09 Jan 2014

Police arrested 21 suspects in connection with various offences, among them, house breakings and armed robberies committed in and around Gaborone during the festive season.

A press release from the Botswana Police Service stated that the suspects were 16 Batswana, three Egyptians, one Zimbabwean and one Zambian whose ages ranged between 25 and 39. Nationally, the police operation that ran from December 17, 2013 to January 5, 2014 recorded 20 murder cases across Botswana for the period under review.

In one of such incident, a man stabbed his brother to death in Selebi Phikwe’s Botshabelo area after a dispute over a smart card for food basket erupted between them.

Meanwhile, police said they were disturbed by the growing number of cattle roaming roads because they caused the majority of the accidents. During the festive season operation, 17 420 cattle were removed from the roads compared to 13 191 during the same period last year.

The release said 667 road accidents were recorded, from which 373 drivers were charged for drunken driving. Twenty deaths occurred as a result of road accidents compared to 12 during the same period last year.

Police, however, stated that they observed general peace throughout Botswana during the festive season and would like to commend Batswana for such attitude and for their cooperation with police operatives. ENDS