Grocery theft rampant in Mahalapye
Koketso Kgoboge | Tuesday April 21, 2020 18:15
The incident happened in broad daylight when the owner of the house was out. Upon return, in the late afternoon, he discovered his house had been broken into and reported the matter to the police.
According to police superintendent Omphile Malemenyane, the petty thieves ignored all the valuables inside the house, including flat screen televisions, radios and other household items that they usually target.
“It appears they were only targeting his grocery. They stole food items worth P600. The thieves are still on the run, and the matter is under investigation,” the Mahalapye Police station commander said.
The police chief added that they recorded similar cases last week where thieves broke into a house at Madiba ward and stole food items, two live free-range chickens and a turkey.
Five other free-range chickens were stolen at Tshikinyega and Tlhomadithotse wards in the same week.
“These petty crimes are becoming a concern. It appears a hungry syndicate is terrorising people by stealing their food. This is a new trend we are facing and are trying to nip it in the bud before it escalates,” Malemenyane said.
This comes at a time when the nation is on its third week of the compulsory lockdown and the government is working around the clock to provide food relief to challenged families.
A Mahalapye civic leader, Tumelo Koolekanye confirmed that they had started the assessment phase and immediate distribution of food items to the less privileged families.
He said they started distributing to the families and individuals that they have been aware of before the COVID-19 epidemic broke.
The Boseja/Flowertown councillor admitted that the assessment process was not efficient enough but encouraged families that are thrown into the deep end by the lockdown situation to come forth.
“There are families that we might not be aware of because they had been trying to make ends meet for themselves and are now pushed into a tight corner. We encourage them to liaise with their councillors so that they could also be assisted quickly,” Koolekanye said.
Meanwhile, in other criminal incidents in Mahalapye, a 38-year-old Motswana man was arrested and charged for illegal sand mining alongside two Zimbabweans aged 26 and 29. The Zimbabweans are awaiting deportation whilst the sand has been confiscated.