NOT HELPFUL: Batswana losing trust in the police

•They are always quick to say ‘Ga rena Koloi’

Ex-convict cries for help against crime and drugs

Batswana are losing trust in the police because of the slow response they often get from law enforcement officers when reporting crimes.

What is more devastating for victims is when the police tell them that there are no vehicles to attend to emergencies like house break-ins and assaults.

This emboldens criminals to do as they please because there is no urgency on the side of the police. This was revealed by unhappy residents of Sebele Ward in Gaborone North Constituency at a meeting to discuss crime in their area. The residents said whenever they call the police for help, they are met with, ‘Ga rena koloi,’ yet at that moment, a woman is being battered to death by her lover. This lack of response by the police has now led to most Batswana not reporting anymore even when their properties get stolen.

This explains the low crime statistics that the police have and because of those low numbers, the country and the officers are misled into thinking that crime prevalence is low. Gaborone North residents say the statistics that police have are not a true reflection of what is happening on the ground. When providing crime statistics, Sir Seretse Khama International Airport Police Acting station commander Mosetsanagape Baitsadi said their policing area covers G-North, Block 10 and

Sebele wards. In 2021, they recorded zero cases of burglary at Sebele ward and only one case in 2022. Robbery attempts and murder are zero cases for 2021 and 2022, for house breaking, the ward recorded one case for each year.

In Block 10, there were five burglary cases in 2021 and 11 in 2022. Robbery attempts stand at nine and eight for 2021 and 2022 while house breaking is at four and five for the two years.

G-North recorded eight burglary cases in 2021 and four in 2022. Robbery and attempts were 10 in 2021 and three in 2022. There were no murder cases in G North in the past two years. The residents are not convinced the official numbers cited give a true picture of the crime in the said areas. Residents say they have almost given up on reporting the crimes as help never comes. Dorcus Chapane, a resident, said police visibility in Sebele is not enough, “We only see the police once in a while. We hardly see the police doing patrols.”

Another resident who identified himself as Paledi said sometimes they as residents, do their own patrols at night in their area and it was true that there was no police presence in the area.

“We only see them when they come to fuel their cars then they go.” Oitsile Kwatsi who is Gaborone North Ward Development Committee chairperson is more sympathetic to the situation at police stations, saying it was worrying that the police have no resources. The number of police officers, he said, is low and on top of that, they have no vehicle to attend to emergencies. “I remember in December last year around 0200hrs. I met three men who were with a woman. One of the men was assaulting the woman, it seemed as if she was his lover. He beat her up badly that I was forced to stop and intervene. “I asked them what they were doing and all the three men went quiet, the woman then said they were beating her and she could not get up. “I called the police for help and the response was that there was no car to attend to the matter as the only available car had transported a dead person to Marina.”

Kwatsi said the matter was left at that because there was nothing that could be done. He was aware that someone had committed suicide earlier during the day and knew the police were not lying. Deputy Commissioner of Police Solomon Mantswe said as a resident of Block 10 himself, he was aware of the issues raised, adding that the Police are committed to eliminating crime in the area. However, they can only do this through the assistance of the public, he said.

Mantswe said that the police will not stop at anything when dealing with criminals. “In our country, there is no stopping the police when someone has committed a crime and needs to be arrested. We will not leave you no matter who you are, even if you are armed, it is our job as the police to ensure we arrest you. “If there is need to kill you, when the law is followed, we will do so and when the time comes for us to explain, we will do so,” Mantswe said. Mantswe said despite all the concerns that members of the public have, the police are doing their best.

“We have our shortfalls but many of us do their work well, however, there are some cops who disappoint and embarrass us. We have an Internal Affairs Unit where the public can report anything they feel the police should not be doing. We do charge such police officers,” he said.

The police boss also added that Batswana should not fear tipping off the police when they suspect something, adding that they will always protect whistle-blowers and even pay them in monetary form, for providing the police with information.

Commenting on the unavailability of Police vehicles, Gaborone City Council Mayor (GCC) Austin Abraham suggested that where possible, other government departments should lend the police vehicles at night so that they can attend to reports. “It is just a suggestion, we will engage Deputy Police Commissioner on it because after knock off time at 1630hrs, some government vehicles are parked, so maybe they can be taken to the nearest police station so that they can utilised,” he said.