KalahariLog

Not many newspapers in the world could pull off a title like this one: "Some men comfortable with urinating in public". Yet, the Botswana Daily News rarely fails to please. For an organ of the geoverment, the paper unfailingly offers a good mix of news and entertainment and this one combines both quite nicely:

Some men say they enjoy urinating in the open because it is quick and comfortable.

The men, who were arrested during an operation by the Department of Waste Management and Air Pollution, admitted that they were fully aware that doing so was an offence.

Deputy Director of the Department Mr Rule Opelo said out of the 132 people who were caught , 125 of them were male while seven were female.

The figure also includes students who were caught urinating near the railway line fly-over bridge after alighting from the combis.

Some of them claimed that they did not know where the toilets were while others said the toilets were locked, dirty or reserved for staff only.

Mr Opelo said some the people who were arrested during the two-day operation were warned, while others were fined between P50 and P200.

One man was jailed for resisting arrest.

He said in most cases, those who were fined were reluctant to accept wrong doing.

Those who could not pay were given seven days to doso or face prosecution. Females, he said, were caught urinating near bars while most men were arrested urinating near trees.

Those peeping in public face a fine of between P50 and P200. Repeat offenders can also be tried and sent to prison for a period not exceeding six months.

Mr Opelo, who is also the Coordinator of the Greater Gaborone Cleaning-up Initiative, said the operation is meant to appealed to people conduct themselves in an environmentally friendly manner.

The operation was conducted at Block 9, Block 6, Phase 11 Bontleng and the Main Bus Terminal.

He said their next targets are scrap yards and those who dispose rubble everywhere.