Govt facelifts executed prisoners� gravesites
Tefo Pheage | Friday November 4, 2016 18:28
The haunting zone has for years been a prohibited area which could only be accessed by authorised people for specific sanctioned purposes. However insiders say many, including the authorities, do not want anything to do with the zone as it is widely believed within the prisons service that entering the dark zone could spell bad luck.
“Even our seniors do not want to go into those premises. That explains why it has been left abandoned for years, only to be remembered at the next execution,” a source said.
Mmegi has learnt of allegations some time last year, that some Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security senior officials blatantly refused to go on a site visit to appreciate the executed burial sites. The reason they proffered was that they would not go near those ‘disgusting sites’.
Historically condemned prisoners’ graves were unmarked to signify disdain and contempt at ehat they were condemned for.
Apparently, it was to suggest that the person buried hereunder, is not worthy of commemoration, and should therefore be completely ignored and forgotten.
While it is not known what the upgrading of the gravesite entailed, a source said the graves no longer had markers indicating whose body is buried there and were in a disorderly and saddening state.
The government through the Office of the President (OP) has ignored a June 2016 letter, which was written by Botswana Institute of Rehabilitation and Reoffenders Organisation (BIRRO) informing the President that there are some families who want to see the executed family members gravesite for closure.
The letter was copied to the Attorney General, Botswana Prisons Service and the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security.
Asked why they have not responded to the letter, President Ian Khama’s private secretary, Brigadier George Tlhalerwa said its all news to him.
“We have never received such a letter. All in all I think people need to research and inform themselves why the condemned inmate’s body cannot be accessed by families.
People should also inform themselves on the international practices before making such claims,” he said.
The BIRRO director, Mothei Sejakgomo expressed shock at Tlhalerwa’s remarks saying the letter was handed to officials at the OP who he has been in constant discussions with over the said letter.
“We have been making follow-ups and have been getting promises. We have decided to be patient as requested by the authorities,” he said. Sejakgomo said he has a handful of families that has approached his organisation to visit the graves for closure as is culture.
The Prisons Deputy Commissioner Keneilwe Bogosing declined to comment on the matter, referring Mmegi to the Commissioner and public relations officer, both of whom could not be reached.
Meanwhile, Ditshwanelo has also been in communication with some families of the executed inmates and victims’ families, but for different purposes.
Ditshwanelo public relations officer, Tlatsetso Palime confirmed the development, but said they have “agreed together with the families to keep the engagements highly private and away from the public glare”.