12 Jun 2023

In yet another A3 highway mishap in less than two weeks, a 52-year-old man died when a bus he was travelling in overturned along the Francistown-Maun road Sunday night.

In an interview, the Station Commander of Tatitown Police Station, Supt Boipuso Baatweng said the accident occurred 20 kilometres from Francistown. The bus was heading to Francistown.

He explained that the deceased was certified dead on arrival at Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital where his body was awaiting postmortem.

Supt Baatweng said 42 passengers were aboard including the driver of the bus. The deceased was among the 41 employees of Botswana Unified Revenue Services who were returning from a retreat in Kasane. He said the employees were stationed at BURS offices in Francistown, Matsiloje and Ramokgwebana.

Supt Baatweng said police preliminary investigations revealed that the bus, belonging to LAWA’s Holdings, had a tyre burst before it veered off the road and overturned several times after the driver lost control.

He said the passengers were evacuated from the bus the same night and were hospitalised in various health facilities in Francistown.

At the time of going to press, the conditions of those hospitalised were still not yet known but police investigations continued.

Supt Baatweng said this was the second fatal accident to happen along the A3 highway since the beginning of this year.

He said the highway was prone to fatal  accidents due to its high volume of trucks and potholes on the road sides.

He therefore appealed to road users, especially motorists to be extra vigilant when driving along the road especially at night.

Recently, 22 people lost their lives along the same road near Marapong, when a sprinter mini bus heading to Maun from Francistown collided with a truck on June 1.

Most of the victims were buried this past weekend at their respective villages such as Tatisiding, Shashemooke, Sekakangwe, Area W in Francistown, Dukwi Refugee camp, Mathangwane, Bobonong, and Lerala, amongst other villages. ENDS