Tlokweng Police's Poor Service Riles Residents

Kgomotso Molelekeng
Correspondent | Monday May 27, 2013 00:00

Onthusitswe Gofitile said on Saturday that by naming the officers who provide poor service will help them follow-up on complaints about them. 'The best way is to always take the name of the officer,' he said after Tlokweng residents complained of poor service at the station in a Kgotla meeting attended by Paramount Chief, Puso Gaborone.

The police officer said he was not aware of the reports of poor service at the station. Earlier, speakers at the Kgotla meeting in Lenganeng stated that officers at Tlokweng Police Station are failing them, as they never handle their cases well. Molatlhegi Ranyena said that he reported a case of threat-to-kill to officers at the station who arrested the suspect but a few hours later, he saw him (suspect) walking free after a P100 fine.

He said the suspect, insulted him and threatened to kill him. The incident occurred after Ranyena confronted the suspect and his friends for drinking water from his tap. 'When I confronted them about this he insulted and brandished an axe, threatening to kill me,' he said. He said he filed a case at the police station as he felt his life was in danger but later the assailant was released. Ranyena claimed dangerous criminals bribe their way out of police stations with as little as P50.

Another Lenganeng resident, Boitumelo Rabantheng said Tlokweng Police Station officers disappointed her when she called them after witnessing an incident that scared her. She said she was minding her own business near Choppies Supermarket when she over-heard a conversation between two men in a car that had no plate numbers and a little girl who looked less than 10-years-old.

'This little girl was asking these men to help her with money as she wanted to buy something to eat, instead of them giving her money or telling her to go, they insisted that she goes with them so that she gets money where they stay,' she said.

Rabantheng said that she called the police sensing that something was not right but officers told her they could not come to the scene because they had no car. She asked the officers to walk to the scene because it was not far from the station but they told her they were busy.As a responsible citizen she decided to call the little girl and the men fled.