Francistown and neighbouring areas have in recent weeks been hit by a wave of cases of vehicles theft. In Matsiloje, the police suspect that a Ford Ranger ambulance that was stolen a fortnight ago at Matshelagabedi village might have crossed to Zimbabwe. Two weeks ago, two men who are believed to be a theft ring that has been terrorising Francistown residents and neighbouring areas attacked and tied a night watchman at the village clinic and made away with the vehicle. The car keys were reportedly in the custody of the night watchman. Police have said that the vehicle is valued at P300, 000. “We are yet to get any leads that could lead to the arrest of those who stole the ambulance. We believe that the car might have crossed into Zimbabwe. After being stolen, it was driven to the northern part of the country, but we suspect that it was destined for Zimbabwe.
Investigations also suggest that the two robbers had a Zimbabwean accent, which is why we suspect that the vehicles might have crossed to Zimbabwe,” Matsiloje police station commander, Oteng Nganda, told Mmegi in an interview yesterday. Sources have said that the car might have crossed through a non-gazetted point near Ramokgwebana border. Nganda said he does not rule out the possibility that the same culprits who stole an Isuzu vehicle owned by the government at Mandunyane village are responsible for the Matshelagabedi incident, because of similar methods employed. The Mandunyane incident occurred days before the incident in Matshelagabedi. Tonota station commander, Moore Motsokono, also told Mmegi that the search for the Isuzu vehicle which has an estimated value of around P200, 000, that was stolen in Mandunyane have not yielded any results and they do not have any leads.
