03 Apr 2025

The Ministry for State President is not aware of the alleged prevailing institutional culture within the disciplined forces.

Answering a question in Parliament on behalf of the Minister for State President recently, the Minister for International Relations Dr Phenyo Butale said the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) and Botswana Police Service (BPS) have robust disciplinary process and conflict resolution mechanisms, clearly articulated by law, as provided for in the BDF Act 2018 and Police Act 1972 respectively.

Dr Butale indicated that where a member was found culpable through these internal correctional measures, appropriate action was taken in accordance with the provision of both Acts herein referred to. He said there were several members in the disciplined forces presently on interdictions following administration action against offences committed while some had been dismissed depending on the gravity of the offence committed.

Dr Butale said since their formation, the disciplined forces had always maintained mental health support services within their organisational structures including welfare officers, chaplains, and psychologists in all BDF installations that were aimed at averting gender-based violence (GBV). He said the services were also linked to programmes such as family care plan, suicide prevention programme, mental health mass lectures, GBV awareness programmes and marriage seminars amongst others.

Dr Butale said the ministry was not aware of any cases related to bullying and ill treatment incidents of junior officers by senior officers in the disciplined forces. Nevertheless, he said it was important to inform Parliament that BDF Act of 2018, Section 133 (a) criminalises such conduct and provides that, a member subject to the act strikes or otherwise ill-treat any person also subject to the act commits an offence and shall on conviction by court martial or by High Court be liable to imprisonment for two years or any less punishment provided by the act.

He said the act further stated that the aggrieved member may initiate a complaint through Section 241 of the BDF Act 2018, whereupon the matter would be dealt with accordingly with provisions of the act.

Dr Butale said Section 23 (b)(ii) of the Police Act 1972 also dealt with oppressive or tyrannical conduct. The BDF complaint procedure, he said, provided that if any member was not satisfied with remedies as provided by Section 241(1) (a) the person may seek redress through Section 241(4) (b) and Section 242(1), which provided that, the Defence Council may to such extent and subject to such conditions as they consider appropriate, delegate to a panel of persons (hereinafter referred to as “service complaints and appeals panel”) all or any of the functions conferred on the Defence Council. 

BPS on the other hand, he said, had the Internal Affairs Branch mandated to investigate issues of misconduct by any members of the police, including GBV related matters. He said an independent body, Police Council, was established by Section 62 of the Police Act, with the responsibility for considering any complaint against police service generally, or any of its members, which the commissioner could not successfully resolve.

The MP for Mogoditshane West, Mr Galenawabo Lekau had asked the minister to state action that he would take in relation to the prevailing institutional culture among disciplined forces where there is reluctance to attend to reported incidents concerning their members, protecting each other and encouraging reconciliation of the affected parties even though there  were always possibilities of incidents recurring.

He also asked the minister to state plans in place to address the rampant GBV incidents within disciplined forces and if it was not opportune to establish independent bodies to deal with incidents of ill-treatment. ENDS