Security forces bring order to Thamaga village
Mpho Mokwape | Thursday December 18, 2014 13:00
Speaking with Mmegi, Botswana Police Divisional Officer Commanding South, Oreeditse Mautle said they have been monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of people living in the community and their property.
“Not to say I can speak for the people of Thamaga who have been the victims of this ruthless acts by the gangs, but as the police I can confidently say the situation is under control”, he said. Mautle confirmed that the heavy presence of the police deployed from villages as far as Molepolole and Lobatse, together with the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and Special Support Group (SSG) have brought change in curbing ill-discipline from the youth who have been terrorising the village.
He said the police alone have been unable to bring the ‘flaming monster’ under control, therefore it was high time other forces were roped-in to end the severe threat to public safety.
“The heavy presence of security forces in the village will continue until we are satisfied that the situation is totally under control.
“And since we are moving towards festive days, we are going to increase our policing to make sure that the community enjoys the holidays freely,” he said. For his part, Senior Superintendent Kevin Mookodi, who is the Officer Commanding for District No 11, said since the arrest of the 10-gang members, gang terror and disturbance in the village has gone down. “We have situation reports but they are not as bad as the ones that have been carried by gang members.
“We have reports that are normal and not that much of a bigger threat to public safety,” he said. The village has been on lock down for the past three weeks from security forces including members of BDF and Special Support Group (SSG) following the recent murder of an elderly woman by gang members.”
Meanwhile, 10 members of the gang were arrested recently and are in police custody awaiting murder charges. They will appear today at the Molepolole Magistrate Court.