Three men lost their lives at Lake Ngami in Sehithwa village, some 100 kilometers from Maun.
According to Officer Commanding Number five District Senior Superintendent Chabaesele Kesupetswe, the three men who were in a boat that capsized included an employee of the American Embassy in Gaborone – a 40 year old man from Serowe who has previously worked in the media.
He was with a friend who worked for the Debswana Mining Company, also based in Gaborone. The two had been on a week long trip in Maun, and had just attended the annual Poetavango Arts Festival which is sponsored by the US Embassy and Debswana.
Bodies of the two men have since been recovered from the lake.
Names have not been released until next of kin are notified.
The third man whose body has not yet been retrieved was a local fisherman at the lake.
Kesupetswe said investigations are at an initial stage, which therefore means they still have to dig deep to establish what led to the capsizing of the canoe.
“We suspect it might have been due to the heavy winds which were recorded in Maun the whole of Sunday leading to showers of rain. Usually we advise people, more especially the many fishermen at the lake not to fish or get into the water whenever there are winds. In this case, we suspect their boat might have been overpowered by waves in the water”, he said.
Also commenting was Sehithwa Station Commander Superintendent Zakes Masike who said they have always gone on routine patrols at the lake as there had been reports of people operating boats while under the influence of alcohol.
He said this year alone there have been five incidents in which lives were lost.
He said they have always advised fishermen against overloading.
Besides fishing, people at the lake are also engaged in a lucrative business of ferrying visitors and tourists around the lake at a minimal fee.
Maun has also recorded numerous cases of drowning.
