We are not safe

Mmegi Editor | Monday December 11, 2023 06:00

Worse, even the presumably safest places like churches and hospitals amongst others are not safe anymore as criminals are not even ashamed to rob the places of worship, pastors, the sick, medical doctors and people living with disabilities.

Depending on the proceeds of crime has seemingly weakened the minds of criminals to the extent that they have become preoccupied with dispossessing people of their hard-earned valuables than looking for jobs out there. They pursue their missions with such vigour and violence to the extent that they don’t seem to care about the well-being of those they rob and sometimes leaving them with serious bodily harm.

In this edition, we carry a story showing how the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Pono Moatlhodi popularly known as ‘PPP’ was attacked by Honda Fit-bound thugs who nearly went away with his thick wallet and two mobile phones.

Moatlhodi’s attackers surprised him with a stone just at the entrance of his parliamentary home in full view of his security guard and neighbour Mosa Senwelo who promptly helped fight the thugs after they had flattened Moatlhodi to the ground with a stone blow.

Scenes like Moatlhodi’s are becoming so common in our shores so much that some people have now chosen to keep quiet on them just out of embarrassment, fear and frustration. A few months ago, we saw scenes like Moatlhodi’s on the social media across the border in South Africa and now they are spreading like veld fire in our own country. It really shows that even in the criminal world there are copycats who easily import undesirable modus operandi and terrorise the people. As a public figure and for others of the same status, the government should promptly provide them with proper security given the nature of their work.

Last year February, worried by the surge in home invasions, the Minister of Defence and Security, Kagiso Mmusi instructed members of the Botswana Police Service (BPS) to shoot and kill perpetrators as a way of controlling the spiralling crime.

Equally worried by the Moatlhodi case and others, we take this opportunity as a newspaper speaking for the masses to remind the police about the instruction of their political head, to ensure there is calm, serene and peace especially within the capital city Gaborone and its environs. There is just no way Batswana can live in constant fear and torture making Gaborone an unsafe place when we have the security organs to ‘weed out’ criminal elements from our midst who continue to wreak havoc.

We pray that the Commissioner of Police (acting), Phemelo Ramakorwane, and his team should rise to the occasion and fight to keep Gaborone and its environs a safe place to live and do business in.

Today's thought

“Stopping crime before it occurs is the most effective crime fighting tool of all.”

– Blanche Lincoln