Ghanzi police are investigating three separate cases of rape, fraud, and a missing person which recently occurred in the area acting station commander, assistant superintendent Sello Joseph Seagateng has confirmed.
Seagateng revealed that on February 8, police received a report of an alleged rape involving a 36-year-old woman from Kgaphamadi ward.
According to him, the woman was allegedly walking home from an alcohol depot when she encountered her ex-partner aged 31 from the same ward. The suspect allegedly assaulted and forcibly took her to his home, where he sexually assaulted her.
Seagateng further stated that after the assault, the suspect is said to have dropped the victim of the Ghanzi Primary Hospital, where she received medical treatment and the case was brought to their attention.
The man was arraigned before the Ghanzi Magistrate’s Court on Friday and he has since been remanded in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court again on February 27th.
The acting station commander shared that such crimes are often committed by individuals known to the victims rather than strangers. However, he also advised the public, particularly women, to take precautionary measures when walking alone at night, advising the public to rather walk with someone they know in order to try and avoid such incidents.
Moreover, Seagateng added that Ghanzi Police went on a crack down on owners of illegal depots between the 13th and 14th following this incident to sway crime, as there was a realization that a number of Gender based Violence incidents occur in such places.
In a separate case, a 46-year-old man from Morama ward in Ghanzi was allegedly defrauded of P244,958.07 by a certain Turkish company, in an online transaction. The victim reportedly attempted to purchase a truck and horse trailer between June 2024 and January 2024, making full payment through First National Bank Botswana.
According to Seagateng, the company is alleged to have initially informed the man that his purchase had arrived in Morocco. However, upon further inquiry, he discovered that the truck was never delivered.
Police are currently investigating the case, and Seagateng urged the public to exercise caution when making online purchases, advising them to transact only with reputable companies with verified physical locations.
In a third case, police are searching for a 59-year-old man from Grootlaagte ward in Ghanzi, who was reported missing on February 12th. The man, who is believed to have a mental disorder, was last seen at a hiking spot on the main road on February 10th, though it is unclear which direction he was heading.
He was last seen wearing a black tracksuit, a yellow-striped T-shirt, a red Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) hat, and black sneakers. Seagateng has appealed to the community to assist the police with any information that could help locate the missing man.
