Border jumping students quarantined
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Friday June 5, 2020 17:42
In an interview, Tshesebe acting station commander Assistant Superintendent Otlaadisa Mogotsi said his office quarantined three siblings and their mother who used illegal entry points to enter into Botswana from Zimbabwe on May 31.
He said all of the family of four was returning home from their relatives in Zimbabwe so that the children could go back to school on June 2.
He added they managed to quarantine a woman in her late 30s and her Standard 7 son who schools at Ramokgwebana Primary School. They jumped the Botswana borderline near Siviya village on Monday.
Mogotsi said the duo was quarantined at Chitawa Lodge in Ramokgwebana village, upon returning home after the police received a tip-off from other concerned family members.
He further said they managed to trace the other two children as the family parted ways to different destinations upon arrival in Botswana.
When speaking about what transpired, he said that on May 31 the family of four crossed the border illegally at Siviya village and travelled to Mandunyane village so that they could drop off the eldest son at a local boarding school.
He said the eldest son (17) who is a boarding student and doing his final year at Mater Spei College (MSC) was supposed to report back to school on June 1.
He also said on the same day after dropping the eldest son at MSC, the mother travelled back to her home village with the other 14-year-old son.
Mogotsi said they learnt that the youngest child (nine) who is doing Standard 5 at Ramokgwebana Primary School remained with some family friends at a particular place due to personal reasons.
When speaking about how they caught the eldest son, the acting station commander said it was difficult to trace the young man because he did not appear on the school registry.
“Upon arrival at MSC, the 17-year-old student did not even register at the school because he did not use the main gate instead he jumped over the school fence to gain access to the dormitories,” he added. He further said that when they searched the school dormitories they found the boy and he was taken straight to Ntshe Clinic where he was tested for COVID-19.
Mogotsi also said even though the 17-year-old tested negative, he was taken for a 14-day mandatory quarantine in one of the facilities in Francistown for initial assessment.
He indicated that they also managed to trace the nine-year-old boy who was also quarantined in a different facility in the city.
On a similar matter, Mogotsi said they have also quarantined a 17-year-old Motswana boy from Jackalas No 1 village. He said the boy used ungazetted point of entry to return back from his relatives from a nearby village along the Botswana-Zimbabwe border in Zimbabwe.
He said when the boy returned home on May 31, his family reported the matter to the police and he was taken for a 14-day mandatory quarantine at Chitawa Lodge.
Mogotsi warned against using ungazetted points of entry as it may result in the unchecked community spread of COVID-19 as the border jumpers skip screening measures.
On a different note, the acting station commander said they have also quarantined a six-year-old primary school Motswana pupil with her Zimbabwean mother at Chitawa Lodge.
He added the woman who is married to a Motswana man was returning back from visiting her family in Zimbabwe.
“The woman was coming back because the schools were about to be re-opened. She was travelling through Ramokgwebana border and going to Palapye.”
Mogotsi also said they quarantined a 10-year-old South African boy with his parents at Chitawa Lodge who were travelling from Zimbabwe through Botswana to their home country.