11 Mar 2020

Members of Parliament have approved the budget proposals for the Administration of Justice presented by the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Kagiso Mmusi.

Contributing to the debate, Member of Parliament for Shashe West, Mr Fidelis Molao called for the establishment of the small stock theft courts to deal with backlog of cases.

He said the delay in disposing the cases off might result in loss of confidence in the judicial system.

MP Kenny Kapinga of Okavango called upon the minister to reconsider the jurisdiction of regional magistrates so that they could deal with capital crimes rather than commit them at the High Court, which also has many cases.

He said people accused of capital crimes such as murder were only provided with free legal representation after their cases were committed at the High Court, but said a lawyer should be availed in the early stages.

MP Kapinga said the findings of the Judicial Commission should be made public and that production of law reports should also be done by the courts.

MP for Mochudi West, Mr Mmusi Kgafela said ‘a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty’ and therefore they have the constitutional right to be given bail.

Mr Yendani Boko of Mahalapye East said there were shortages of court clerks, hence it took time to dispose cases as the ones available were shared among the judges.

Specially Elected MP, Dr Unity Dow said all courts, including the Industrial Courts and dikgosi, should be independent, saying this should be enhanced during the constitutional review.

MP Mephato Reatile of Jwaneng/Mabutsane said there was a serious shortage of judges such that newly registered cases would only be held next year.

MP for Gaborone Bonnington North, Ms Anna Mokgethi said judicial officers had to be trained on domestic violence as they were not sympathetic to the female victims, adding that the victims were vulnerable and therefore should be protected by the courts.

She said failure to dispose cases off on time compromised  people’s rights.

Further, witnesses at times take long to be paid due to unavailability of funds, she added.

Molepolole South legislator, Mr Kabo Morwaeng wished there could be courts that exist just to adjudicate over government tenders as the disputes take long to solve, denying Batswana the developments they need.

Sefhare-Ramokgonami MP, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang called for total independence of the judiciary, saying even the Judicial Services Commission is appointed by the president.

He was also against bails given to repeat offenders.

In response, Minister Mmusi said the stock theft courts would be increased in the next financial year and he concurred that the disposal of cases was low.

He further said suspects could not be denied bails without valid reasons.

Minister Mmusi said there were insufficient court reporters in the market.

The minister had presented a budget of P337 204 530 as recurrent budget and P42 135 686 as development budget for 2020/21 financial year.

He said the development budget covered infrastructure projects such as procurement of a transaction advisor for the construction of a purpose-built court in Serowe and staff houses using a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, maintenance of court facilities, maintenance of Judges’ houses, procurement of vehicles and improvements to court security.

Other projects to be undertaken include improvements to houses for magistrates as well as computerisation (e-filing) and improvements to libraries.

The minister said during 2019/20, they had been able to dispose more cases than those procure caravans for Kang, Jwaneng, Ghanzi, Gumare, Nata and Bobonong magistrates courts to use as temporary office accommodation.

Minister Mmusi said an additional division of the High Court had been established in Maun to further enhance access to justice.

He further said the judiciary had taken initiatives such as establishment of the Commercial Court and roll out of real time reporting to reduce case backlog. ENDS