One injured in police and residents stand off

Lebogang Baingapi | Wednesday May 13, 2015 16:56

According to one source, police fired teargas and rubber bullets, and residents trampled over each other as they scurried to flee. It is alleged that the victim was rushed to Jwaneng Mine hospital for treatment and later referred to Princess Marina hospital in Gaborone.

Jwaneng Police station officer Assistant Superintendent Kitsiso Lemogang, refuted allegations that they registered one injury, insisting that the only individual who sustained injured was the truck driver, when the accident occurred. He said that they received a report that two horse and trailer trucks had collided near Jwaneng mine airport in the early morning of Thursday.

“When police arrived on the scene, they learnt that a horse and trailer full of concrete had a puncture on the roadside, before the one carrying vegetables hit it from behind. Members of the public came in numbers to try and pick the fallen vegetables, but police used teargas and rubber bullets to try and disperse the increasing crowd,” he said.

Lemogang added that while the company later gave them the green light to allow the residents to take the vegetables, one truck owner reported that his spare wheel was missing.

 “We found the wheel at a house in Unit 3, Jwaneng. The suspect, a man aged between 35 and 40 years old, ran away when police pounced on his house to search it but his wife submitted the wheel and his truck. The man was later arrested and will appear in court soon,” he said.