Police quell fights in Francistown

• 13 Batswana arrested • Some Batswana armed with slashers • 28 Zimbabweans taken to ‘safety’

FRANCISTOWN: Thirteen Batswana were arrested at Block-1 location in a strategic move to curb potential xenophobic violence on Sunday afternoon.

Police at Kutlwano police station confirmed the arrest of Batswana who were reportedly planning to attack their Zimbabwean counterparts residing at the location.

For some time, Zimbabweans have been accused of causing mayhem at the Block-1 location. They have often been accused of unnecessarily applying violence on locals. The exact source of the recent tension is yet to be specified.

However, there are reports that five Zimbabwean men aggressively stormed one of the yards at the location on Friday night demanding to see a Motswana man, who was not home at the time.

His mother, who was not comfortable with their attitude, reportedly ran to the police for help. Police confirmed the report from the woman. It is alleged that the Friday incident angered some Batswana residing at the location which is why they were keen to launch attacks on their Zimbabwean counterparts living in the area.

In an interview, Kutlwano police acting station commander, Assistant Superintendent Alice Oabile said they are yet to establish if the Sunday incident had any element of xenophobia or not because investigations are still ongoing. She stated that the arrests were made after police received information that some Batswana were planning to brutally attack Zimbabweans in Block-1.

“Four of the 13 Batswana we arrested were armed with grass slashers and baton sticks. We do not know what could have triggered Batswana to consider attacking their Zimbabwean counterparts because we are still investigating. We are also yet to determine if the incident had an element of xenophobia,” she said.

The 13 Batswana were questioned and released according to Oabile.

The acting station commander added that after the incident, the police launched a cleanup campaign whereupon a total of 28 Zimbabweans residing in Block-1 and Block 2 illegally were arrested between Sunday and Tuesday.

“Launching the clean-up campaign and executing the arrests was one way of ensuring the safety of the Zimbabweans,” said Oabile.

There were unconfirmed reports that several Zimbabweans were injured by some Batswana prior to the intervention of the police.

“On Sunday we also received two reports of two Zimbabweans who were attacked and injured within our policing area, but they did not point to any of the 13 people we arrested. We are yet to ascertain the source of the attacks,” said Oabile, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.

Although she did not go into details, Oabile further said that one of the arrested Zimbabweans confirmed that he was amongst the five (Zimbabweans) who aggressively entered the yard of an elderly woman in Block-1 on Friday.

According to the acting station commander, over the past three months police in Kutlwano have recorded several cases involving Batswana who were reportedly assaulted by Zimbabweans. She emphasised that the cases were not only recorded in Block-1 but within the whole Kutlwano policing area.

The influx of Zimbabweans in Block-1 and other locations in Francistown South is attributed to illegal gold mining activities in the Matsiloje area. Block-1 and most areas in Francistown South are within the proximity of the old Matsiloje road and adjacent places, where illegal mining activities mostly take place.

A few months ago, Francistown South Member of Parliament, Wynter Mmolotsi, expressed concern that his constituency and surrounding areas have been taken over by brazen illegal gold miners, who operate with apparent impunity.

“The influx of our neighbours who, deliberately and without hiding, mine gold illegally, is something that should be dealt with urgently,” Mmolotsi said. “If not dealt with, the illegal gold mining can throw the country into chaos.”