One of the suspects in the torching of Minister Kgotla Autlwetse’s car and residence in April has demanded that Serowe Police repair his door, which they kicked down to arrest him.
Zwabo Manyiwa, 43, has also decried what he has described as a violation of his right to freedom by the police at the time when they arrested and detained him.
Serowe police officers and DIS officials arrested Manyiwa on April 6th at his home in Serowe at about 4am and locked him up but later released him the same day.
Manyiwa has claimed that when the cops arrived at his house they, without any provocation, kicked down the door and violently forced him to the ground to cuff him even though he was not resisting arrest.
“When these guys came into my yard, I heard them because there were a lot of them, about 20 or so uniformed officers. They began to yell my name as I was putting on my trousers, and as I was about to open the front door, they kicked it down, forced me to the ground, and handcuffed me,” said Manyiwa.
“They even refused to tell me why I was arrested; at first, I thought it was because of my crazy ex-wife, who has fabricated lies about me before,” he continued.
He then later found out that he was detained on suspicions that he was paid by former President Ian Khama to hire people to burn down Autlwetse’s house and car.
“During interrogation, they wanted me to admit that I was sent by the former president and our village chief to facilitate the arson, which I denied because it was not true,” he said.
Prior to the fire, there was a kgotla meeting held by village elders who came together to strategise on a plan for reconciliation between President Masisi and former President, Ian Khama, whose public spats had just begun to unravel at the time.
“That’s when an angry crowd suggested burning the kgotla or Minister Autlwetse’s property. Unfortunately, the minister’s house and car were burned a week later, and I and my other co-accused were arrested. It was simply because we were present at kgotla meetings on the day people chanted slogans about burning the kgotla or the minister’s property in protest of his failure to give them access to the president to discuss Khama’s fears about the government, which he had put in the public domain” Manyiwa explained.
Finally, at the end of his traumatic narrative, Manyiwa stated that Khama’s supporters were now terrified to wear Kgosikgolo merchandise because they have it on good record that if they do they might be jailed.
However, Serowe Police have responded to Manyiwa’s accusation by pointing out that the officers were operating in accordance with Section 45, which states: “It shall be lawful for any police officer or private person who by law as authorised or required to arrest any person known or suspected to have committed any offence, to break open for that purpose the doors and windows of, and enter and search any premises in which the person whose arrest is required is known or suspected to be.”
“In a nutshell, we feel our officers acted within the confines of the law and cannot be held responsible,” said the police spokesperson.
