Knife-stabbing cases surge in Mahalapye
Pini Bothoko | Monday April 11, 2022 06:00
Members of the public have been urged to leave knives out of disputes as efforts to tackle knife crime remain a challenge. The police have raised a concern over escalating knife attacks and deaths from stabbing in Mahalapye and its environs. Every weekend, clinics and hospitals are overwhelmed by patients with life threatening knife wounds as the country grapples with an emerging knife culture among young adults. The police have also revealed that knife crime particularly among the youth, especially young men, is worsened by alcohol intake.
Quizzed about the matter, the district Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer, superintendent Bannetse Baakile expressed concern over escalating fights that erupt at entertainment places and usually lead to serious bodily harm or death incidents.
Baakile said the incidents in which people were killed with knives have risen in his policing area with Mahalapye topping the list. He stated that when doing regular stop and search patrols, they always find young men in possession of knives and other objects, which are usually used as a weapon whenever there is an argument.
The senior police officer revealed that from January to date, they have recorded 53 cases of knife stabbing in Mahalapye and the surrounding areas. He stated that it is truly awful that more young lives continue to be lost to the pandemic of knife stabbing across the country thus far.
“A knife is the most used weapon in Mahalapye and surrounding areas as we always record murder cases in which people die from knife stabbing and grievous bodily harm incidents. The majority of victims and perpetrators are the youth, mostly being men stabbing each other or stabbing their lovers in love relationships disputes,” Bakile said.
The police chief said currently they are investing two knife-stabbing cases that occurred in Mosolotshane village in which one of the victims succumbed to the injuries whilst the other is still fighting for his life at the hospital.
“In a recent incident, a misunderstanding between brothers left one dead after the older brother ended up stabbing his younger brother with a sharp object and landed him in hospital where he later succumbed to the injuries,” he said.
In yet another past weekend incident, a 22-year-old young man’s life is hanging by a thread after he was stabbed with a sharp object following a fight over a girlfriend.
“The victim had sustained multiple stabbings and is currently fighting for his life at Mahalapye Hospital while an assailant of the same age is in police custody facing a single count of grievous bodily harm,” he said.
Baakile further said they have been pleading with men to refrain from carrying knives, but despite this, their efforts continue to fall on deaf ears as men continue to go around carrying knives.
The police have since established that people who carry knives appear to have confidence to fight back whenever they are involved in an argument and would be the first to remove the weapon. However, concerned by the surge in knife incidents, he stated that efforts are in place to establish why young men prefer to carry knives, especially at night and at entertainment places.