08 Feb 2018

The Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is to revisit its objective of taking over the prosecution of criminal matters from the Botswana Police Service (BPS) countrywide, a move which will fulfil its primary mandate.   

Speaking during the opening of the 2018 Legal Year recently, Attorney General, Advocate Abraham Keetshabe noted that when the DPP was established in 2006, its primary objective was to take over the prosecution of criminal cases from the police countrywide.

He said the project hit a snag mainly because of the 2008 global economic recession.

He said efforts were now afoot to resuscitate the project.

He, however, said for the “takeover project to succeed,” the DPP needed a considerable injection of both financial and human resources.

Advocate Keetshabe, nonetheless, said notwithstanding some constraints, arrangements were at an advanced stage to open an office in Selebi Phikwe.

He said it would be a major step in taking over the prosecution of criminal cases from the police in the Selebi Phikwe area.

Advocate Keetshabe said despite limited resources, the DPP has fully fledged offices in Gaborone, Lobatse, Palapye, Francistown and Maun.

He also noted that since crime has become complex and sophisticated, the DPP had as of December 1, 2017 come up with specialised units to deal with different kinds of offences.

He mentioned them as the Stock Theft Unit, the Wildlife Crimes Unit, the Drugs, Mineral and Environmental Crimes Unit, the Offences against the Persons Unit, the Anti-Corruption Unit and the International Cooperation Unit.

He said the specialised units were initially confined to Gaborone only, but that they would be rolled out to DPP regional offices in due course.

Meanwhile, Advocate Keetshabe said the directorate had come up with a strategy to deal with the backlog of cases, and that a team of officers had been identified to deal with the backlog.

The Attorney General noted that when the project started in October 2016, there were 3 988 backlog cases and that more than 25 per cent of them have been completed, adding that it was a clear demonstration that the strategy was achieving a measure of success.

He, however, requested judicial officers at all levels to bear with the challenges that the DPP continued to encounter in the execution of their mandate.

He said  most prosecutors were young and still on the learning curve.

On other issues, he briefed the gathering on the new drafted legislation during the past legal year.

These include legislation to ease the process of doing business, thereby ensuring a conducive atmosphere to do business, efficient and effective delivery of services as well as compliance with international obligations with regard to anti-money laundering and the financing of terrorism. ENDS