Mystery as phane harvesters escape shooting

Imi Mokgethi | Thursday January 12, 2017 16:52

Baines Drift station commander, Superintendent Onneetse Gagogosha told Mmegi the two women also claimed to have seen two dead people in the bush as they ran for their lives, escaping the shooting.

The incident occurred on December 22 when the two women were harvesting the local delicacy in the bushes between Mathathane and Seletswe fields.

“The women said they saw a man shooting a gun at them while another also had a gun in his hand and was getting ready to shoot,” Gagogosha said.

“The women managed to escape and ran to their transporter who was waiting for them by the roadside. The driver told us that upon arrival at the car, the women collapsed and he took them to their camp site.”

The station commander said when the women regained consciousness, they narrated the incident and one of them added that she had seen two dead people in the bush as they ran for their lives.

Police immediately attended the scene, but found no shooters or dead bodies. “We only found a ploughing field that showed that had signs that people had been there. We suspect the women might have seen those people resting after ploughing and thought that they were dead. We have also not received any reports of missing persons,” Gagogosha said. The station commander said it was possible the alleged shooters were hunters, who were very common in the area. Investigations are continuing, he added.