Police suspect foul play in Tlotso's disappearance
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday June 21, 2022 06:00
Last week, members of the public in Lobatse rioted over DNA results that suggested that the latest body remains discovered along the Kanye road belong to the missing boy.
The dejected residents blocked road exits with stones, burnt tyres, vandalised police vehicles, and in the process injured three police officers.
The boy’s disappearance took the whole nation by storm, sparking debate across social media platforms with members of the public having different views on the matter.
A majority of people called for the police to allow traditional doctors to intervene and help locate the child, as they strongly believed the child was still alive as alleged.
On April 13, police through a tip-off managed to recover human remains in the bush along the Kanye road that was later confirmed to belong to the little boy through a DNA test.
However, his parents rejected the results and the remains, seeking to conduct their own independent investigations.
Addressing the media in Lobatse on Friday, acting police commissioner, deputy commissioner Solomon Mantswe confirmed that they suspect foul play and have opened a murder case. He stated that their actions are influenced by how things turned out after receiving the tip-off.
“We have classified the matter as a murder case after assessing the crime scene because of the way we have received the tip-off and the situation in which we have recovered the human remains and the boy’s clothes,” he said.
Mantswe further assured the nation that despite having changed its scope, Karema’s (Tlotso) case is still under investigation and they are doing everything to resolve the matter.
“With the help of DIS {Directorate of Intelligence and Security}, we have met with the little boy’s family and have heard their concerns on how as the police we have been handling the case since its inception,” he said. “The family was unhappy with the police for having delayed attending to the case after receiving the report, but we have since assured them that we will do everything to help resolve the matter.”
Mantswe further stated that contrary to some reports accusing Peleng kgosi and some politicians of concealing the boy’s whereabouts, the police do not have such information.
He admitted to having arrested some members of the public who were taking advantage of the situation and inciting violence.
“We had responded swiftly to stop someone who had assured people across social media platforms that he was going to show people where the missing boy was because we were avoiding turmoil because a mob had trooped to the streets for demonstration. The DNA results pointed to the missing child, but we have allowed the parents to conduct their independent investigations after rejecting our DNA results,” he said.
DIS director-general, Peter Magosi who was part of the media briefing, assured the nation that together with the police they will help resolve the matter. He said they have listened to the concerns of the boy’s parents and had considered them hence pleading for calm from members of the public.
“I am pleading for calmness; ntwa kgolo ke ya molomo. I can assure the nation that a team of investigators has been assembled to carry out more enquiries,” Magosi said.