Four women killed in a week, two by husbands

In a space of exactly seven days, the police have announced deaths of at least four women suspected to have been murdered throughout the country.

It appears Gender Based Violence (GBV) cases are continuing to grow in Botswana despite efforts made towards eliminating all types of abuse against women. In some of the horror cases recorded this past week, Gomolemo Mmotlanyana, who is husband of 34-year-old Kebabope Mmotlanyana is accused of killing his wife at the Women’s Shelter in Gaborone. According to the police, Kebabope and husband were getting counselling at the shelter when the husband unexpectedly stabbed his wife to death in front of the counsellor. It is alleged that the couple had been having differences for a long time and counselling was meant to reconcile them. The man has been arrested and remains in custody. In another incident, Molepolole police are handling a case in which Phologo Kgakgamatso, former deputy school head at Takatokwane Primary School, was allegedly killed by husband Sylvester Phologo this past Friday. The husband was arrested by the police on the day only for him to commit suicide inside police cells. In another incident that happened in Selibe Phikwe, a 31-year-old woman was found dead in the middle of a neighbour’s yard. According to Officer Commanding No. 10 District Senior Superintendent Meshack Pulenyane, the yard owner woke up to find a woman dead in her home. And even though the police are not comfortable with sharing the identity of the deceased, the public has already identified her as Barulaganye Mothata and are already sharing her pictures on social media. “When she opened her door in the morning, she was met by a horror sight of a woman lying unconscious on the ground. She was all bloody, it appeared as if her neck had been carved,” Pulenyane explained. As soon as the police arrived, the woman was rushed to the hospital where she was confirmed dead. Pulenyane said the family of the deceased resides not far from where the woman was found dead. When questioned by the police, the family said they last saw the deceased on Friday night. Selibe Phikwe police has not been able to make any arrests in connection with the murder to this day. In an almost similar fashion, a woman was found dead and abandoned in one of the incomplete two-roomed houses in Ramotswa this week. Ramotswa station commander Keoagile Tau says that they are still trying to investigate the death of the middle aged woman. The deceased allegedly had no bruises or visible injuries to suggest that she was attacked.