18 Mar 2025

Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services will continue to come up with strategies, programmes and policy initiatives to ensure that the ultimate objective of providing equal access and efficient justice for all is accomplished.

The Minister,  Mr Nelson Ramaotwana said during a consultative meeting in Tsabong on Monday. He said the purpose of the meeting was to bring services to the people as well as to create public awareness and education on the ministry’s new policies and commitments.

He emphasised the importance of teamwork and open communication, stating that the ministry’s goal was to ensure that all had access to justice and all departments worked together efficiently.

Mr Ramaotwana said the ministry’s primary goal was to manage offenders in a safe, secure and humane environment and provide opportunities for rehabilitation and reintegration, which was facilitated by the Botswana Prison Service.

He said the function of the Ombudsman was to provide remedies for administrative injustices and human rights violations. To this end, he said the Ombudsman was mandated by the law to investigate human rights violations by ministries, departments, agencies and the private sector.

On issues of human trafficking, Mr Ramaotwana said his office was handling many cases, adding that women and girls were at a much higher risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.

The minister urged the community to be aware of businesses that were often complicit in labour trafficking and also  be informed of what was actually going on in the countries where they were offered jobs.

The ministry has already started public campaigns and capacity building for district and community leaders, villages with close proximity to borders.

Encouraging parental involvement on issues of defilement and child trafficking the minister highlighted the importance of collaborating with various stakeholders like teachers, social workers and police.

During the meet and greet session at Tsabong Prisons Service, the minister urged both prison officers and inmates to work together especially in rehabilitation of inmates.

He encouraged the inmates to never give up and to take the rehabilitation programmes seriously so that they could benefit them the time they leave the prison to join society.

Mr Ramaotwana further acknowledged the officers’ resilience and commitment, assuring them that the ministry would work towards resolving the issues raised.

For his part, Kgosi David Toto of Tsabong urged the minister to consider decentralisation to improve service delivery in the district, adding and that most of the times people go to Gaborone for high court services which was expensive and time consuming. ENDS