MALEBOGO: Before she was shot
When Malebogo Molefhe’s ex soldier boyfriend shot her eight times from close range in a frenzied attack, death seemed a certainty.
That she lived is nothing short of a miracle. Now almost two years on, the 31-year-old woman who was shot in the neck and back, is prepared to talk openly of her ordeal for the first time.
It has been a long painful road to recovery, and despite still struggling with leg paralysis due to a backbone fracture, she is confident that some day she will walk again.
Talking from her Manyana Village home in the Southern District she said: “It has been a difficult transition from the time of the attack to date, because I had a lot to deal with. It was not only about the injury but also the trauma.
“Each time a door banged or anything crashed to the floor, it sounded like gunfire and I was terrified. I had to deal with so many things at once that at times it was overwhelming.”
Molefhe’s life was put in jeopardy when her ex boyfriend shot her before fatally turning the gun on himself in Gaborone’s Block 9 area in April 2009. Such was the impact of the point blank attack that the bullets that entered her back came out through her chest and fractured her ribs.
One bullet penetrated her body from the left side of her neck and came out through the right rib. Although it missed vital organs in the kidneys, it crushed the spinal cord causing temporary paralysis.
““The doctors had written me off. My parents were told that due to the internal injuries, even if I lived I’d be a cripple for life. That was the medical point of view, but sometimes God sees things differently.
“Here I am, two years on and making tremendous progress towards a full recovery. The doctors are still shocked and I have hope that my legs are going to be strong enough for me to leave my wheelchair behind.”
Talking of the relationship that ended so violently, she said that it was an on and off long distance affair between the two that was strained by infidelity, obsession and lack of trust.
“I do not know the single event that triggered the attack, but he was a troubled man, possessive and obsessed. As a result we parted due to his infidelity, but he wanted to reconcile the relationship as and when he pleased. Even during the time that we were not together, he would want to keep a record of my whereabouts and activities,” she explained.
Speaking about the time of the attack she went on to say: “Earlier that Sunday, I had spoken to him over the phone because he had called and wanted us to talk. We agreed that he should come to Gaborone at the end of his duty. But then to my horror in the early hours of the morning, I was awoken by the sound of gunfire. He did not knock, but just shot down the door.”
She said the man then forced her into his car with a gun pinned to her head.
“I had no idea where he was taking me, but as he was about to drive out of the gate, police and soldiers arrived and he reversed into the yard. That is when he pulled the trigger, but the gun initially failed to go off. As he was examining the weapon, I jumped out of the car and he shot at random as I lay numb on the ground. I was bleeding profusely. When he thought I was dead he shot himself dead.
“I could hear distant movement as the police and soldiers rushed in. The whole time I was struggling to breathe, but that was all I could think of, to just keep breathing, because despite the pain, as long as I could do that, I knew I was still alive. “
She was then rushed to Julia Molefhe clinic where she was immediately transferred to Princess Marina Hospital and eventually to South Africa where she was stabilized over a month long period.
LIVING MIRACLE: Malebogo Molefhe
“At the time it was very difficult because then I did not know the impact the bullets had caused to my body. It was a crushing blow emotionally when I was told I would not survive.”
However months later, when her right arm started responding to movement, the revival of hope has made her stronger and more determined each day.
Now she has the use of both arms, and as she coaxes her legs back into action, she looks forward to the miracle of walking again. For Malebogo each day as a celebration of the lease of life God has extended to her.
COMPENSATION
Meanwhile Malebogo has questions for the BDF: “I want to know what their responsibility is. The government has put up a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund for those involved in road accidents. What about people like us who have been injured and undergone difficulties through the barrel of a BDF gun? It is very painful.”
Her Mother Susan Molefhe, 49, added: “We ask ourselves, how safe are we? The BDF’s mandate is to shield the nation, but instead some of its soldiers have become a menace. Somebody has to account for this kind of behaviour!”
At the time of going to print, BDF spokes Person Colonel Paul Sharp was yet to respond to some of the allegations, but had however contended that the man was not on duty at the time of the incident.
Awareness Tournament
Malebogo’s friends will next weekend (March 19) hold a basketball tournament at the University of Botswana grounds to raise funds for the former player, so she is able to cover some of her medical costs. The tournament will also be used to raise awareness about her plight.
One of her friends Boineelo Mogaga said: “She is the only child who used to take care of her mother. Now that she can’t work they have been left in a difficult financial position, struggling to afford basics including food, utilities and most importantly for Malebogo, physiotherapy sessions to rehabilitate her body.”
Malebogo-0715
Soldiers!!Soldiers!!Soldiers!!! Ga kena kgang!! Modimo o teng, oa tshela!!
She is very lucky dilo tse di a tena blind ‘women’ ekebo a mmolaile & they think that they are creepy next tym you wil be no longer in that wheel chair bt six feet under GROUND.
These people are raising a valid point which should be pursued by the whole nation actually. Since the establishment of the armed forces in Botswana we have had just too many incidences of fatal injuries to civilians. Especially by the soldiers and the police officers. No one has ever taken responsibility for these deaths and I think Malebogo’s mother is right to suggest that may be it is about time. The soldiers are specifically trained to kill their enemy. Has it never occured to the authorities that some of these soldiers might actually snap and turn against civilians? And if it has, what measures have they put in place to protect the innocent civilians? Auto manufacturers know that cars can be involved in accidents and when you buy a car they encourage you to buy insurrance just so that you are covered, should there be an accident. Maybe the army and the police should advise their employees to buy an incidental insurance to cover whoever it is that they may accidentally or even intentionally injure with their weapon. It does not matter if they are off duty. The point is that they have the advantage of possesing knowledge of how to use a weapon and when they do so and kill a civilian,they(the army) should pay for the damages.In medicine and clinical practice there is malpractice insurance, in case, in the line of doctors discharging their duty,a patient gets injured or dies. That insurance pays. This same line of thought should be extended to the police and the army. This way people would think twice about stealing a gun a going out to shoot people. It will also protect the soldiers themselves against self injury.
I urge the public and people knowledgeable with insurance products to take thing up.
@ Dt. Spoken like a soldier who has been heartbroken.You are not a saint mr!! Go ta jang gore o te go tenwa ke mosadi? Le wena o na le seabe mo tenegong e o e buang eo. Le ha o tenegile, ga go reye gore o na le right ya go mo gobatsa. Ke eng o sa mo ise ha pele ga batho go ithalosa ka tsone dilo tse di go tenang tseo? Being a soldier is a big responsibility and in Botswana it seems it was unfortunate that this responsibilty to protect the nation has been trusted to individuals who are not ready for it. Ba le ba ntsi ba tsenetse boikgantsho le go tlhola ba tenwa ke basadi to that point that they want to use their weapons on them. It is a shame!!!
@Dt. O seka wa e rwala ka mahatha coz no one has the right to claim another person’s lyf except GOD. moreover no one is perfect mayb the guy has done worse staff than that gal, so its better to seek help when encountaring a problem than 2 take silly actions. learn from him gore where does his action landed him….
I want to make a suggestion about how to handle of duty soldiers. As stated above I believe it takes a lot to train a soldier to be what they eventually become and it must take even much more for that soldier to remain disciplined as to restrain themselves from acting out under stressful situations. I however, believe that it does not take much to trigger the restrained insticts inside the soldier to spill out and become a disaster.When the man in the story here was standing there pumping the body of a young woman full with bullets, this was not just a man. It was a well trained military officer carrying out an act of killing as he was trained in the army. And every year we have many soldiers retiring from the army or even resigning. They just simply walk back into the civilian society. How safe is that? In this light the government has to find a way to rehabilitate all soldiers who are no longer active in the army. This will involve a thorough psychosocial counselling sessions to deprogramme the client to fit back into the civilian society. Afterall the civilian life is what we all want and it constitute majority of the population. I want to suggest that these sessions be made to include soldiers at all levels, including retired ones. It will probably not mean much to them, but it will make the civilians to feel safe that at least something is being done.
Eish, our sisters really go through hell! It’s wrong to generalize based on the bad behavior of some people, just like we cannot generalize that all men are crazy enough to kill a girl who dumps them. Each case needs to be investigated and treated in its own merit. There certainly needs to be a funding policy in the country to compensate people who go through this. The moment a person is given a gun, there is assumption of responsibility by the army and government for what that person does with that gun, including whether they are mentally fit to be given one and that they should be monitored at all times to ensure that circumstances don’t change. Whether on duty or not is irrelevant! He used the army gun, lawfully given to him! That body should bear some responsibility too! Surely all the benefits that would have gone to a guy like this should go to the victim. That may also act as a deterrent, knowing that if they kill anyone, their annual pension, gratuity and any other benefit goes to the victim. Caring for someone disabled like this is really costly and it goes for a long time if they are young and strong. A lot of factors will need to be taken into account too, like age and number of dependents, loss of earnings, degree of disability, whether the victims bears some responsibility to what happened too etc. It’s about time this was done!
Excellent point Chris M. Gun violence is a serious threat to society and it should be handled with the seriousness it deserves. Soldiers who are trusted with guns, should behave in the same way that some doctors are trusted with prescribing addictive drugs. They are held accountable for any abuse of such prescriptions. Sometimes they even lose thei practice licenses.
@Dt, i think you seriously need help. After you got the boot you probably did not get good counselling. With that kind of attitude you are a bomb waiting to explode. Pliz know that fa o tlogelwa life has to go on!
thanx chris!!
ke lemogile selo sele sengwefela most of men dont have big heart so guys take a heart stand for any situation that cums by taking someone’s lif isnt a solution ntwa kgolo ke yamolomo molemo wa kgang ke go buiwa so learn to sit down and solve your isues, ladies too hav feelings hela ke gore baithoboga ba ya ko ntlung and cry kamoso pelo e bo e boetse mannong thy dont kill as you guys do”"”"”
*sigh* heish!!!…overwhelmin situation…my sister…u v gon thru hardships mme fela trust in Him 4 He saved ur innocent soul…u’l recover with faith in Him…
Bout this self terminated being-I dunno,y ws he in possession of a bdf gun while off duty?z the force allowed 2 b armed whil on the streets—if its so/or not—i blame u guyz…verifications shud b done 2 insure safety upon those hu r bein hunted…
So Colonel Spokesperson, do you wanna tell me that those who are not on duty can do any malice work that they want, and still you wont be answerable for it??????
gatwe tje eng he bathung??????? ako ngwana a fiwe compensation, gompieno jaana ga a kgone go itirela sepe, ka gore le file batho ditlhobolo gore ba gobeye mo ka tsone…. bua sengwe se se botoka monna o lesole ga o le scout…………
go tla siama atleast u r alive thnx to the Almighty
Im totally speachless,and shocked beyond recovery,the things some crazy cowards of men do to women!i mean somebody would be such a chicken to go after a single helpless woman with some weapon like a gun..come on now,thats a big win hands down on cowadice.being such a coward with a chicken heart,i can just imagine how scared the man must be right now in hell with the deviil,cause the last time i heard,the devil is deadly hideous!,but then again,on second thoughts,he doesnt have a heart cause the worms had it for a feast.i can only pray and hope for a quick recovery for the beautiful lady.your blessed,mami,the God who kept you alife will indeed heal you.@Dt,please man,if the ladies infuriate you,better leave them alone mr,dont hurt them,cause we apreciate them,the only person who will end down six feet below the ground is you..just like this unfortunate man,and the woman will be there to live a long and happy life,after the likes of you are dead.
Thax God u are alive sister and dnt lose hope. trust in Him and everything will be fine,He is Jehonah Rapha,the healing God. He is the Lord of impossibilities, and jst luk unto Him. Dnt be discouraged by what pple will say,rather tell them how Big yo God is not how big yo problem is,for God is bigger than that problem. U will recover soon. Wish a successful healing.
O tshabe lesole. Never ever date one.
@ Dt, ke a kgona otlhe malwetsi, le bomatla tota so o ka ncheka. dnt wory abt Dt, h need cyras help.gape o godiseditswe mo kgokgontshong so thats why a bona se e se phoso
I’ve always struggled in trying to understand how anyone can wake up one day and just decide that whether another person (or even themselves) lives or dies depends on whether or not they maintain a relationship with them. The other person’s wants and needs count for nothing in all that. There is so much to live for that I don’t get this ease with which people opt to die and take others with them, especially over things like this! There really is a need to conduct a study on these cases for lesson to be learned and to inform a policy on their prevention to save lives. It’s actually amazing that Batswana citizens shed blood on these so-called passion killings more that in any other form of crime. We generally don’t have violent crime in this country but most of the gruesome killings come out of sour relationships. The common features for these tragedies in relation to causes or associations, signs, personalities and what potential victims can look out for and what they then can do to get help and perhaps help the potential killer need to be rigorously explored to come up with a preventive strategy. The cost of these in terms of lives lost and care for the disabled survivors is way too high to just ignore. Prevention in the end will be a lot cheaper but it needs to be based on informed policy to stand any chance of success!
come on colonel he was not on duty but carrying BDF gun who is responsible for monitoring guns or they r allowed to take guns to their houses if not so the one hu let him go with it must be held responsible n they should b compensation.otherwise re tlo fela ke masole mme ba rata banyana
Le wena sista ke kopa gore o ineele moreneng jaanong,o tshwanetse go itse gore the reason why you are still alive is that God still want you to work for him.
yah. i also think God perfomed a miracle for you my sis. Just a piece of odvice to all the ladies ako re leseng go nna le our boyfriends before we get married. Lets do things God’s way. Get married first!!! otherwise enjoy life!!! and remember Jesus loves you so much!!!
Lorato ga ko lo fela. SORRY FA KE SA BUE SENTLE. NNA GA KE DUMELE GORE MOTHO O KA BOLAYA MONGWE GO SENA KGANG, GONE GONA LE SENGWE. TO BE BETRAYED IS VERY PAINFULL BECAUSE YOU CAN LOSE MANY THINGS FOR NOTHING FROM THEN O UTWA GO TWE LORATO LE FEDILE MME LE NE LE SE TENG. WHY LORATO LA MONGWE LE MONGWE LE SA FELE? GONA LE BATHO BA BA NNANG LE MORE THAN 50YRS BARATANA MME LORATO LA BONE GA LE ISE LE FELE.
masole le one ke stress fela