allAfrica.com: Botswana: Politicians Fearing For Their Lives (Page 1 of 1)

It is one thing to be at the receiving end of opponents' tirade in politics. But to be accused of ritual murder? That is one thing prominent Maun Botswana Democratic Party members are finding hard to deal with. Worse still, they are fighting to clear their names while being forced to go underground in fear of their lives.

In fact they should, if the reaction of the Maun community two weeks ago has anything to go by. Had the story been true that Thamalakane North Councillor, Tebogo Bethia, and other well know Sedie ward, Maun and Shakawe businessmen were in police custody in connection with the attempted murder of two children and are ready to appear in court, the enraged community would be facing murder charges themselves.

A 200-strong crowd - some being civil servants from different governmental organisations - had gathered outside Maun Magistrate courts ready to attack once the said people were brought to court by police authorities.

They had come following allegations that the politicians, who are also respectable businessmen and who have requested The Voice to withhold their names in fear of further victimization - had allegedly kidnapped and tied two children in the bush with the intention to murder them for ritual purposes. The ruling party politicians have dismissed the allegation as a political ploy meant to flush them down before the coming 2009 general elections.

When The Voice arrived at the magistrate court in Maun that day, the air was pregnant with tension. When the police van halted before the court, the impatiently waiting mob rose and stampeded to the court entrance, shaking the glass doors, to gain entry. Police rose fast to intervene, closing the doors and blocking the crowd out.

Those who had earlier gained entry into the premises, filled the courtroom from wall to wall, and told the inquiring Magistrate that they wanted to see the politicians who attempted to kill the children. But to the surprise of the police, prosecution and the court clerks, there was no such case recorded in their books.

Speaking from Bethia's parents' yard, in Sedie ward, the councillor and others said that the man behind it was a Department of Wildlife and National Parks labourer who is a staunch Botswana Alliance Movement follower. They alleged the instigator's brother was standing for the council seat in the Sedia ward and his sibling is using his lies as a campaign strategy.

When they first heard that the man, Mpopi 'TV4' Ratanang, had publicly made allegations against them in front of a funeral gathering in Sedie ward, "We took our informant to the police where the said man was called and confronted. He admitted that he had made the pronouncement."

Ratanang is said to have stood to make the allegations against the BDP politicians at a funeral of a Sedie ward destitute man. The deceased, who lived alone, had died in his hut and his body discovered by neighbours two days later in a decomposing state.

Ratanang is alleged to have told the mourners that the deceased, like the recently murdered Water Affairs Department employee, Moakofi Echo Walktall Ngwanaamotho, were ritual murder victims, alleging the police had found parts missing from their bodies. The Voice shared details of the tragic end of Ngwanaamotho in the last edition.

At the destitute's funeral, Ratanang is also alleged to have said people were disappearing in the village as a result of "man on horses" who capture them at night.

"We also learnt that during his speech he had connected my son and the rest who are in this room to the murders without wavering. He also said that they were in the hands of the police after tying two children in the bush in an attempt to murder them. He said during the incident, they were arrested by the Botswana Defence Force officers on patrol before they could complete their mission. He also urged the gathering to be in court on the 10th of April to witness their arraignment," Bethia's mother said.

Bethia, who is also deputy chairperson of the Northwest district council and his colleagues, expressed fear for their lives.

"Each day we live in fear expecting the unknown to happen to them," one said. "If these people were seen in court swearing mob justice then there is nothing that can hinder them from burning us up in our homes."

They revealed that the incident has also affected their business as their success is now associated with the spilling of blood.

Officer Commanding District No 5, Philip Makoba, revealed investigations had been completed and concluded and it was all lies.

"When this rumour began, I was called by a concerned Northwest District council secretary, Paulos Nkoni, who wanted to confirm if indeed Bethia was in our cells. I checked into our daily record book but there was nothing like that. Then we heard about the 'men on horses' and how they were torturing the community and kidnapping some. We also went out on horse patrols but we found nothing. To make matters worse, there isn't even a single case reported to us about such harassments," he said.

The police boss further revealed that the police had taken action to ease people's minds on the Bethia issue. He revealed that they were addressing kgotla meetings to set the record straight. "We are hoping that this will clean the tarnished names and put back Maun into its previous peaceful state."

On Thursday last week, Assistant Superintendent in the Criminal Investigative Department, Sitali Phutego of Maun, told The Voice that he was handling the case and Ratanang was assisting them with investigations. "Once we sum up our investigations we will indeed lay a suitable charge against him," he said.

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