A Lobatse resident has accused the Woodhall Police Stock Theft Unit of negligence and giving him the run around in a case he reported in 2008.
Joseph Kgangetsile said he has on a number of occasions requested an appointment with the Commissioner of Police, Thebeyame Tsimako, as well as with the Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Defense, Justice and Security to address his complaints but to no avail.
Kgangetsile said that Tsimako should do something to restore the image and trust the public used to enjoy from police officers in Lobatse.
His case dates back to October 31st 2008, when 12 of his cattle were stolen.
He suspects that the cattle were driven across the border into South Africa because the border fence was cut down next to where they were last seen.
“To my dismay, the case was given very little attention, to the extent that it took some days to even write the statement, which to my view did not reflect what I told the police officers,” said Kgangetsile.
After a couple of days, he was called by one constable Motaung, who allegedly told him that a man called Ntwaetsile had been arrested in SA in connection with the cattle he described in his report.
Kgangetsile was told to go to Lehurutshe Police where the suspect was detained.
When he got there, a certain Inspector Serai told him that they would arrange for a helicopter to fly over the hill where the cattle were last seen because there were many dangerous snakes in that area.
He said that the helicopter story never happened and he was told to keep waiting. He was later told that the SA police had confirmed that the cattle were not his.
Kgangetsile said that the Woodhall police then sold him a story about waiting for Interpol to intervene as they were not allowed to go into South Africa.
To this day, he does not know where his cattle are and says he is not receiving any feedback from the police. He has since approached the Station commander, the Officer Commanding as well as the Divisional Commander South all without success.
“I am very disappointed with them; my cattle disappeared under mysterious circumstances and I was given a raw deal when I asked for police assistance. That is why I tried on countless occasions to request a meeting with the commissioner who, it seems, is too busy to serve the same people he is in office for,” said Kgangetsile.
