Man in sedan knocks dog, dies on the spot

A 35 year old man employed by Debswana died on the spot Friday night after hitting a dog in his Golf sedan in Mokubilo village. Villagers discovered his body covered in blood on the driver’s seat Saturday morning. Some of his blood had gushed outside and was visible on the ground. But, alarmingly, eyewitnesses, who suspect witchcraft in the accident, say the car had not veered off the road or overturned after knocking down the small dog.

One driver who witnessed the accident wondered how the car could have stopped abruptly after hitting a dog and not a stationary object. Detective Superintendent Livingstone Mado of Letlhakane Criminal Investigations Department (CID) said they were investigating the cause to rule out foul play. Although the investigation officer did not reveal much, there was talk from those on the scene that there could definitely have been foul play, with allegations that the driver might have been killed by the passengers he carried, and made it look like he had hit a dog. The VW Polo Vivo had only its front grill damaged.

“We can confirm that we are investigating such an incident in which a 35-year old employee of Debswana was found dead after presumably hitting a stray dog on Friday night. In the morning of Saturday last week, we received a report that a VW Polo Vivo had hit a dog and its driver lost his life on the spot. “When we arrived at the scene, we were baffled to find the car parked next to the road with a dead dog next to it. We also discovered that the driver was inside the stationary car with wounds on his head which might have led to his death.

“The car did not overturn nor hit any stationary object hence we are thoroughly investigating to rule out any possibilities of a foul play,” Mado said. He declined to divulge the names of the deceased saying his next of kin were yet to be notified. Baffled at how a dog could cause death with wounds, nearby villagers at the scene blamed witchcraft for the accident. Botswana’s Penal Code does not recognise witchcraft.