Just two weeks into training,a female offi cer cadet fromSerowe lost her life at theBotswana Defence Force (BDF)Pandamatenga training camp. Asource told The Gazette that shedied on the 23rd June after complainingof pains in the abdomenand military doctors found a waterball in her intestines.Attempts to airlift her to Francistownfor further assessmentand treatment by an airplanewere unsuccessful as she diedon her way.
Responding to aquestionnaire from The Gazette,BDF Director of Protocol andPublic Affairs, Colonel TeboDikole confi rmed that indeedthey lost an Offi cer Cadet twoweeks into training and said allinvestigations, including a postmortem, are still on-going to ascertainthe cause of death.Asked if the young womanpassed medical examinationstaken during recruitment andselection, Dikole answered inthe affi rmative. He further statedthat BDF medical examinationsare extensive, thorough and veryeffective. “The medical examinationstandards are at par withInternational Military Standardsfor recruitment of offi cers,” hesaid. Dikole also said the lasttime an offi cer lost life duringtraining was in October 2006.