26 Feb 2026

Once considered a high-crime area, Bontleng community in Gaborone has seen significant progress over the years through strengthened community policing, youth sports initiatives and local infrastructure improvements. 

However, the urban neighbourhood continues to battle a serious alcohol and drug abuse problem. Speaking at a community leaders’ sensitisation meeting held at Bontleng Urban Customary Court last Friday, Sledge Mothibi, director of Captive Eye Organisation, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to social welfare and community health, said substance  abuse remained widespread in the area.

Mr Mothibi said that during his engagements with residents, more than seven “trap houses” were identified as hubs for drug users and illegal substances such as crystal meth and marijuana. He added that drug abuse often intersected with human trafficking and prostitution, a cycle health officials warned it increases vulnerability to HIV and AIDS.

The matron at Bontleng Community Clinic, Moemedi Zachariah, said approximately 4,800 people were currently on antiretroviral therapy (ARVs), highlighting the scale of the public-health challenge facing the community.

Constable Charles Johane of  Botswana Police Service Narcotics, Fauna and Flora Investigations Unit echoed Mr Mothibi’s concerns, noting that the top three drugs of concern in the Bontleng/White City area are marijuana, crack cocaine and methcathinone. 

He confirmed that police had raided over a thousand trap houses countrywide, with Bontleng among the affected areas. He reminded residents that possession, trafficking and use of illegal drugs are criminal offences and urged the community to stand together with police in combating the social ill. BOPA