Newborn dumped in cooler box

Pini Bothoko | Tuesday February 2, 2016 16:18

Tatitown police station commander Superintendent Cyprian Magalila said police found the cooler box along the road but were shocked to find a newborn baby girl inside.

“The baby was certified dead upon arrival at the Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital. We are appealing to the general public to help in identifying the child’s mother. We promise the general public that the information will be treated with extra confidentiality,” said Magalila.

He said that usually when there is a pregnant woman in an area people are aware of her situation and thus he pleaded with people to report to the nearest police any instance where pregnancies disappear without the newborn being spotted.  Meanwhile, a driver and a passenger died on the spot near Tati last Friday after hitting a cow, police have confirmed.

Magalila said the pair was travelling in a Toyota Hilux, when the drive struck the cow, and lost control of the vehicle, which overturned.

“The driver was a male aged 38 years whilst the passenger was a female aged 23 years of age. The names of the deceased are being withheld while we notify their family members,” said Magalila.

He said police were recording road accident fatalities every month. In December, two men also lost their lives in a head on collision along Tutume/Nshakazhogwe road.

“Our population in Botswana is low and if you have such a small number we should not be having people dying in road accidents. Even if we lose two like in this case we are worried.

We want a situation where there will be no fatal accidents,” said Magalila. The police boss said public education events were ongoing to educate motorists about livestock along the roads, but these seemed to fall on deaf ears. “Despite our efforts to warn motorists about livestock along these roads, they continue to speed and put their lives at risk especially at night.  “The roads are bushy and do not have a fence, making it difficult for drivers to spot livestock grazing by the roadside from a distance especially at night,” said Magalila.