that the girl had the habit of sneaking out of the house at night.

“Our investigations are continuing because the victim has so far declined to reveal the full identity and address of the suspect, save for his first name. Tests will also be conducted on her as part of the investigations,” he said.

He urged parents to keep a close eye on their teenage children and to observe their behaviours and movements. He also encouraged them to report suspected cases of defilement to enable the police to carry out investigations.

“The habit of discussing such matters between families is unacceptable, they have to report to the police immediately,” he said. Ends