Wednesday, November 6, 2024

A cheeky murder and rape suspect, inept security forces: Case of lack of political will

Sketchy indications are that the Botswana Police have finally nabbed the man suspected of murdering, raping, robbing and burning people’s property around the Sebina area. This is despite the Police reluctance to immediately confirm that indeed the monster is in police custody, instead adopting a very cautious approach in giving out information perhaps until after they are fully satisfied that they have the right person in custody.

In the meantime, residents are caught between celebrating the capture of a self-confessed terrorist and remaining under house arrest against their will. This has been a horror experience for many people, especially residents of Sebina and the surrounding areas hence I intend to subject this entire experience to critical evaluation.

Precisely, the failure of the security forces to capture the dangerous suspect within a reasonable period of time provokes many questions.

The alleged serial killer, rapist, robber and arsonist came into prominence earlier this year following reports of inexplicable savage attacks that left at least two people dead, numerous houses burnt to ashes and a couple of rapes and robberies. At the height of the attacks, the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security had to assure residents (at least once and reluctantly) that the security forces were on the trails of the suspect and even made a bold statement to the effect that the security forces were closing in on the suspect. Yet it took the security forces spans of months to apprehend the suspect.

Surprisingly, even after making an arrest, it is taking them ages to deny or confirm that the man in custody is indeed the person suspected of committing heinous crimes and calm people’s nerves. Is it by a miracle that they ultimately got him? These episodes connive to make a critical mind refuse to accept that there was ever seriousness or a political will to resolve the mystery promptly. Thus, it is possible that the Minister was dishonest with his assurances.

From a distance, it appeared that the security forces lacked a coordinated approach to track the suspect. Given the seriousness of the matter, particularly that it was both a policing and security issue, it was reasonable to expect the security forces to assemble a specialized task team comprising of top detectives available in the country to hunt the cheeky fellow as a matter of urgency.

Instead, the security forces opted for sporadic patrols that seemed designed to scare the suspect and prevent further commission of crime rather than apprehend him. Could it be that the state was less bothered? It is hard to buy into this thinking but the manner in which the case was handled gives weight to such a theory, especially considering that at the time of making the arrest, there were clear indications that the Police had lost interest or will power to continue with their intermittent patrols, thus effectively leaving residents to their own devices which, to me, begs difficult questions.

I have faith in the Botswana Police Service even though their response time is unbelievably slow. However, my biggest concern is that it seems their operational capabilities are very much selective and biased in favour of superior ethnic groups and the elites. Their indifferent behaviour and lackadaisical approach to this particular case compromised and contaminated investigations and disproportionately disadvantaged residents of Sebina hence warrants critical reflection.

It will take a lot of effort for the state to convince many people that the political leadership took this matter seriously given their business-as-usual approach. Was it because the chap was terrorizing an inferior ethnic minority, which perhaps explains why police operations were left to the rudimentary. Had he been terrorizing members of one of the principal tribes or some politically connected communities, their interventions would have been tactically sound and swift. For many people, their perchance operations demonstrated an inherent indifference towards the plight of minorities.

At risk of comparing unlike situations, I revisited the April 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing (USA) incident which left two spectators dead and scores injured to appreciate how the security forces responded to the attack. It came to my notice that at some point in their pursuit of the suspect, Federal investigators placed the city of Boston and surrounding areas on lockdown virtually freezing movement of people while security forces conducted a door-to-door manhunt, eventually fishing out the suspect from a boat in a yard. Key to the successful Boston manhunt was full commitment of the political leadership and law enforcement authorities; unparalleled tactical coordination of operations and full mobilization of security forces.

This made me pause and wonder just how such a dangerous Sebina serial killer, rapist, robber and arsonist operating within such a relatively tiny geographical area eluded security forces for over 6 months. Does it not give weight to the North East District residents as well as other ethnic minorities loud cries that they are being short-changed on account of their tribal identity?

The state’s handling of this case warrants an explanation from the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, specifically to assure citizens that security services are at the service of all persons in Botswana irrespective of their tribal identity and socio-economic and political circumstances.
I still do not understand why security forces employed haphazard operations that were similar to their routine stop and search operations. It is amazing that such a sensitive case was handed over to amateur investigators and special constables who were busy but doing nothing. Some cases are so sensitive and demand top-notch stellar investigators to bring justice and closure swiftly.

Assuming that the state was fully committed and determined to apprehend the suspect, their failure to capture him within a reasonable period of time casts aspersions on the proficiency of our security forces. Thus, in order to regain and build public trust in the security forces particularly the Botswana Police Service, government must apologize for making a bungle of the case whether due to deliberate lack of interest or simple ineptitude.

Going forward, it is suggested that government moves swiftly to establish a specialized task unit that would specialize in highly sophisticated special operations such as counterterrorism, hostage rescue and so forth. Botswana must move with the times and acknowledge that as a member of the global village, our country needs to be ready to respond appropriately to sophisticated transgressions by veteran or professional criminals.

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