26 Dec 2020

At least 344 people were arrested for failure to adhere to COVID-19 protocols country wide on Christmas Day.

This was said by police acting public relation officer, Senior Superintendent Near Bagali in an interview on December 26.

He said Botswana Police Services (BPS) arrested people country wide who unlawfully grouped in different areas such as in front of bars after the stipulated 7pm of a curfew. Majority of them, he said, failed to adhere to COVID-19 prevention protocols such as social distancing and wearing of facial masks.  

Snr Supt Bagali said most of these people were charged between P300 and P1 000 and a lot of them managed to pay, an indication that the charges failed to act as a deterrent, hence there was need fto enforce alternative charges such as jail term.  

He said since this charge of not exceeding P5 000 was not working, BPS would consider taking people to court to enforce the charge of a period not exceeding six months imprisonment, which might go hand in hand with a maximum of P5 000 fine.

 On other issues, Snr Supt Bagali indicated that there were four deaths reported on Christmas Day due to road accidents, adding that two of the victims were pedestrians.

The deaths, he explained, included that of a pedestrian who was hit by a car in Tlokweng and a child who was crashed by his father’s reversing car in Mogoditshane.

The other accident, he said, involved two vehicles near Ramotswa, which were travelling to the North of the county at night around 9pm. According to Snr Supt Bagali, the accident happened when a vehicle hit another at the back and they both lost control, resulting in the death of both drivers, adding that the passengers sustained minor injuries.

He said 138 drivers were tested for drunken driving, 72  of which tested positive while 9 refused to cooperate.  234 drivers, he said, were charged for speeding.

Snr Supt Bagali indicated that the other offences that they encountered included house break0ins, burglary and theft as well as unlawful wounding, which he noted happed at drinking spots after curfew time. Generally, he said 2020 Christmas Day was peaceful, with the majority of Batswana abiding by COVID-19 protocols even though there were some who disregarded them. Ends