Let�s help the police rid us of monsters
Mmegi Editor | Friday December 1, 2017 15:17
The police are overstretched and overworked because criminals keep them busy. In some cases there are shoot out incidents between law enforcers and the alleged criminals.
Few weeks ago a police officer lost his precious life when a suspect shot him dead in Letlhakane. It was one of the unfortunate cases in which it did not arouse the public interest. It seems the public was indifferent to the lost life on the officer who died in the line of duty. May His Soul Rest In Peace.
There was alleged shoot out between the police yet again this past weekend and one alleged notorious criminal lost his life. In this particular incident, we relied heavily in the information provided by the police. We have no reason to doubt the official statement realised by the Botswana Police Service (BPS) but we know from experience that our law enforcers can be trigger-happy.
They can even go to the extent of covering themselves if they have blundered. We do not condone extra judicial killings by the security agents otherwise there would not be any need to employ the judicial officers at our Courts of law.
In this case we appeal for an inquest to be conducted so that there is no doubt that the police acted in self-defence when they shot dead the fugitive. No stone should remain unturned to erase doubt that the police were hell-bent in eliminating the alleged terrorist from the community. The deceased was wanted in relation to series of crime, including rape, murder, attempted murder and armed robberies he allegedly committed in the southern part of Botswana.
At a tender age of 24, the deceased was allegedly a hard-core criminal and had escaped to the neighbouring South Africa where he was arrested. He escaped from gaol only to meet his fate in Block 6, Gaborone on Saturday. It has been reported in the media that his mother blames the BPS for his death. According to the reports, her son was respectful and loving human being. She did admit that the police in the past contacted her in connection with alleged criminal activities committed by his son. It is painful for any mother to lose a child but it is the responsibility of every parent to mould their children into respectful and civil human beings.
It is not desirable situation to see a mother coming to a defence of a delinquent child against the whole community who used to be terrorised by her offspring. The community must also help the police to remove monsters from the society.
Today’s thought
“Tolerating organized crime promotes the cheap philosophy that everything is a racket. It promotes cynicism among adults. It contributes to the confusion of the young and to the increase of juvenile delinquency.”
- Robert Kennedy