04 Sep 2025

The newly established Criminal Court will comprise nine judges; six in Gaborone and three in Francistown.

Chief Justice Gaopalelwe Ketlogetswe said this yesterday during the launch of the High Court Division of the Criminal Court.

Justice Ketlogetswe said management of criminal cases had been a concern hence a decision was taken to have judges who would deal exclusively with criminal cases to speed up the process and promote the quality of judgment.

“Criminal cases are the most publicly visible matters that trial courts have to grapple with on  daily basis. And, because of constitutional and other statutory imperatives of speedy-trial requirements, as well as their closeness to the ordinary person’s interests, they require special attention and a robust approach to their disposal,” he said.

Justice Ketlogetswe said the judiciary was aware of rising crime, particularly violent and intrusive crimes, and the hardships that they visit upon affected individuals, families, and communities.

He further said the court was also conscious of the slow pace at which courts have disposed of ‘these particular types of cases.’

“As an antidote to these problems, we have taken a decision to put in place Specialized Criminal Courts with dedicated judges who will do no other cases except for criminal cases,” he said, adding that at the top of the pile were murder and manslaughter cases.

He noted that at the end of August 2025, Gaborone and Lobatse divisions of the High Court had between them 1 225 criminal cases, of which 260 were criminal trials, mostly murder, while 88 were criminal appeals.

He said the rest were applications, mainly bail pending appeals, adding that the Francistown division of the High Court, for the same period, had 462 criminal cases, of which 59 were criminal appeals and the rest were criminal applications.

“These numbers are too many, and criminal trials have remained waiting for trial dates, with the judges’ diaries going as far as 2027. This is untenable,” he said.

Justice Ketlogetswe said  that the sad reality about the statistics was that behind them were human beings who had been killed by fellow human beings, families of the deceased victims who waited years to know what had become of the perpetrators of crimes that had taken their loved ones.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Nelson Ramaotwana, said government was committed to the protection of human rights, which included the right to be tried within a reasonable time, therefore commended the establishment of the criminal courts.

He said that the Administration of Justice Annual Report for the year 2025 indicated that the disposal rate of criminal cases at High Courts between December 2024 and January 2025 stood at 35 per cent.

“This slow disposal of criminal cases is certainly a bad mark on the justice system as a whole, as it often results in denial of justice to the victims of crime,” Mr Ramaotwana said.

He said that during the long period that a case took before courts, often crucial evidence was lost, as witnesses pass on and the quality of exhibits diminishes.

The minister said ‘this can lead to a loss of confidence in the judicial system by members of the public, which affects the country’s strength of democracy and good governance.

Givin an overview of the criminal courts, Justice Omphemetse Motumise, said Administration of Justice adopted performance standards aimed at enhancing timely disposal of criminal matters.

However, it has become evident that meeting the standards had become extremely difficult and sometimes impossible, noting that majority of criminal trials stretch over three to five days due to various challenges, he said

Justice Motumise said the new creation would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the judiciary and address the case backlog.

Law Society of Botswana (LSB) Chairperson Mr Lesedi Moahi said specialised courts were long overdue adding that previously attention and resources were directed towards less pressing initiatives.

Thus, he said the LSB applause the Chief Justice for the Criminal Courts endeavour to eliminate the criminal matters logjam.ENDS