Zimbabweans are being searched out and flushed out of some villages in Botswana ÔÇô this emerged in a shadow report by the Ditshwanelo Human Rights Organisation to the United Nations Committee on elimination of racial discrimination presented earlier this year.
The report revealed that Zimbabweans are being ordered out in Oodi, Masunga and Tlokweng villages. The report talks of “the labeling of Zimbabweans as criminals leading to ad hoc justice.
“In Oodi village, many unemployed youths volunteered to form traditional regiments (mephato) to patrol the village. Both organized and impromptu vigilante groups have a reputation for meting out “street justice” when apprehending suspected criminals. This group has been accompanied by local police officers to stop villagers from meting out punishment to those they arrest during the patrols.”
Ditshwanelo further states that government has imposed “tougher, more exclusionary policies” to control the influx of Zimbabweans into Botswana such as the imposition of stiffer penalties and detention policies.
The report further states that “police raids on residential areas thought to have Zimbabweans nationals have increased as have reports of police mistreatment.”
