Africa-Press – Botswana. Incidents of suicide in the Maun policing area are worrisome.
Maun Police Station commander, Superintendent Dennis Zilawe therefore made a call for public members to always seek appropriate help to avoid taking such hasty decisions.
He noted in an interview that since the beginning of the year to date, his office registered nine incidents of suicide.
He appealed to members of the community to consult family members, traditional leaders, friends or social workers in case of suicidal thoughts.
Such people, he said, could provide social support and give individuals a sense of belonging and a feeling of connectedness.
Superintendent Zilawe noted that the impact of suicide on families, friends and communities was devastating and far-reaching.
The appeal followed two recent incidents in which two men, both aged 27, were found hanging from trees in the bush at different locations.
The deceased had been reported missing since March 17 and April 16 respectively by their family members and the police, in collaboration with members of the community, had been searching.
Both men were found hanging on April 22 in decomposed states.
The first deceased, he said, was found hanging in the bush by a passerby, who was looking for livestock in the outskirt of Samedupi village while the other one, originating from Disana ward in Maun, was found in a nearby bush hanging from a tree by a herdboy.
Postmortem, he said, was conducted the same day and corpses were handed over to families for burial while investigations continued.
Supt Zilawe pleaded with members of the community to assist with information that could lead to finding of a 35-year-old man of Sedie ward, who was reported missing early this year.
The family, he said, reported that they last saw him in October 2022 when he promised to join them in December 31, but never showed up.
He said the man was reportedly staying in Letlhakane in the Boteti region, where he does sculpture work, adding that he communicated last year with his family claiming to have won some tenders at areas of Kumakwane and Thamaga in the Kweneng region. Since then his phone had been off.
Still in Maun, police are trying to establish the cause of death of a 45-year-old man of Etsha 1, who was certified dead at Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital on April 22.
Narrating the ordeal, Mr Zilawe said his office received a report around 5am from an informant who discovered the deceased lying outside his homestead.
The police, he said, rushed to the scene and found the deceased with bruises all over the body and took him to the hospital, where he was certified dead after two hours.
Upon searching the deceased’s vehicle, he said they found his Omang.
He appealed to the community to assist with information that could lead to the arrest of the assault culprits, noting that postmortem would be conducted to establish the cause of death.
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