Son burns family house, mother still in hiding
Son burns family home, forcing mother and siblings to flee
Ayoung man of Lotlhakane East set his family home on fire this past week, leaving everything burnt and destroyed. When The Midweek Sun team visited the family, the uninhabitable home was deserted with no one in sight.
Two separate houses - a single room and a two bedroomed house - within the yard were visibly charred. One had broken windows and damaged furniture, while the roofing of the other house had collapsed inward. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the neighbours told this publication that the family ran for dear life because the young man was visibly angry, breaking windows and proving a danger to both his mother and siblings. “The mother ran away because she was unable to control her son. He attacked and harassed the family in the afternoon and they fled the scene. “The boy then went on to set the house on fire in the evening.
We were alerted by a dark cloud coming from the family home and immediately called for help,” an elderly neighbour narrated. The neighbour added that the mother, who she could only identify as Tlhware, lost her husband a long time ago and has been raising her four children alone. “Tlhware is not a very open person, she never publicly told us that her son was harassing them but it was always evident. We could only watch from a distance because even when we tried to intervene, she would always say everything is okay.” Another neighbour alleged that Tlhware is currently in Kanye and confirmed too that Tlhware’s son had been terrorising the family for a long time and wished she could have asked for help. Kanye Police station commander Mmoloki Mogale confirmed handling the case saying the young man has been sent to S’brana for psychiatric assessment. “We are still waiting for the results because some have been suggesting that he might be unwell,” Mogale said. Area councillor Shimane Thelo said they have been trying to contact Tlhware but to no avail. “From what I have gathered, she is a very private person and we are still to locate her,” said Thelo, who has been making repeated visits to the Tlhware home and found no one. What worries him is the level of youth lawlessness in his area.
“Just recently we had over 60 junior school students whipped at the Kgotla for misbehaving. Young people are out of control in this area, the situation is worsening by the day so I am not shocked that a young boy burnt his mother’s home,” Thelo said. The councillor said that after schools introduced shift classes in an effort to decongest classrooms and in observance of Covid-19 protocols, students now use the free time to misbehave and cause trouble.