Police deny use of unregistered vehicles

VICTOR MUYAKWABO
Staff Writer | Wednesday August 14, 2013 00:00

 

Responding to a Mmegi questionnaire this week, BPS spokesman Senior Superintendent Dipheko Motube said he was not aware of use of any vehicles bearing no registration numbers by the police or any government department.'Officers from Botswana Police like any other motorist could use vehicles without registration numbers in cases where registration number plates are lost and the driver is not aware,' Motube said.He emphasised that officers could face charges if they failed to give valid reasons for using vehicles without registration numbers.

Inspite of Motube's denial, Mmegi can reveal that the police, especially the CID, do use vehicles bearing no registration numbers, having captured such vehicles on camera at various places. In addition, members of the public have approached Mmegi with such complaints. One such complaint came from a man named Thabo Andrew Malapela who says he sped away in Mogoditshane one night when an unmarked vehicle without registration plates approached him. The vehicle kept pace with him as he sped through red traffic lights while a police chopper appeared overhead as clearly marked squad cars gained on him, sirens blaring.When the chase reached Bontleng, the police allegedly opened fire, hitting Malapela's bonnet several times. He subsequently served the Attorney General with a letter of demand in the amount of P750,000. 'I sped away because I could have easily been a victim of carjacking,' Malapela told Mmegi.

While BPS has officially denied that its officers use vehicles without registration numbers, an officer who requested anonymity says the problem is that it is often a long and tedious process to get vehicles registered at Central Transport Organisation (CTO). The officer illustrated this by pointing out that the registration plate on a Subaru SUV used by his unit has been broken for some time but plates are out of stock at CTO.The officer says this is a sensitive issue because corrupt officers could use vehicles without registration numbers to commit crimes as evidence to charge and prosecute them would be lame.