19 May 2022

 Judicial officers should be at the forefront of efforts to improve the law so they may be able to hand down sentences that are consistent with societal trends and expectations, says Minister of Justice, Mr Machana Shamukuni. 

Officiating at a two-day’ workshop held here to explore sentencing law and practices in Botswana yesterday, minister Shamukuni said the training was essential to the performance of judicial officers. The officers, he said, were as per Value 6 of the Bangalore Principles on Judicial Conduct, expected to be persons of integrity and fully capacitated. 

That, however hinged on each judicial officer taking responsible steps to enhance their knowledge, skills and personal qualities necessary for proper performance of judicial duties, he said. Mr Shamukuni added the training was an opportunity for magistrates and judges to consider non-custodial sentencing as an option. 

The focus, he said, should however be on what could or could not work using benchmarks from across the globe. 

He pledged his ministry’s full support and collaboration on judicial education with University of Botswana (UB) Law Department, which organised the training. He said the ministry was mulling over establishing a justice college that would roll out courses to the entire justice sector. 

“I am confident that the knowledge earned from this event will go a long way in enhancing the vision of justice for all,” he said. 

Speaking at the same occassion acting dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Tachilisa Balule said the workshop would explore available sentencing laws in the country vis-à-vis alternatives to custodial sentence. He said participants would be invited to discuss a variety of questions including the reliance on imprisonment as a criminal sanction in Botswana as well as the adequacy and effectiveness of alternatives to imprisonment. 

Prof. Balule said the judicial officers would in addition also engage each other on their attitude when delivering sentences and alternatives to imprisonment. He said the workshop was one of the activities that demonstrated UB’s commitment to contributing to creating a knowledge-based economy by 2028. UB needed to also be involved in social discourse so as to fulfil, among others, its role as a national think tank, he said. 

He said workshop was the result of a collaborative study conducted by Dr Elizabeth Macharia-Mokobi of the Department of Law at UB and Professor Nicola Padfield from the University of Cambridge. ends