Thamaga gang rears its ugly head
Sharon Mathala | Monday October 19, 2015 12:58
The attacks happened hardly a year after the thugs brutally killed a 66-old woman, Montle Gaadingwe in the neighbouring ward of Kgosing.
Thamaga Police confirmed the attacks to The Monitor. Acting Station Commander Otsile Gaboinewe said they received a report of a rape and robbery incident involving a 63-year-old retired police officer.
Gaboinewe said according to the victim, three men entered her house in the wee hours and attacked her.
“The three men who are currently on the run, raped and robbed the victim of cash amounting to P1,560 and a Nokia 2600 cellphone,” he said adding that no suspects have been identified and investigations continue.
When quizzed whether they suspected the notorious gangs, he said, “at this stage it could be anyone, we cannot rule out that it is not only the so called child gangs that commit these crimes. We are doing all we can to arrest the culprits.”
The Monitor visited the retired officer at her home and were met by an angry neighbour who shared the villagers’ suspicions of who is behind the attack.
Walking with this reporter to the house where the incident happened the man said, “Ke Matsetsenkane (the notorious gang), I am sure of it.”He explained that the woman is a retired police officer. “When they broke into the house they handcuffed her with the handcuffs she kept at home and blind-folded her. I heard that they also raped her and stole her belongings. It is really terrible I hope the police arrest them,” he said.
The seemingly distressed victim found it difficult to relate her ordeal.
“We are still dealing with the issue. Give me sometime I will talk to you about it,” she said.
The feared Thamaga gangs, whose members are mainly Junior Secondary school dropouts, have forced residents into weekend night curfews as they rampage through the village from dusk to dawn.
After the mob descended on Gaadingwe’s home in Kgosing ward last November, beating her to death and leaving her daughter with serious life-threatening injuries, the security services finally responded to the villagers cry for help.
Members of the Botswana Police Service and Botswana Defence Force descended on the village and order was restored. Villagers are now concerned that since the withdrawal of the security forces, the gangs are regrouping and terror is returning.