Crime has become sophisticated
The level of crime in Botswana has escalated with years while the perpetrators are also becoming too advanced and smart for the local community. Of recent, many Batswana have been left reeling in sho ck after being robbed by men dressed in fancy suits and driving exquisite modern cars.
Thieves no longer run like headless chickens after stealing but rather arm themselves with guns and own getaway cars. A few years ago, it was too complicated to be real and was only common across borders; however currently, it is real and happening, there have been several cases of bag and phone snatching all done in this new trend. Investigations conducted by this publication reveal that the likes of Honda Fit, Runx, Ipsum, and Vitz are the most common types of cars used for robbery nowadays.
These cars are probably popular in the robbery crime because of their high speed which helps culprits speed off within the blink of an eye. Another contributing factor might be their low market price hence increasing affordability for criminals looking to deceive their victims. When Mogomotsi Thupane and Aldophius Legae were alleged to have robbed Choppies Supermarket in Block 8 a few months ago, they were using a Honda Fit for getaway, and in the process walked away with over P150 000.
“We are in trouble, just last week when I was returning from work and busy unlocking my house in Mogoditshane, a white Runx appeared from nowhere and they snatched all the valuables that were in my car and sped off. I had left my doors open and was just about to go back to the car,” said one Mogoditshane resident Lentle Sego. In a recent hijacking incident in Kanye, criminals driving a Honda Fit attacked a motorist and made away with his mini-bus.
The criminals who last week attacked and killed a police officer in Block 8 were using a Honda Fit to get away. Several women have reported being attacked at taxi stops by criminals driving a Honda Fit.
According to Broadhurst Station Commander Senior Superintendent BonosiMolapisi, the robbery where cars, especially the Honda Fit, are used to speed off after the crime, is very common in his area, “We do have such cases here and it is very disturbing. It is only unfortunate that we do not have exact statistics based on the type of cars used because majority of them usually fall under robbery section,” he said.
Meanwhile, Botswana Police spokesperson Dipheko Motube said at national level, they had yet to make a conclusion on which car makes are commonly used for crimes where people are either attacked or have their property snatched, but speculated that the cheaply available cars were making it easy for criminals to own them. Although cagey on verifying which car types are involved more in crimes, he admitted to the sophistication of modern trends of stealing, saying criminals every day invent different ways to ensure that their operations are successful. Motube added that what complicates things is that the cars are very common locally and many of them are being used as public transport, which makes it difficult for patrons to know if criminals could be pretending to be taxi operators. In the meantime, innocent people have found themselves being driven into the bushes where they have either been beaten and raped, or had their belongings stolen when they had actually thought they were getting into a cab or taxi.