11 May 2025

The Ombudsman, Advocate Stephen Tiroyakgosi has expressed  concern about the delay in prosecuting child abuse cases.

Advocate Tiroyakgosi was speaking at Maun Voices convention on Friday.  

“I am much concerned to hear that abuse cases are dragging and I am wondering if it is because of the system or the laziness of those involved,” he said.

Reports indicate that  prosecution of  child abuse cases  has been plagued by delays resulting in prolonged suffering of the victims.

He stated that the Children Act was explicit on who the actors were and questioned if the delay was caused by structural problem or unwillingness/laziness by relevant authorities.

He stressed that cases involving children must be expedited and called on all actors such as the social workers, police and magistrates to play their role towards protection of the children.

Although, he acknowledged that shortage of social workers could hinder speedy processing of the cases, Advocate Tiroyakgosi stated that actors should prioritise the interest and the rights of the children to ensure their protection.

“It is also disturbing to learn that some parents also play a part to let down the system as it is reported that some are not forthcoming, some negotiate settlement of cases with the perpetrators while some protect the perpetrators over the children by not reporting cases,” he added.

Earlier, some stakeholders stated that there was a big gap in children’s access to justice, citing that the pendency of children cases in the courts was a hindrance in the delivery of justice.

They attributed the delay to issues such as limited resources like personnel, inability of some parents/guardians and stakeholders to cooperate.

A social welfare officer at North West District Council, Ms Dimpho Jakoba indicated that the region was experiencing pressing human right issues like gender-based violence incidents and high level of poverty with 2 197 destitute persons registered at the council.

“We tried to come up with empowerment initiatives to eradicate poverty but we have realised that lack of commitment by beneficiaries resulted in projects collapsing,” she said.

In addition, offences such as rape, defilement, incest, child negligence, abandoned children and children living in difficult circumstances, she said were rife in the district and that some were before the magistrate courts.

As social officers, she said they do referrals to some institutions such as Women Against Rape that provided a shelter for safety, adding that the organisation had limited capacity to accommodate more victims which resulted in referrals to various institutions outside the region.

A representative from Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (NCONGO), Mr Fanuel Otukile said the district was faced with many challenges as compared to other districts hence there was need for a unique approach to address them.

Issues of arranged marriages involving children, abuse are reportedly rampant in the district mostly in marginalised communities and the consequences of violence range from immediate impact on their development such as learning ability, physical injury, school performance and teenage pregnancy.

All children, he said have the right to be protected from any form of violence, abuse neglect and exploitation and as such “we should collaborate and promote positive parenting as well as sensitise the communities about children protection issues and other social ailments”.

Mr Otukile further noted that it was disturbing that some children were denied the right to education due to cultural and religious beliefs, adding, ‘we need to tackle cultural beliefs issues and get rid of those practices that exploit children while at the same time finding lasting solutions to the challenges at hand’.

He also highlighted that some non-governmental organisations which were augmenting the government efforts towards protection of children were collapsing due to financial constraints and expressed a wish that government could intervene for the best interest of the child. ENDS