36 temps get full-time employment in Tutume The government’s promise to overhaul the public sector by doing away with both temporary contracts and outsourcing of non-core services is being put into action in the Tutume District. According to Council Chairperson, Tabona Masole, 36 temporary employees have been successfully absorbed into the permanent and pensionable establishment, comprising 25 cleaners, 10 night-watchmen and one grounds man. Masole hailed the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) government for taking a deliberate decision to reintroduce insourcing within the public service. “This initiative is aimed at strengthening internal capacity, improving service delivery efficiency, and maximizing value for public resources,” he explained. The Chairman further said insourcing enhances long-term sustainability by reducing an over-reliance on external vendors and consolidating critical functions within the public service structure. Masole revealed the absorption process was executed without an initial budget provision. “However, a comprehensive data collection exercise has been finalized...

*Sebina saga survivor calls for tougher laws against child predators In a country rocked by a sickening wave of child abuse, sexual abuse survivor Neo Phetogang has broken her silence to call for tougher punishment against perpetrators and stronger protection for vulnerable children. Phetogang, who became widely known following the controversial “Sebina Saga” back in 2016, says government needs to take a far more aggressive approach in dealing with sexual offenders, arguing that the current system is failing victims and their families. The case which sparked national uproar nearly a decade ago, linked former Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) councillor Kemmonye Amon to allegations involving Phetogang when she was still a teenager. While the matter triggered public outrage at the time, with pressure groups rallying incensed members of the public against child abuse chanting the ‘eseng mo ngwaneng’ slogan, Phetogang says the prolonged legal process and lack of closure have left...

Although his profession requires he take a pledge promising to help people, a nurse finds himself in the police’s bad books after allegedly threatening to kill his girlfriend and her family. Lesego Sebutana, 41, will temporarily swap his white nurses’ uniform for yellow prison robes after he was remanded in custody by Molepolole Magistrates Court this week. Sebutana is said to have lost his cool early on Friday (15 May) morning, his tirade reportedly sparked by his suspicions that his 30-year-old lover was cheating on him. “Ke tsile go go bolaya ke bo ke bolaya batho ba ko ga lona ke bo ke le tshubela mo ntlong, (I am going to kill you and kill your family and burn you inside the house),” are the supposed words that landed the nurse in jail. According to Lekgwapheng Assistant Superintendent Akimo Mlazie, the complainant reported the matter at around 0300 hrs. “We...

*Police sent on wild goose chase over ‘missing child’ *Tutume toilet rescue ends in embarassment Police in Tutume were left red-faced after a frantic search for a Standard Two pupil at Tutume Primary School, who was believed to have fallen into a school pit latrine, turned out to be a hoax. Fire fighters, police officers, […] Source link

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A suspected killer’s hopes at freedom hit a brick wall this week, when Molepolole Magistrates Court questioned his bail bid due to confusion over his lawyer’s credentials. 27-year-old Tebatso Koolatlhe made headline news in July last year when he was arrested on suspicion of murdering his pregnant girlfriend, Keamogetse Kgosietsile, 21. Stuck behind bars ever since, Koolatlhe’s latest attempt at bail backfired because of legal question marks surrounding his recently engaged attorney, Sesupo Masaka. “I’m not sure if he is authorised to appear before court, there is an interdict from the law that I need him to confirm. If that is true, everything he said here is nullity [legally void]. Ask a family member to request him to write a letter, I will also confirm,” ruled Chief Magistrate, Thebeetsile Mulalu. Further muddying the murky waters, Masaka was not present during Monday’s mention, with his client unable to give an update...

Sunday Standard Vehicle market remains hooked on Japanese imports Botswana’s appetite for cars is slowing, but not enough to loosen the grip of imported used vehicles on the country’s roads. New data from Statistics Botswana shows first-time vehicle registrations fell by 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 9,942 vehicles, down from 10,324 in the previous quarter. Despite the decline, passenger cars remained dominant, accounting for 72.8 percent of all registrations during the quarter. .ihc-locker-wrap{} There’s more to this story But to keep reading, we need you to subscribe. Investigative journalism is an indispensable part of a healthy society, but it’s also expensive to produce. We are reliant on subscriptions to fund our work, and while you can enjoy most of our stories for free, a small number of premium features are reserved for subscribers. You can subscribe for one week, a month or a full year –...

A feared thug who dragged his neighbour out of her bed before raping the helpless woman at knifepoint faces a lengthy stretch behind bars. Convicted of the brutal 24 October 2023 rape, Oteng Maphoi, 33, is likely to spend the next 25 years of his life locked up in a prison cell. It could easily be more! Although she found the suspect guilty of rape, Molepolole Magistrate, Mmamerafe Phologo explained her court did not have the power to impose a punishment beyond 20 years, something she felt the ruthless crime deserved. Thus she ordered Maphoi be sentenced at High Court, which does posses such power. According to the penal code, ‘where an act of rape is attended by violence resulting in injury of the victim, the person convicted of the act of rape shall be sentenced to a minimum term of 25 years imprisonment or to a maximum term of...