The Ombudsman in Botswana is a relatively new development. Previously people suffered injustices in consequence of maladministration and had no remedy. The courts sometimes could not do what the Ombudsman was meant to do. When maladministration, malpractices, abuse of power and human rights violations occurred, courts were to a certain extent limited in their intervention. In the light of that an institution specifically meant to deal with grievances in central government and private entities was created. It took the form of the Scandinavian ombudsman to address the situation or the British Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (British Ombudsman) to deal with the matter.

The Ombudsman of Botswana has for several years been defined as an institution which is not fruitful and effective, with some people defining it as a prize champion fighting with hands tied behind its back (Fombad, 2001)¹. This article will look at the Act which governs this institution and look at some of the strengths and limitations of the Act. The paper will also take a comparative journey and propose some of the possible solutions to the Act.

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