Police Dismiss Allegations Of �Ignored Tip-off�
Pini Bothoko | Monday January 22, 2018 17:50
The eyewitness account suggested that two men attacked the 28-year-old deceased before he was stabbed to death with a knife last week. On Tuesday Facebook was abuzz with users accusing the BPS of failure to respond on time and saving the man’s life.
Facebook users’ comments suggested on Tuesday that the death of the resident of Tsholofelo location in Broadhurst, Gaborone could have been averted following a comment on Fight Crime Gaborone page. An alleged eyewitness took to the page claiming to have seen the incident unfold and tried to alert the police who allegedly failed to respond on time.
The eyewitness’ alleged in the comment to have phoned the police who replied by saying they did not have torches to be used in the dark, as it was already dark.
The police deduce that the two unknown men who are still at large, may have attacked the deceased while at the bus stop near Molapo Crossing about to board a combi.
They confirmed that from their investigations, they established that when the two men saw a car approaching, they must have run away into the nearby bush where the deceased pursued them.
“It is alleged that the deceased followed them into the bush that is when he met his fate. “He sustained chest injuries and we suspect that a sharp object like a knife might have been used,” said Gaborone West Police station commander, Superintendent Howard Modo said then.
Asked to comment on the online accusation from the eyewitness, Modo dismissed the claim as false and misleading.
He said that as BPS their mandate is to protect the people and their properties and they are always on the alert to offer that service.
“Such allegations are incorrect. We have torches that are always on standby to be used at night. It is important to note that recently the BPS purchased new torches and were supplied across stations.
Besides that, we still have the old torches that are still in good condition,” Modo said, who invited The Monitor to his station to verify the existence of said torches.
The station boss stated that it would have made sense if that person could have claimed that the police officers told him that they did not have batteries, not torches.
“Even if it could have happened that there were no batteries, the police officers could have taken them from another police station and attended to the tip-off on time.
“That fateful day, the police received the report, rushed to the scene of the crime and on arrival they found the person who had contacted them still waiting for them.
The team that attended the case received the report whilst on patrol and rushed there. Such allegation is false; we attend to tip-offs and reports promptly. That person might just want to mislead people or entertain them in a way,” Modo said.