Botswana witnesses severe rise in reported rape, murder cases during last festive season

Police in Botswana reported incidents of rape and murder have seen a dramatic rise during the just-ended festive season. According to the activists, successful anti-rape campaigns have made victims more confident about reporting when they are attacked.

Police spokesperson Dipheko Motube said a total of 133 rape cases were recorded during the 2019/20 festive season compared to 110 the previous year. Apart from this figure, there are 33 cases of men detained on allegations of having sex with under-age girls, up to 16 such incidents during the previous year.

According to the police in Botswana, there were 1,600 reported cases of rape in the first three quarters of 2019, the figure which is doubled compared to that period for each of the previous two years.

Dipheko Motube revealed that two men (named Mogorosi Korae and Aobakwe Baleseng) appeared at the court for killing a woman aged 27. In addition, a mob in Botswana’s capital Gaborone severely assaulted a 23-year-old man during the festive season for allegedly breaking into a motor vehicle.

According to Motube, the latest crime statistics as worrying given the fact that Botswana’s population was less than two million. The rising figure has spurred the activists in Botswana to put huge pressure on the government to take more strict action against sexual assault.