Khwee child returns after police issue alert
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Thursday September 1, 2022 12:15
According to Letlhakane acting police station commander, Assistant Superintendent Tsholofelo Masole the 60-year-old woman reported herself to Palapye Police Station recently after a Botswana Police Service (BPS) spot announcement.
The BPS spot announcement went viral on social media and radio stations about a woman who took a five-year-old girl from her mother in Khwee settlement. Masole said that upon questioning the Motswana woman, she told the police that she had an agreement with the mother of the toddler.
Masole elaborated that according to the woman, who is a regular visitor to the Khwee settlement, it was not the first time she and the mother of the five-year-old girl met.
“The woman said that before the agreement with the mother to take the child, she complimented her on giving birth to beautiful children. After that, she proceeded on to ask the mother to give her the child to which she did not object,” she added. Masole said that the girl's mother gave consent for her daughter to be taken so that she could be raised by the woman.
Furthermore, it was later on the same day, when the child's family started asking about her whereabouts that the mother told them that someone had taken her. She stated that upon hearing this, the child's uncles then reported the matter to the police. “After they reported the matter, we made a spot announcement and when the 60-year-old caught it she then handed herself to the police,” said Masole.
The acting police station commander added that when the mother of the preschooler was questioned by the police she confirmed that she gave consent for her child to be taken away.
Masole stated that the mother also confirmed that the 60-year-old woman gave her all her details in case of an emergency but she misplaced them. She said that the 60-year-old woman apologised to the family and the police for taking the child. Masole said they advised the woman to use the right legal processes if she was still interested in raising the child.