Africa-Press – Botswana. Acting President Mr Ndaba Gaolathe has paid tribute to the law enforcement officers, who despite the challenges they face, remain committed to their work.
Speaking at the end of tour of Mmathubudukwane Police Station, Mr Gaolathe said this was shown by the police officers who had remained strong despite the challenges they faced after their police was burnt down on Friday night.
He applauded the police officers for their quick response and restoration of services as they had turned other buildings into community service areas.
The Acting President said this signified their discipline and commitment to providing services to their communities.
Mr Gaolathe, who is also the Vice President and Minister of Finance, said it was fortunate that no life was lost in an inferno that engulfed the whole building save for the cells and armoury.
However, he added that they should show their emotions and seek assistance when needed.
Mr Gaolathe said the country had lost a number of people because they failed to seek help, cautioning that bottling up issues was not healthy.
He further said the men and women in uniform had chosen a path of sacrifice for the safety of the nation, where their interests came last.
The Acting President said the fire should be a learning curve and the new construction methods must be adopted.
For his part, Acting Police Commissioner, Mr Solomon Mantswe said the inferno had destroyed the internal structures, which included computers, files and the biometrics technology they had recently introduced. He said they responded swiftly following the report and managed to form a joint investigative team made up of CID personnel, forensic fire experts, K-9 unit and intelligence architects.
Mr Mantswe said they had to determine what might have caused the fire, adding that the smoke detection system was not triggered as this could have alarmed the officers who were on duty that night.
He said following their investigations, they managed to arrest the culprit who on Monday was remanded in custody until his next appearance before court on June 10, adding that he was hopeful the investigations would then be complete.
In addition to the arson charges, he said more charges might be introduced after the suspect was found in possession of habit forming drugs, dagga and Methcathinone, known as Cat and attempted murder since there were police officers in the building at the time of the incident who escaped unharmed, although one officer had to be attended for inhaling the smoke.
He said after their investigations, they would submit a report to the Minister for State President with recommendations.
Meanwhile, the police had restored services by using a building, which was used by the contractor as office accommodation while the gym had been turned into a community service centre.
The police offer services to the river villages, being Mabalane, Sikwane, Mmathubudukwane, Ramonaka and Malolwane.
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