A Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) council candidate and a close friend are wanted for questioning by Maun Police over the brutal beating of two youthful residents that occurred in the tourist town on Friday night (August 23rd).
With the suspects, BDP politician, Tinah Cocks Tameti and his fellow Khwai native, Paul Mothathobi, proving hard to track down, the cops issued arrest warrants for the pair on Wednesday afternoon (August 28th).
“The matter has been reported to the police but the two suspects are yet to be arrested or brought in for questioning. They were contacted yesterday and they said they were attending Khwai Community Trust’s Annual General Meeting and promised to come to the station as soon as the meeting was out. We have since issued a warrant for their arrest,” confirmed Acting Station Commander, Joseph Lepodise.
Reached for comment, Tameti, who is set to stand for the ruling party in Matlapana ward at the upcoming general elections, admitted he was present during the said altercation but denied any involvement.
“I cannot comment any further than that. I was with Paul when it happened but I was not involved in the fight at all,” maintained Tameti.
Aside from his political ambitions, Tameti is a businessman of note, well known in Khwai settlement for his work in the travel and hospitality industry, as is Mothathobi.
The Voice managed to locate one of the alleged victims, a 23-year-old Disana ward resident whose mother only agreed to the interview on condition we do not name her daughter.
“These are dangerous men, I don’t want them coming after my girl,” insists the mum.
With her eyes still red raw, and her face dark with fresh, vivid bruises, the light-skinned young lady is in obvious pain, flinching as she recalls her version of Friday night.
“I was with two friends, just having a few drinks here at home. When the alcohol finished, one insisted that we go and get more in town.”
After replenishing stocks and grabbing a bite to eat, the trio headed towards Sedie for a party.
It was then, at around midnight, that the fun came to an abrupt end.
“As we passed by the Immigration building, approaching the circle, a white GD6 came speeding into the circle. It was speeding the whole way, but right before scratching our car [Run X] it slowed down so that they don’t do too much damage. We stopped in front of the circle and realised these people who scratched us were drunk. They were under the influence and were trying to blame us for a bigger scratch; there was a whole big scratch but it was lower than our car mirror, which they said scratched their car, so we told them it was not possibly us,” she explained.
Although both parties agreed to take the matter to the police station, it never got that far.
“On the way, we realised that since these people were drunk and under the influence, as soon as we get to the police, they are going to pin everything on us. They were going to use the fact that they were older than us and at the end make us pay for those damages,” she reasoned.
With the youngsters attempting to drive away, the GD6 gave pursuit, prompting a high-speed car chase through the streets of Maun.
“As we drove towards Big Tree by Thamakalane River, we did not notice that the GD6 was not following us anymore. As we were trying to come out by Lunar bar, we realised it had gone round to block our possible exit. They came in a hurry and blocked us just in front of the first house in that area.”
With the two vehicles now stationary and with no way out for the Run X, the backseat passenger panicked, taking flight and fleeing into the nearby bush.
“Those two men came in a fury. They caught us off guard, we tried to close the widows and lock the doors but they reached their hand through the driver’s seat and choked him at the same time ordering him to give them the car keys.”
Becoming increasingly emotional, she says their attackers pulled them out of the car and started slapping them.
“They threw me to the ground and threw sand into my eyes. One of them put a knee on my neck to keep me down. When I asked them why they were beating me when I was not the driver they said ‘o makgakga’ (you are ill mannered)”. I then realised this is not just a normal beating and I screamed for help, rushed to the nearest gate. They tried to pull me, but I held tight to the gate as I screamed for help,” she continues, her crimson eyes moist, her voice slightly hoarse.
The young lady says her friend was reduced to a bloody pulp.
“They beat him so badly his contact lenses broke. They poured sand in his mouth to stop him from screaming. Thankfully, one of the neighbours heard my cries and came out. They called for help and a G4S security vehicle quickly arrived at the scene,” she concludes, shaking her head with a grimace.
If Tameti and Mothathobi are charged and the drama does get to court, the mother’s efforts to keep her daughter’s identity a secret will ultimately be in vain.
For now though, the family are fully focused on helping her recover, from both the physical wounds and the mental scars.
