Deadlock deepens as govt and the Re A Bua Foundation remain at odds over transparency and accountability
BONGANI MALUNGA
A growing deadlock is emerging between the Ministry for State President, Defence and Security, led by Minister Moeti Mohwasa, and the Re A Bua Foundation over the handling of the high-profile #JusticeForTshepi case, centred on the death of 13-year-old Retshepile Tshepi Tshedu.
At the heart of the dispute is a widening gap in communication, transparency, and trust following government statements that the case has since been escalated to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after post-mortem findings allegedly revealed signs consistent with sexual abuse. The Re A Bua Foundation has questioned the clarity of this transition and the level of disclosure provided to the public.
CRITICAL GAPS
The foundation, which formally petitioned Parliament on 9 April 2026 through Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe’s office, argues that the government’s response, delivered by Minister Mohwasa on Botswana Television, left critical gaps. Chief among these is the absence of clear explanation on what specific evidence triggered the handover of the case from the Botswana Police Service (Botswana Police Service) to the DPP and why key findings remain undisclosed despite widespread public circulation of preliminary post-mortem concerns.
The foundation also alleges a potential conflict of interest, arguing that the Ministry overseeing the police cannot be seen as fully independent in evaluating the conduct and conclusions of the same institution it supervises. According to the foundation, the BPS and the DPP are government organs that can come under hierarchical intimidation hence their scepticism.
This has intensified public debate over whether the process is sufficiently transparent, particularly given that the investigation reportedly took nearly a year before significant escalation.
CONFLICTED
“Our activism and advocacy sentiment on this is that the BPS is under Minister Mohwasa’s portfolio, and therefore he may not necessarily have been open to criticize his department during the address. It may then be that Minister Mohwasa is conflicted where the Police are concerned. We viewed the Presidency and the Vice Presidency offices who received the petition as more neutral. We humbly request that going forward, this conflict of interest be eliminated at all levels of the BPS, including at the Sehithwa Police station where the case file originates,” the foundation stated in a public address.
Minister Mohwasa, however, has defended the integrity of the process, emphasising that standard procedures were followed and that the matter is now in prosecutorial hands.
REPRESENTING THE FAMILY
The Re A Bua Foundation, which reports that it is working in tandem with Tshepi’s biological father, maintains that their involvement was essential in pushing the case forward, invoking protections under the Botswana Children’s Act 2009 which allows citizens and organisations to act in defense of minors.
Public calls for the sentiments of Tshepi’s biological father in this ordeal have yet to yield results as he has not made public pronouncements on the case. In the interim, the foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Kemoneilwe Mpinang told this publication that the father is not yet granting media interviews as all questions are directed to the foundation to speak on his behalf.
Adding further complexity is the broader expectation of collaboration between government and civil society. Under President Duma Boko’s human-rights-oriented governance approach, NGOs have previously been positioned as critical partners in accountability processes. The foundation argues that its exclusion from official briefings contradicts this principle.