Property division ingredient for murder
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday February 15, 2022 09:29
This came in the wake of a Botswana Defence Force (BDF) officer of the rank of Major shooting and killing his wife before committing suicide in Molepolole last week.
The cause of the couple’s conflict that ended up in both deaths is not yet known. The tiny village of Mmathethe where Major Nkitseng Basutli hails from is reeling in shock after he shot and killed his wife in broad daylight and in the process injured his nephew, who is currently in hospital fighting for his life.
On Friday, The Monitor had a chat with Mmathethe head of records Reuben Mosala, who raised concern over escalating murders often referred to as passion killings in Botswana.
Conceding to be aware of Major Basutli’s actions and having since visited the mourning family, Mosala said even though he does not know what lead to the couple’s dispute, usually, when married people head towards divorce or separation like the Basutlis, such couples tend to fight over division of property.
“I am not saying the Basutlis were fighting over property, but I am told the couple was on separation and the husband’s family was planning to reconcile them before the couple’s misfortune. The village is reeling in shock following what transpired. It is high time parents speed ups reconciling couples when troubled to avoid situations like this,” Mosala said.
Mosala stated that the divorce process is notorious for fostering arguments as feelings of anger, pain and revenge can cause spouses to choose not to act cooperatively and hurt each other. He added that disagreements over the division of property and time with children are inevitable hence likely to cause disputes that can lead to fights and at times death.
Mosala said sadly some people fail to contain these emotions and choose to kill their partners out of frustration. He called on partners not to bottle up feelings when troubled to avoid making uninformed decisions.
“Women continue to lose their lives at the hands of their partners. For years we have been talking and sensitising the public through kgotla meetings pleading with lovers to seek help when troubled but our pleas continue to fall on deaf ears,” Mosala said.
Mosala stated that is of serious concern that despite their efforts as Dikgosi with the help of the police, passion killings remain a big concern, especially amongst the youth.
“Ga gona ntlo ee sa neng! People should learn to talk things over, seek help to resolve their differences without the use of violence. People should learn to respect the sanctity of life,” he said.