'Police Killed My Son'
Pini Bothoko | Monday October 15, 2018 18:00
Tubego allegedly died in a police cell at Gumare Police Station last Tuesday after he was arrested along with his two friends on suspicion of theft. The trio was suspected to have broken into Furnmart Store in Gumare and allegedly stole laptops, cell phones and undisclosed amount of money.
Gaekgakala Ndiane, the uncle to the deceased told The Monitor that his nephew had been arrested last Tuesday for allegedly breaking into and stealing from Furnmart Store. He pointed out that they were surprised when the police came to them on Wednesday announcing his death on claims of an asthma attack.
He dismissed the possibility of their son having died due to an asthma attack, as he never had any respiratory conditions in his life hence suspecting he might have died at the torturous hands of the police.
Ndiane emphasised that the deceased was tortured inside the police station demanding the police who were involved in the incident be held accountable and the circumstances of the death of his nephew be revealed.
He added that afterwards the police officers tried to admit his nephew to hospital, who was already dead on arrival.
“On Tuesday night, my nephew and his two friends went to entertain themselves at a certain bar in Gumare and when the bar closed, they discovered their car had mechanical problems forcing them to leave it behind. In the morning, they went back to the bar to fix the car, but whilst still fixing the car the police came and arrested them. They accused them of breaking into and stealing from Furnmart Store that night,” he alleged.
Ndiane alleged that his nephew has never been involved with the police in his life and has never been implicated in any wrongdoing.
“My nephew was a well-behaved boy and has never been involved in any criminal activity in his life. He has never gotten into any problem with the police before. My nephew was working for himself. He was employed, as a driver at Botswana Post in Gumare, hence would not steal as alleged. We demand answers because the police have killed an innocent person,” Ndiane said.
The deceased’s family recently met to discuss the matter and have resolved to go to the police to seek answers today (Monday).
“We want answers as to what really transpired because they were tortured. Even one of his friends sustained injuries on his private parts due to police torture. We hear rumours that the police suspected that they might be dealing drugs,” he said.
Ndiane said they demand evidence linking the suspects to the alleged offence as well as to show them the alleged stolen goods. The deceased’s body is currently at Kagiso mortuary in Maun with the burial preparations ongoing.
Reached for comment, the Botswana Police Service’s (BPS) deputy public relations officer, senior Superintendent Near Bagali said indeed a man died in police custody last Tuesday.
Asked if the police tortured the man to death as alleged, Bagali said they could not preempt anything at the moment disclosing that investigations to establish what really happened have commenced.
“The results of the investigations will determine what really transpired. At the moment we do not know what killed him,” Bagali said.