Letlhakane shebeens catalysts of brutal crimes
Pini Bothoko | Monday March 27, 2023 06:00
Unmasking the brutal reality behind crimes that attract violence and death in the village, Mmegi Staff Writer, PINI BOTHOKO observes that shebeens are catalysts for alcohol-related crimes
Alcohol is believed to be among the primary drivers of Letlhakane’s high rates of crime and shebeens are understood to be the scenes of alcohol-related crimes.
Public perception is that while shebeens create employment, they are also crime nests where brutal murders, rape, bodily harm and other assault offences take place. The police believe there is a link between alcohol consumption and crime. However, concern has been raised about the high level of alcohol abuse and a rise in crime.
For years, Letlhakane popularly known as Zowa, has been a hub for social ills such as murder, defilement, and rape, just to mention but a few which mostly occur at or near shebeens.
The nerve-wrecking trend has become a norm despite several interventions by the police and stakeholders to nip rape incidents in the bud. Some shebeens trade illegally because of their location in residential areas and many of them are ineligible for liquor licences.
In an interview with Mmegi, Letlhakane Police Station Commander, Superintendent Michael Maphephu raised concerns over the mushrooming and unbridled shebeens in his policing area that he said needs to be urgently tamed. Maphephu revealed that this past Friday, they held an operation targeting shebeens and managed to arrest and charge eight people who paid a fine as admission of guilt for selling traditional alcohol without permits and beyond stipulated hours. “We are much concerned with the mushrooming of shebeens in this area.
We have since established that shebeens fuel violent and serious crimes like rape, murder and assault cases. We are declaring war on Bommaspoto (shebeens owners) who don’t comply. We are not going to negotiate or compromise because murder cases are high in this area and mostly they start as fights at shebeens. The law will take its course,” he declared. Maphephu stated that acting under the influence of alcohol, elbow-benders have the tendency of fighting over petty issues that could have been resolved verbally.
He added that crimes are committed at these shebeens late at night after the stipulated operating times and people are also mugged on their way from late night shebeens at times getting raped.
[[The senior police officer said the alcohol mostly sold is beer in quarts, traditional brews like khadi, mokoko-o-nchebile, chibuku and jabula in the street lingo of Letlhakane. He said people drink too much alcohol and end up fighting over petty issues that could have been resolved]]. Maphephu revealed that many people have lost their lives following misunderstandings that led to brawls.
He added that the majority of the shebeens are difficult to identify because many of them sell liquor on a small scale while some are hidden in cattle posts in the outskirts of the village. “Fights that result in stabbings are a regular occurrence at the village’s drinking holes especially on weekends but we are declaring a war on shebeen operators who don’t comply.
A lot of crimes take place when people don’t sleep and gathered drinking and criminals take advantage and mingle with those, to start robbing people. Our efforts to curb illegal shebeens are not bearing fruits as the outfits continue to mushroom on a daily basis,” he said. He stated that they occasionally do patrols to raid illegal shebeens and charge shebeen operators P500 upwards and their alcohol confiscated but shebeens continue to mushroom on daily basis. Moreover, Maphephu said due to the mushrooming of shebeens, complaints from the public are rife over noise pollution arising from continuous drinking and dancing by patrons.
He issued a warning to shebeen operators stating that operating unlicensed beer outlet is an offence and they will continue to clamp on such operators. “Women mostly under the influence of alcohol are attacked and raped while walking alone at night from these shebeens that operate beyond stipulated times. We continue to record murder cases whereby people die from knife-stab wounds that started as a case of bodily harm when people were fighting at shebeens,” he said.
Maphephu stated that mostly it will be men stabbing each other or stabbing their lovers during love relationship disputes. “We have been conducting awareness campaigns urging people to respect the sanctity of life, to refrain from carrying knives and to avoid settling disputes through violent means but our efforts continue to fall on deaf ears. However, we will not despair, we will raid shebeens and curb escalating violate crimes in our policing area,” Maphephu said.