The Botswana Police Service has been ranked the best police force in Africa. There is no arguing that the Southern African country has been getting its act together lately and can easily be classified as a model for what African countries should be.

With a population of just 2 million people, the country boasts political stability, a strong economy, a stable democracy and is blessed with visionary leaders who have the welfare of the people at heart. Its progress has been acknowledged not just in Africa but the world over.

Botswana’s police force was ranked the 47th in the world and the first in Africa.

WISPI was proposed by Dr. Mamdooh Abdelmottlep, a Professor of Criminal Justice Management and Security Expert and the founder and Executive Chairman of International Police Science Association (IPSA). The WISPI report, in ranking the countries, looked at four domains of internal security: capacity, process, legitimacy, and outcomes.

According to the association,

“The capacity domain scrutinised the resources that a nation dedicates to internal security. The process domain looks at whether the resources dedicated to internal security are used in an effective manner. The legitimacy domain is a measure of whether the public view security providers, particularly the police, in a favourable light. Finally, the outcomes domain assesses current threats to internal security.”



Rwanda was ranked 50th in the world and second in Africa, Algeria was 58th, Senegal was 68th and Tunisia 72nd. Botswana is one of the few countries in Africa that has a full democracy. Uganda, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo occupied the 124th to 126th respectively.

The report stated that police and judicial system effectiveness is a serious problem in Nigeria and that general corruption was high according to the Control of Corruption indicator.

81 percent of Nigerian respondents to the Global Corruption Barometer admitted to paying a bribe to a police officer in the last year. Only 0.06 percent of thefts were reported to police.

According to the World Internal Security and Police Index 2018, Nigeria has the worst Police Force in Africa.

The Nigerian Police Force has been ranked the worst in Africa by the World Internal Security and Police Index (WISPI); but this news is not likely going to trend in Nigeria because it is something every Nigerian and everyone who has ever visited Nigeria is fully aware of.

Meantime…

The Botswana Police Service reaches out to young drivers

The Botswana Police Service has embarked on a programme aimed at educating young drivers and promoting the safe and responsible use of the road. When giving the keynote address at the rollout of the programme in Palapye recently, the Director of Traffic, Senior Assistant Commissioner Katlholo Mosimanegape said the initiative intends to reach out to the youth countrywide to give them the necessary information and raise road safety awareness.

He said the programme would target all young people including those still in school, the unemployed in urban and rural areas. Mosimanegape urged young drivers to actively participate in promoting the campaign and to always obey road regulations to avoid accidents.

He noted that road accidents are caused mainly by over speeding and driving under the influence, with the youth the most affected.

In 2017 the police recorded 444 road accidents deaths, of which 247 were young people. For the period of January – October 2018; 369 people died in road accidents, 199 of whom were young adults.

The Youth Driver Outreach programme was recently launched in Gaborone by the Commissioner of Police Keabetswe Makgophe.

Reference: Botswana Government Facebook page, africanexponent.com