‘Love Doesn’t Kill’ - Tlokweng Police
espite Botswana being known as a peaceful country, a series of murders in the name of passion often referred to as ‘passion killing’continue to be the country’s nightmare.
For years, ‘crimes of passion’ have been tearing Tlokweng apart with dozens of women losing their lives at the hands of a lover or ex. Tlokweng police are investigating two murder cases that occurred on Saturday.
This comes barely a week after other similar incidents were recorded in the same precinct. Tlokweng Police station commander, Superintendent Unoziba Rari raised concern over escalating ‘crimes of passion’ in his policing area.
Rari stated that murders arising out of love affairs and suspicion of infidelity are on the rise in Tlokweng despite efforts to curb the scourge. “We are investigating yet another murder incident in which a 25-yearold woman of Selebi-Phikwe was stabbed to death with a knife by her Tobane native boyfriend at Masetlheng ward in Tlokweng on Saturday noon,” he said. Rari said investigations on the matter are ongoing to establish what transpired between the lovers. However, Rari revealed to have since established that the 29-year-old Tobane inhabitant had just arrived that Saturday morning to visit his girlfriend. “We do not know what really happened, but we suspect that they might have had a misunderstanding that led to the fight prior to the murder incident. The suspect, who is currently hospitalised at Princess Marina Referral Hospital, tried to stab himself with the same knife in the ribs but he is recuperating after sustaining serious injuries,” Rari said.
In another similar incident, Rari said they have recorded a murder incident that occurred later that evening around 1900hrs Letlapeng ward still in Tlokweng, in which a 44-year-old Moshupa woman was stabbed to death with a sharp object.
The police chief said the deceased was killed by her Kanye-born boyfriend who fled the scene thereafter. He stated that investigations into the matter are ongoing to locate and arrest the suspect who is still at large. Rari said the upsurge in murder cases as a result of misunderstandings between intimate lovers has become a tragic trend in Tlokweng over the years. He said almost every weekend they receive reports of love related disputes.
“Fights between intimate partners and ex-lovers are of great concern in my policing area. People no longer value the sanctity of human life as they choose to kill whenever it suits them. The disputes that usually lead to deaths occur when the other party wants to walk out of a relationship whilst the other is a result of jealousy and insecurity.
People should know that ‘love does not kill’, you cannot kill someone you claim to love,” he said. He called on couples to seek help when troubled to avoid unnecessary outcomes. Rari further called on Batswana to learn to talk things out and seek help to resolve their differences without using violence against each other.