20 Jun 2023

Boseja North residents in Maun have called on the government to consider a second police station in the village to reduce Maun Police Station workload.

The villagers advanced that their village had grown in terms of population, which has become straining for the current station.  

Speaking during a kgotla meeting addressed by Member of Parliament for Maun East, Mr Goretetse Kekgonegile, the residents said the construction of the police station would help to speedily address influx of cases as their area was experiencing an increase in crime.

They cited house break-ins, assaults, and theft by young people while some indulged in drugs and substance abuse.

They said high numbers of unregulated shebeens that played loud music worsened the problems.

Boseja North, they said, had turned into a criminal hub as there was a group of disrespectful youngsters hanging out in an abandoned plot next to the kgotla purposely to terrorise residents at night.

“The situation is really bad, and we no longer feel safe in our own homes. 

Many families have been attacked on several occasions and the police response time was worrisome,” said a concerned resident, Mr Otshotswe Thabari.

He said they were being terrorised by a group of young people who infested their buildings night after night, adding that some people would be compelled to take the law into their hands if action was not taken accordingly.

Mr Kealaotse Sekuka also expressed concern about the alarming cases of juvenile delinquency, especially school going children, saying they were showing disturbing and violent behaviour even at home.

Mushrooming churches in the area, he said, exacerbated the situation as some pupils had neglected their studies and spent most of their time at church.

He said the envisaged police station would be a welcome development as visibility of the police would be enhanced and with the support of the leadership and the community, the police could deploy various strategies to curb the anti-social behaviour displayed by pupils.

 Mr Dickinson Samaemo also conceded the rampancy of youth delinquency, especially lack of respect to elders and blamed some families, saying uncles and parents had neglected their roles of providing positive guidance to children.

Young people, he said, needed guidance as they were faced with many challenges due to lack of recreational facilities and unemployment, hence they resorted to social ills.

He also called for reinstatement of corporal punishment, saying that was the only remedy for youth delinquency.

For his part, area MP, Mr Kekgonegile admitted that Maun deserved a second police station to curb the escalating criminal activities.

He said he was equally concerned about the unbecoming behaviour displayed by young people including school going children, adding that the law was too lenient on delinquents as a results of too many rights and wished corporal punishment could be administered in an effort to bring the situation under control.

He cited some schools such as Tsodilo Junior Secondary School saying police officers used to be deployed at the school at the end of the final examination as completors used to fight others and threatened teachers.

Mr Kekgonegile further revealed that it was unfortunate that some elderly members of society contributed to the moral decay as they were found to be fuelling negative behaviour by selling drugs and other habit forming substances to children.

He pleaded with parents to discipline, nurture and mould their children into law abiding citizens. 

Parents were also encouraged to help teachers discipline children as it was their responsibility to shape the behaviour of their children. ENDS