Cops probe own negligence in fatal mishap
Chakalisa Dube | Thursday December 8, 2016 17:19
The incident happened last Thursday when remand prisoner Gobuamang Ntsuape wrestled for a steering wheel with the driver of a police vehicle. The 30-year-old’s motives are still unknown. The vehicle, a Toyota Quantum overturned claiming the two lives in the process. Three other people sustained serious injuries and are currently recuperating at the hospital. Ntsuape was being transported by the police along with others to a state prison at Gerald Estates after appearing in court where he was denied bail.
He had appeared in court facing a spate of serious offences, including five counts of attempted murder, murder and arson.
The accident raised a lot of criticism towards the police, with many accusing them of sleeping on their job and being too casual while transporting violent offenders.
“We are looking at all the possibilities, whether there was negligence and if the incident was avoidable. We have deployed a team to investigate the incident. We will take appropriate action based on the outcomes of the enquiry,” police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Witness Bosija said in response to Mmegi enquiries.
“For now we cannot say we (police) suspect that there is possibility of negligence in the incident or not. If I said that, I would be pre-empting the outcome of the investigations.” Bosija stressed that the Botswana Police Service has a standing policy on how to transport criminal suspects, but declined to provide details.
“I will not go into the details of the policy. It would not be proper to do so when we have such a case at the moment. Discussing the policy in detail could also pre-empt the outcomes of the investigation,” he said.
A psychiatrist report presented in court previously portrayed Ntsuape as a candidate who was unfit for bail. The report described Ntsuape as suicidal and also characterised the Ramotswa-born man as having anger management problems.