State capture by juveniles

Tumie Modise | Monday September 11, 2017 16:54

There were sighs of relief everywhere; we have been waiting for this day. If it wasn’t for the fact that this particular group is mostly made up of scruffy, streetwise boys, most of who are barely out of their nappies, the word ‘terrorist’would easily apply to them.

Juvenile Delinquency, which is the fancy word given to rebellious and unlawful activities by kids in their teens or pre-teens, is fast becoming a problem in this country.

I read somewhere that family factors that may have an influence on delinquency and those include: the level of parental supervision, the way parents discipline a child, particularly harsh punishment, parental conflict or separation, criminal parents or siblings, parental abuse or neglect, and the quality of the parent-child relationship.

Still last month, there were reports from my home village that a new delinquency association had been formed, that these misfits had basically imposed a curfew in the village and were going around the village at night terrorising men, women and children alike.

Now these Gaborone boys are not like your typical village pickpocket, not that they rob with a British accent or anything. But they are different from the village ones, even more daring. I have been their victim twice, both times at night and at traffic lights.

The first time it happened they executed a perfect ambush on me. I still blame myself for that one incident. I really I had no business succumbing to a craving and driving at 8pm next to their headquarters. A crazy craving for “hot wings” landed me in that whole mess, and the next thing I was leaving home, driving to that side of town.

Thirty minutes later I had my order. I went back into the car, placed the order and my purse on the passenger front seat. Inside my purse were my bank and identification cards, my licence and some money. I couldn’t wait to get home and eat. Three minutes later, I stopped at the traffic lights, next to Water Utilities Corporation at Naledi. My car radio was on, so I paid no attention at all to my surroundings.

Suddenly two dark shadows appeared by the passenger side of the car. I always lock up the car doors when I drive so these shadows first tried the car handle and when it did not open, one of them immediately smashed the window with something that looked like a big nut.

All this happened in a spilt of a second yet it felt like eternity, in slow motion. As this happened, there was another car in front of me, two on the other lane, but luckily none behind me.

So after the spectacular smash which sent pieces of glass flying all over, my guardian angel slapped me back into reality and I somehow reversed the car. As I did, the smasher was still hanging on to the car, half of his torso inside.

Had I not reversed, he would have ended up sitting on my lap! As I backed off, he somehow managed to jump out before falling on the road. Seconds later, I watched as he ran off with my purse and food! The aroma of the meal must have overpowered him. Dazed, I drove straight home.

People who study minds of juveniles say that children with low parental supervision are much more likely to offend. The studies they claim to have conducted, they swear, point to a very strong correlation between lack of supervision and delinquent behaviour.

Apparently, when parents do not know where their children are, what their activities are, or who their friends are, they are more likely to be truant from school and have delinquent friends, which then results in them committing offenses.

 I wait for the day when their brains are donated to that medicine university. We need to find out what really goes on in their brains; that is, if they have any brains at all. 

It goes without saying that this arrest has been a relief to some of us. Being mugged is the ultimate violation. Plus it is not nice to scream in front of children. Now that some of these little terrorists have been arrested, what to do with them?

 Something tells me a couple of months in the company of military men would do them good. Jail and lashing doesn’t seem to be working anymore.