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Tonota District Council is conducting assessment to identify immediate needs of families affected by torrential rainfall, which wreaked havoc in Matsitama on Sunday afternoon.  

According to the district’s acting senior social welfare officer, Mr Basimane Mothoagae, already 39 people had been accommodated at Matsitama Primary School.

He said a number of houses were affected, which prompted the council to do house to house assessments.

Kgosi Reuben Kethobogile of Matsitama said there were no fatalities recorded save for only person, who sustained injuries when the house collapsed on him.

One of the victims, Ms Barulanaye Basekilwe, a teacher at Matsitama Primary School, said her furniture, which included tv, couch and other household items were destroyed.

In a laudable show of calm and peaceful festive season, Chobe National Park has registered no cases of misconduct inside the park. This is the first Christmas holiday since Sedudu-Ngoma gates transit route was officially opened for a 24-hour operation by Minister and of Environment and Tourism, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi in April. In an interview, Department of Wildlife and National Parks acting regional officer- Chobe Dr Karabo Danster said Batswana have embraced the 24-hour operation of the Sedudu and Ngoma gates as an access point to Chobe Enclave from Kasane and vice versa traversing through Chobe National Park. He stated that there were no accidents recorded in the park this festive season which was an indication that road users were vigilant. “Chobe National Park is a high density area where wildlife traverse from the forest for forage down to the river for water and they do pass through the A33 road inside the park,” he said. However, he raised concern about the littering activities inside the park with some motorists disposing plastics and bottles alongside the road. The officer pointed out that the department conducted daily patrols from Ngoma gate covering the riverfront up-to Sedudu gate. Moreover, Dr Danster said there was minimal activity on the Chobe River for boat cruise as this was a tourism off season. He said during the festive season it is mostly Batswana who enjoy visiting Chobe for tourism excursions with their families. He noted that the spirit of calmness was also experienced at the boat cruises as no reports of misconduct were recorded.

Department of Wildlife and National Parks has condemned the retaliatory killing of four lions, a jackal and 12 vultures in Lesoma.In an interview, Principal Veterinary Officer in Chobe, Dr Karabo Danster said the department was treating this case as retaliatory incident of human-wildlife conflict.He stated that the first case was reported beginning of December where two lions, jackal and vultures were found dead.Again, he said on December 24, a passerby reported sighting two dead lions along the A33 road.Dr Danster revealed that the two lions, male and female along the road were covered in wounds, which presumably appeared to have been caused by a sharp object.“We discovered during the postmortem that a gun was used on both the lions, which wounded them hence they succumbed to injuries from a close range shots.”He alleged that preliminary investigations showed that a farmer whose livestock had been killed by lions took the matter into his own hands hence retaliated by poisoning carcasses, which were devoured by these animals.Dr Danster stated that the residual samples were currently at the laboratory for testing to establish, which poison was used.Furthermore, he remarked that DWNP was working closely with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to educate the public on how they should take care of their properties.“Most of the livestock in Chobe do not roam round at night but contained in predator proof kraals hence cases of lion attacks are rare unless livestock are left outside kraals and predators prey on them.”The officer said no arrests were made hence appealed to the community to assist them to catch the perpetrators.

Kanye West MP, Mr Victor Phologolo, has stressed that regular dialogue with constituents and stakeholders is key to ensuring legislators effectively fulfil their mandate.Speaking at the Kanye leadership forum recently, Mr Phologolo highlighted the value of such gatherings, saying they should be convened more often to tackle the challenges facing the area and to find solutions. Mr Phologolo also updated attendees on national developments, including the government’s adoption of measures to curb expenditure.The Kanye West MP also informed his constituents about some development progress, noting that the proposed Kanye Hospital was not included in the National Development Plan (NDP)12. However, he assured that the project would be pursued through Public-Private Partnerships.Other projects which were not incorporated in NDP 12, he said included the Selokolela-Lorolwane Road, Segwagwa Road, and the paving of roads leading to farms. Mr Phologolo further acknowledged ongoing challenges in Kanye, including poor school performance particularly in remote areas like Lorolwane as well as social issues such as alcohol and substance abuse, passion killings and defilement.Participants raised concerns about persistent water shortages in Kanye, inadequate internal roads and frequent network failures at Department of Road Transport and Safety offices. They further demanded thorough investigations into the rising cases of killings affecting Kanye and the nation as a whole.Kebotlhokwa Care Centre Coordinator, Ms Boingotlo Gupta, underscored the need for intensified counselling as a means to support victims of gender-based violence and prevent future incidents.Meanwhile, Officer Commanding No. 14 District, Senior Superintendent David Ramoseki, alerted attendees to the alarming rise in scams where fraudsters called some victims announcing competition winners or invoke ‘Know Your Customer’ schemes to defraud Batswana of large sums. Such cases, he said, were on the increase and were a major concern for law enforcement.While acknowledging that entering competitions was not inherently wrong, he advised the public to exercise caution, such as retaining receipts after providing personal details at tills, as these often contained sensitive information like full names and phone numbers that scammers exploited.On stock theft, Senior Superintendent Ramoseki urged farmers to take proactive measures to protect their livestock rather than depending solely on farm workers.In his contribution, Kanye District Council secretary, Mr Joseph Banyatsang, updated participants on Kanye Stadium, stating that Phase I was complete and were awaiting funding for the next phase. He added that Phase II would involve construction of ablution blocks, kiosks and changing rooms.