Double Teenage Suicides Shocks Malolwane
Pini Bothoko | Monday May 8, 2017 16:10
On Saturday, The Monitor attended the burial of Joel Moatshe who committed suicide last Sunday, a week after the burial of his friend, who also committed suicide a week before.
The cause of their actions is not yet known and is being investigated by the police.
The Monitor is informed that the two teenage boys were doing Standard 7 at Rankoa Primary School in Malolwane and suspected to be belonging to a cult group, which might have influenced their actions.
The previous weekend, Moatshe’s friend committed suicide late in the evening inside his bedroom whilst his family was watching television in the living room.
It is reported that the little boy (Moatshe’s friend) left his family, went to the bedroom and hanged himself using the room’s rafters. A family member made the gruesome discovery. It is reported that at the friend’s burial, Moatshe cried a lot, later went home where after few hours also committed suicide by hanging himself on the rafters of their two-roomed house using his sister’s uniform belt.
Moatshe was with his uncle who had gone out to fetch firewood when the tragedy struck. It is alleged that Moatshe left a note with three boy’s names written on it with something like codes besides the names stating that they belonged to a certain cult and according to their cult their death is a joyful thing.
This has shocked villagers who were murmuring amongst themselves throughout the service. Moatshe’s family conceded that indeed the deceased left a note in one of his books, but could not comment further as the police were still busy with investigations.
“We are in shock and it is so hurting for us to have found ourselves in a series of events like these involving young kids,” Tebogo Maano, Moatshe’s aunt said. Maano said Moatshe was academically gifted and showed potential in sports and had represented his school several times in cricket.
“He was talented in cricket. He was supposed to represent Botswana in under 13 national cricket team. We have lost a hero as the Moatshe’s family because he was an ambitious kid,” Maano said.
Herbert Medupe the deceased’s uncle, who was still in shock, described him as a quite and humble kid, a trait that could have made it difficult to read into his intended actions. Addressing mourners, the deputy school head of Rankoa Primary School Seipati Mokgatle said the school has lost a hero academically and in sports.
“His death is a great loss to the school, family and the country. We were expecting Grade A from him in his Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). We are confused and do not know what is going on with our children something that calls for more attention from us as teachers and parents,” Mokgatle said.
The village Kgosi, Aaron Bogatsu described the teenage boy’s actions as a horrific tragedy that they will never forget calling for the whole village’s involvement in prayers to eliminate the dark cloud that have befallen the village.
“I believe in prayers therefore we should pray for our village. I am also open to any suggestions, fa le akanya gore reka phekole motse o wa rona, reka dira jaalo go emisa mokgwa o maswe o wago ipolaya mo baneng ba rona,” Bogatsu said.
Bogatsu said on Thursday there will be prayers at the village Kgotla and at the school, inviting all churches to attend.
He shared other speakers’ sentiments, pleading with parents to build a strong relationship with their children. For his part the village councillor Stephen Makhura called on parents to build a relationship with their children so that they can be open to them and be able to talk to them freely when troubled.
“Re wetswe ke seru mo motseng wa Malolwane. This is the time for us to introspect as parents, teachers and the village leadership to find out the root cause of our children’s actions,” Makhura said.
He pleaded with parents to monitor their children’s movements and the people they associate saying, “we are living in the era of Satanism. “The use of high technology that influence people’s thoughts and behaviour.
I plead with you to look at what your children watch on television as they can later try to imitate what they saw on television hence putting their lives in danger,” Makhura said. Makhura added: “This is a shocking incident ever to have happened in my life time for a kid to take such a huge decision of committing suicide”.
The station commander of Sikwane police station, Superintendent Matthews Gatang said they were investigating the two cases to establish the cause of their actions.
“It is true we are investigating two suicide cases involving two 13-year-old boys of Malolwane village who were also reported to have been friends.
These are shocking cases in my policing area involving teenage boys. I am pleading with parents and teachers to talk to their children and build a good relationship with them,” Gatang said.