An eight-year old pupil of Thabo Mpempe Primary school, Retlhabile Setlhotlha, was hit by a police K9 Unit vehicle on Tuesday afternoon while crossing Khudo Street, the main road that runs through Boikhutso township. In Blydeville, not far from Lichtenburg, a 13-year-old girl who has not been named also died after being struck by a private vehicle. The week has been something of a low point for the community.

Mpho Pilanyane, a local resident of the township is reluctant to talk when asked about the crash that happened in Khudo Street. He says he was far from the action when the people torched two police cars and an ambulance.

“Actually, I don’t think there were witnesses when that car plunged into the deceased,” he says. “From what I heard, the police car was speeding and then everyone heard a bang. I can connect you to Brenda and she might be able to shed some light.” Brenda is unavailable, phone off.

The long winding Khudo Street that spills into different parts of Boikhutso township, has stilled into a few hours of solitude this morning. It’s back to normal. The scent of wild acacia is in the air. The sky is a feast of cool hues of blues. It has everything a perfect day should be.

In Morokolo street, an old man sitting under a tree with his face turned up, has found time to twirl his beard and pick his nose. Does he care for a talk? “No,” he says with a wave of his hand. Something about the media, the police and the military being in cahoots. Trust issues, conspiracy theories, fake news and food parcels, are slowly building up for a big story line. People think the politicians are booking their early-bird-ticket for the local elections; hence food parcels are handed out.

“It’s the name of the game. What else can we think? This is the same strategy used closer to the elections,” says Thabang Bilwane, a TVET college student. 

When the president announced that he was sending out safe pairs of hands, he couldn’t have known that his charges would push the law enforcement button slightly too hard. Reports have come in about overzealous law enforcement members manhandling the residents and breaking the lockdown regulations themselves.

Family spokesperson Goitsemodimo Boikanyo is still shocked. He says he can only talk about what happened to his friend’s child. He’s friends with Johannes Bodumedi, the father of the eight-year old Retlhabile Setlhotlha.

“You know when you innocently send a child to the shops, you never expect this,” he says. “I was there when they sent him to buy bread. He said he was hungry. As a parent what do you do when your child is hungry… you send a child to the shops.”

He says he did not witness what happened after the incident.

“We only saw a policeman being surrounded by the community and from there we could not see what was happening because we were at a distance and we were still shocked to see the child dead.”

“To be honest, we don’t know how it happened. And no one has come to the family to say this is how it happened. We just heard a loud bang and when we went out it was Rethabile. All we hear is rumours that the policeman was drunk. We can’t be certain.”

This happen few hours back in Lichtenburg Boikhutso location where police vehicle hit and killed someone then the community decide to burn the ambulance 🚑 and two police vehicles pic.twitter.com/ePHyWm1izf

— Kotoko (@Moscorish3) April 21, 2020

Boikanyo and Bodumedi went to school together. He says they have been friends forever. 

“I have known him for more than 20 years. We went to Gaetsho High school together here in Boikhutso. There’s nothing I don’t know about him. And so, you can imagine. This is like my son too. I watched him go to school. I have watched him play. We were looking forward to seeing him grow and becoming something in life. We are hurt. The pain is indescribable. His father cannot talk.”

North West Premier Job Mokgoro visited the family on Wednesday and promised to “help where it’s possible”.

“I have established a funeral committee which consists of MECs, mayors and councillors to assist both families with funeral arrangements. The immediate task of the committee will be to meet with families and agree on the funeral date,” he said.

Mayor of Ditsobotla Local Municipality Daniel Buthelezi has condemned the violence and looting after the death of the two children.

“The mayor strongly condemns the destruction of state resources by angry residents,” says Pius Batsile, communications manager of the municipality. “He calls on the community to desist from acts of violence during the lockdown period, as everybody was supposed to be at home.”

“The mayor also appeals to all the residents of the municipality to respect the lockdown regulations. Residents are urged to only leave their homes when going to buy essentials or when visiting health facilities.”

Boikhutso has few services. Rusting swings, abandoned buildings, a LifeLine centre, a police station so small it looks more like a middle-class family home than a cop shop and a clinic. Arriving here, it looks like the formal lockdown restrictions have been lifted or that the people never quite grasped the message of physical distancing, at least consciously.

“The president doesn’t wear a mask,” says a man who wants to be known only as T-Man. “Is it because he knows that it does not exist or what? On the other hand, we hear of people smuggling masks infected with Corona. This is a propaganda war. Where is the truth… I think that is why social distance is not being observed here.”

Asked why people resort to violence when there is a problem in the communities, he says it’s because people are frustrated.

“People are desperate and so everything goes,” he says.

The violence in Boikhutso is not new. Everything that happened for the past two days is a word for word copy of violent protests that end in looting sprees, burning of tyres, road blockades and the narrative of the so-called third force overplaying their hand. It is no longer on-the-edge-of-your-seat addictive violence. It is now gratuitous.

There is speculation that the violence might return, but right now it’s a mixed bag of activities going on, a moustachioed man under the tree picking his nose, the children playing in the dirt, adults playing card games – ordinary people pushing the wheel of life under coronavirus. Perhaps in their haste to keep the people in perfect isolation and showcase homegrown patriotism, law enforcement has gone overboard. And thus, the president might have provided the perfect nemesis for the people in the police and the military. The presence of the police and military might swing it again. Even when it is not in the North West.

Rethabile will be laid to rest on Sunday. This is according to Boikanyo, the family spokesperson. But he has a disclaimer.

“If they keep their promises and not say what they are saying now to keep us quiet,” he says of the promises made by the premier. “We are also waiting to see after the burial if they will come and meet us to talk further, because that’s what they promised.”

***

Osmond Mngomezulu, provincial manager of the North West Human Rights Commission, said the commission learnt through media reports “of the death of a child”.

“The commission took steps to verify the authenticity of the report. We contacted the Lichtenburg SAPS and were advised that the station commissioner is attending a meeting. We contacted IPID which confirmed that they are investigating the matter. More information will be provided to us. We are also exploring ways to make contact with the family after which we can determine how best to assist them to secure appropriate redress. We have not contacted the family yet.”

Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone, North West police spokesperson, said a case of culpable homicide has been opened and that “IPID has already taken the docket”. He said a departmental investigation will also be instituted.

“The North West Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, condemned in the strongest possible terms an incident in which members of the community in Boikhutso Location outside Lichtenburg, took the law into their own hands after a police vehicle allegedly hit an eight-year-old boy today,” he said. — Additional reporting by Chanel Retief. DM/MC 

Madala Thepa is a freelance journalist based in Mahikeng, North West province.