Botswana’s justice system under scrutiny amid evidence tampering allegations
Botswana’s justice system faces unprecedented scrutiny following allegations that crime-scene evidence kits used by the Botswana Police Service (BPS) can be opened, tampered with, and resealed without detection.
Anonymous forensic insiders claim the kits’ tamper-evident seals are little more than stickers, easily lifted and replaced, raising fears that rape cases, murder trials, and thousands of investigations may have been compromised.
One officer described the kits as “a joke that has been running for years,” while a forensic technician warned that “tamper protection is theatre, not security.”
Legal experts caution that if true, every trial relying on physical evidence could be vulnerable to challenge. Survivors of sexual assault may face denied justice, while murder convictions could be destabilised.
Police Commissioner Dinah Marathe has defended the system, insisting officers follow due process and that evidence has never been contaminated.
She added that victims and accused persons are free to engage independent experts to verify police procedures, while acknowledging human fallibility: “Maybe it happens unnoticed, we are humans also.”
Critics argue that transparency and independent forensic audits are urgently needed to restore public trust. Until then, questions remain over how many cases may have been decided on evidence that could have been altered or erased.