A Zimbabwean illegal immigrant hanged himself in the Tlokweng Police Station whilst awaiting deportation to his home country. This was confirmed by the Botswana Public Relations Officer, Assistant Commissioner Christopher Mbulawa.
The deceased, Mbulawa said, had hanged himself in the cells’s shower using a rope he had taken out of a police cell mat.
The deceased was later found in the cells by fellow Zimbabweans who had become suspicious after he took extraordinarily too long to shower.
Tlhokweng Station Commander Obapotswe Moremi said that they are currently still searching for the deceased’s relatives and have asked for help from the Zimbabwean Embassy in Gaborone.
He said, so far, no Zimbabwean has admitted to knowing him.
Each year, Botswana deports thousands of illegal Zimbabwean immigrants at a cost which is estimated to run into millions of Pula. Some of the illegal immigrants quickly return to Botswana immediately after being dropped off at the Plumtree border post.
In the past, they were quoted by a Botswana Television crew in Francistown as saying that the Botswana government was just wasting its money deporting them as they would just return to Botswana soon after they had been dropped off because there were no jobs for them in their native Zimbabwe.
The problem of illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe is blamed on the economic meltdown and the unstable political situation in that country. With the country to go for elections in less than six months from now, prospects of economic improvement are almost non-existent.
