31 Jan 2022

The proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure and Evidence (CP&E) Act will expedite action in identifying, processing, seizing and freezing proceeds and instruments of crime.

Presenting the amendment bill in Parliament last week, Justice, Defence and Security minister, Mr Kagiso Mmusi said proposed changes would also see the current Act fully comply with recommendation 30 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which required expeditious action.

Presenting on the bill Member of Parliament for Okavango, Mr Kenny Kapinga argued that the proposed amendments were impossible owing to the current sluggish processes in the justice system.

He said enabling mechanisms must be put in place to accelerate processes.

“There must be enough resources on the ground,” said Mr Kapinga.

He therefore proposed for the establishment of specialised offenders’ tracing units at Botswana Police Service as well as prosecutors and investigators.

MP for Nata/Gweta, Mr Polson Majaga supported the proposed changes arguing that doing so would address the current backlog of cases, a situation he said had proven to be costly and to some extent jeopardised fair delivery of justice.

Kgalagadi South MP, Mr Sam Brooks also supported the proposed changes as they would speed up investigation.

Mr Wynter Mmolotsi of Francistown South concurred with other legislators on the importance of expediting investigations to gather all the necessary evidence and deal with those who accumulated wealth through proceeds of crime.

However, Mr Mmolotsi said he was against coming up with changes that would be used to settle personal vendettas and political scores by unnecessarily freezing accounts and seizing property of innocent people.

In response, Minister Mmusi assured legislators that the proposed amendments were not intended to target innocent individuals.

Minister Mmusi also proposed amendments to the Extradition Act with the intent to make provision for expeditious processing of requests for the surrender of fugitive criminals.

Mr Mmusi said the amendments would ensure full compliance with recommendation 39 of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) by providing the time frame within which mutual legal assistance should be rendered.

He said the amendments would also provide for a seven-day time frame within which request for surrender of fugitive criminals should be done.

Palapye MP, Mr Onneetse Ramogapi wondered how the bill would be affected by extradition laws of neighbouring countries like South Africa and Namibia.

Mr Ramogapi argued that the approach to extradite fugitives, particularly those likely to face capital punishment, was a serious concern.

He said some cases had long been pending while others were withdrawn due to failure to deliver fugitive suspects.

Besides the impending obstacles, Mr Ramogapi said the proposed changes to the Extradition Act were necessary.

Mahalapye West MP, Mr David Tshere was concerned that the seven-day time frame might be constricting.

He argued that unless extradition processes were treated as special cases, the lengthy court processes were unlikely to conclude within the set time frame.

“Extraditing a fugitive within seven days will be impossible.

We have signed treaties with other countries and therefore some of them will make it impossible to serve the set timeline.

We are putting our justice process under immense pressure,” said Mr Tshere.

He concurred that emphasis must be put on expediting extradition processes.

Minister Mmusi however, explained that the time frame was focused on finalising the processes that would lead to the actual extradition of the fugitive, but promised to further look into concerns raised by legislators.

On the other hand, Mr Mmusi also presented a bill seeking to amend the Mutual Assistance In Criminal Matters Act to fully comply with FATF’s recommendation 37, by providing the time frame within which mutual legal assistance in criminal matters should be rendered.

He said amendments would also require the Director of Public Prosecutions to act within seven days of receipt of a request to get a restraining order against property.

Again, he said it would require the Director of Public Prosecutions to act within seven days of receipt of a request to get an order to produce a document subject to investigations or for a financial institution to give information about accounts to the police. ENDS