12 Nov 2026

The First Lady, Ms Kaone Boko has called for the protection of children to ensure their safety and to safeguard their future.

Ms Boko, who was speaking at the Sireletsa Ngwana, Sireletsa Bokamoso campaign engagement in Gumare on Wednesday, said it was disheartening that the Okavango District and indeed the rest of the country continued to report cases of abuse of children, including those of a sexual nature.

She said the trend was worrying particularly because statistics continued to grow despite active voices against child abuse by relevant organisations like the Botswana Police Service and other key stakeholders. 

Ms Boko said in some cases children were sexually abused by family members while most teenage pregnancies were mostly a result of adults from those girls’ communities who could have been their safe haven.

She highlighted how the society’s moral fibre had been eroded to a point where adults engaging in sexual acts with minors had become common. 

Ms Boko said children were no longer safe as they endured all sorts of abuse at the hands of the same society that ought to be protecting them.  She said her hope was for a change of attitude towards child protection across the whole country, not only in the Okavango District.

“Let everyone take responsibility in protection of children; if a child becomes wayward take a step and engage relevant stakeholders like community leaders and social workers as such behaviour could have resulted from some form of abuse which children fear to report,” she said.

Ms Boko also launched the Babelegi Mmogo initiative by Lorato House, a Maun-based non- governmental organisation.

Babelegi Mmogo aims to empower parents, community members and relevant stakeholders to curb the abuse of children in the Okavango District and the First Lady said the mandate of the initiative aligned well with that of her Sireletsa Ngwana, Sireletsa Bokamoso initiative.

Okavango District Council (ODC) deputy council secretary Mr Michael Israel said through the help of the Office of the First Lady, the council had managed to revive child protection structures from 2025 to date when the Sireletsa Ngwana, Sireletsa Bokamoso was introduced to the area. Mr Israel said the council had so far trained the district child protection committees and 34 village child protection committees to ensure issues affecting the boy and girl child and children with disabilities were properly handled. 

He said the district had high cases of child abuse in the year 2024 with 192 cases recorded of which 77 cases were teenage pregnancy in the months between April and August of that year. ENDS