Police in Letlhakane are currently fighting an upsurge of rape, murder and defilement cases in the village and surrounding areas. The Station Commander of Letlhakane Police Station, Superintendent Michael Maphephu confirmed the rising criminal activities to the Telegraph in an interview on Monday.
“Just this year alone, from January hitherto we recorded 54 cases of rape, 11 cases of murder and 18 cases of defilement. This is a very serious concern,” he revealed.
He said that more often these criminal activities are influenced by abuse of alcohol. Maphephu said that they realized that more often these criminal activities happen after people drink home brewed concoctions such as Khadi. Regarding rape cases, he said that they have since detected 52 suspects. He added that some of the suspects have since been remanded in custody.
“The other issue that is very worrisome is defilement of children under the age of 16. The youngest child who was defiled was nine years old. What we have realized is that these defilement cases happen near drinking spots were culprits target children in the absence of their parents. The problem is some parents do not take care or keep a vigilant eye on their children. We often try to mobilize the community on these issues but there isn’t much improvement,” said Maphephu.
He however said they are making a breakthrough in arresting the suspects. He also revealed thast they have since roped in a number of stakeholders to try and combat these criminal activities. He said that a couple of months ago they called the Vice President, Slumber Tsogwane to address the residents of Letlhakane and the surrounding areas on issues of crime in the village. He also added that as part of their efforts to combat these disturbing criminal activities, they will on the 26th and 27th September 2018 host a Crime Prevention Expo.
“We have invited all stakeholders such as church leaders, local authorities, business community and security companies. During this Expo we will address various issues of crime and share ideas on how we can purge it. We have often engaged the community in the fight against crime but we feel that they need to put more effort to help us in the fight against this scourge,” he said.
Regarding traffic offences and motor car accidents, Superintendent Maphephu said although they recorded a number of fatalties this year, the situation is currently under control.
