SUSPECTED BOYFRIEND KILLER JAILED
A 30-year-old woman of Shashe ward in Maun was arraigned for the murder of her boyfriend on Tuesday.
Goabaone Kakanyo and her now deceased boyfriend, Otsile Lekgetho, had an argument at her house in Shashe on Sunday 25th April before she took a knife and stabbed the boyfriend.
Confirming the incident, Maun Station Commander, Chenamo Orateng, revealed that they received a report from Kakanyo’s neighbour at around 10pm.
“A neighbour called and informed us that she went to watch television at Kakanyo’s house when the couple started arguing and she left to allow them talk in private, revealed Orateng.”
Shortly after she left, Lekgetho allegedly followed the neighbour to her house to tell her that his girlfriend had stabbed him with a knife before collapsing, explained Orateng.
According to Orateng, the police responded quickly and found Lekgetho lying in a pool of blood at the neighbour’s house and rushed him to the hospital where he was certified dead upon arrival.
Making her first appearance in court after the incident, Goabaone Kakanyo, who seemed relaxed, did not make a plea as she requested to engage the services of an attorney. The issue of bail was not entertained because the investigating officer was held up due to the postmortem report.
Kakanyo is set to appear in court again on the 10th May and she will be remanded until then.
(CRC) in Tlokweng, an assessment centre for learners with special needs for inclusive education, and it was confirmed that her daughter indeed had autism.
“But I said to the gentleman who was helping me that even after the diagnosis, I can’t say I understand what autism really is except that autism means the child has a condition but it’s just like raising a ‘normal’ child. And our education system is not accommodating of such children.”
Her child was enrolled at the Camphill Community Trust’s Rankoromane School in Otse for a year, where she learnt valuable life skills but also came back having mirrored other disturbing behaviours from her schoolmates.
“The school equipped her with important life skills and the training ensured that she is relatively independent. For example, domestically, she’s well trained; she knows that when it rains she has to run out to pick her clothes from the line,” she says, as her daughter interrupts us - she holds up a pot - and Maine explains the lack of social cues, almost apologetically... But that’s not all a parent wishes for their child.
Maine says she worries about the lack of resources in our country and how expensive the few that exist are.
“After the diagnosis, my priority was to look for the facilities to take care of my child; a school, and therapies that can help.”
She started raising funds for enrollment into another school; Ambrose Academy - a special needs school in Gaborone North - in the hope that her daughter could reach her full potential. “I washed cars, cleaned houses and crowdfunded just to get my daughter into that school. I have been blessed with good friends and relatives, they all assisted,” she says, adding that she, however, managed only one term, which cost P23,000.
Maine points out that this condition, or disorder, varies from person to person, hence she would rather people ask or educate themselves about the disorder. As such, she saw the need to start a movement in 2018 simply called ‘ Ask Me About Autism BW.’
“The movement was formed for exactly that; so people stop assuming or having misconceptions and just ask. I started it to actively raise awareness about autism, so people can be kinder, open minded and realise that autism is a spectrum, no one child is the same and sometimes everyone involved just needs a little bit of compassion. The misconceptions can be frustrating. Someone might say, ‘Oh, I hear autistic kids are geniuses!’ … And that’s not always the case.”
“The word spectrum in ASD means that every child is unique and has their own combination of characteristics. These combine to give them a distinct social communication and behaviour profile.”
She says since children with ASD do not develop sufficient communication skills, society may mistake their meltdowns to be mere tantrums when in fact they aren’t.
These meltdowns may include screaming, crying or aggression, to express their needs. “I haven’t had a helper in 5 years. It’s not easy retaining helpers. When autistic kids have a meltdown, it’s never a subtle one. The aggression can be anything from screeching to violently scratching and strangling you. And it can be triggered by anything and can go on for hours. She’ll apologise but even when you know why this just happened, you cannot be fine after that, at least not immediately,” she explains with tears in her eyes.”
Autistic people thrive on routine; “For them, everything has to be on schedule. Whenever there’s load shedding, I get worried because she has no understanding of why the lights are off. It can be overwhelming.”
Despite all this, Maine counts her blessings as she says her family and friends are supportive.
“I don’t feel a void in that department. My parents and siblings are great pillars in our lives and I have an amazing circle of very helpful people. I’m truly priviledged in that regard, but dating is hard and recently it dawned on me that I might never get married, and I’ve come to accept that.”
Maine says the transition from child to teenager was smooth. “She is a ‘normal’ teenager for the most part, she loves music, makeup and other girly teenage stuff. It’s just when she gets overwhelmed, only then do things become a bit much but she’s a typical teen.”
The resilient Maine, who thanks God for His provisions and protection all these years, will be one of the panellists at the upcoming Choppies Mother’s Day webinar themed ‘The motherhood Shift’.
“I plan to continue to create awareness as much as I can. My beneficiary of choice is Ambrose Trust, which owns the school Ambrose Academy,” her daughter’s former school, which she plans to send her back to. Her longterm vision is “to have an assisted living environment for young adults and older people living with Autism.”