Breaking barriers of injustice

The Swaziland Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (SACRO) was established in 1989 through Cabinet, it is an organisation under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

The organisation’s main mandate is to adopt crime prevention strategies for the amelioration of criminogenics tendencies and curbing juvenile delinquency. It also focuses on the rehabilitation and social reintegration of young ex-offenders inclusive of advocating for a fairer criminal justices system in line with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules and other supportive legal documents.

This year’s theme for the day of the African Child sought to eliminate social and cultural barriers hindering on the enjoyment of rights by children. It is also in the same year where we still wait in limbo on when the new child legislation will come into effect. What is causing the legislation to accumulate dust on the shelves?

When the country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1995 and later the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) in 2012, which saw the domestication of the new child legislation, there was a sigh of relief among the citizenry and civil society that at last the welfare of the vulnerable Swazi child will now be catered for and protected. When one goes through the legislation, it appears to be in tandem with this year’s theme of the Day of the African Child (DAC) in terms of cultural and social barriers which still is a challenge in the context of Swaziland.

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) will tell you today that children in conflict with the law undergo the same justice system as adults, which means there is no child friendly justice system as yet despite the introduction of child courts in a disabling environment, we still await the full enacting of the Child Protection and Welfare Act to ensure the full protection of the Swazi child.

I am not sure that the nation is aware what exposure of children to the criminal justice system can do to a child. When you look at the CRC and the ACRWC together with the Child Protection and Welfare (CPW) Act of 2012, the best interest of the child is of paramount importance, it needs to be upheld at all times. That is why SACRO asks the following question, are we conscious enough to the proper development of our children? As some will say ‘children are the future’ (Bantfwana ngumliba loya embili), they are also the present, hence the need to wait no more in effectively ensuring that the law, that is the CPW Act which has still not been gazetted to be fully operational comes into effect.

Efforts

May I also hasten to mention that with this law having been stashed somewhere for God knows how long, we are not doing justice to our children and their rights despite all the wonderful efforts of the DPM’s office. What is of paramount importance is to note that in terms of a child friendly justice system, incarceration or imprisonment must be used as the ‘last’ resort. I mention this because the CPW Act seeks to establish mechanisms that seek to divert the child from the system through restorative justice, diversion, victim-offender mediation; depending on the outcome of an enquiry done as per the CPW Act. Maybe, just maybe if this law was effective we would have fewer children placed at the Malkerns Juvenile School, which also needs to be assisted by legislations put in place to complement its work.

I am quite sure that parents are either unaware or unhappy with their children being placed at the Correctional facility. Contrary to that though, there are those “parents” who have knowingly and voluntarily taken their children to the Correctional centre for reasons other than crime. What is known is that children are sent there through the malice of the step-parent or ignorance on the part of the parent who does not appreciate the psychological impact and disadvantages of sending children to such facilities with the intention of bringing them to order; which is not the intention of a correctional facility. The facility is for rehabilitation.

It is clear therefore that the lack or prolonged delay associated with the Act promotes abuse of the system, where children are placed in prison without proper adherence to the law such as the Reformatories Act (which is repealed by the CPW Act which is still un-operational).
The Act resembles international and regional standards in relation to the rights of children. It also contains provisions from the UN Minimum Rules on the Treatment of Offenders touching specifically on children in conflict with the law. Perhaps one may ask one or two critical questions, how does one obtain a court order for detention of children who have not committed crimes? Are our Magistrates Courts, which by the way have been given power to function as Children’s Courts, doing enough justice for children by signing such orders? Whose hand appends the signature and authorises imprisonment of delinquent children?

Perhaps this is one area that needs to be investigated, but also ensuring that the child legislation comes to force. The above questions will linger and continue to haunt us if nothing is done. Let us not contribute to the destruction of our children’s development and let us not abuse the system for our personal gain in total disregard of the child’s interests. It is not SACRO’s intention to resuscitate fresh wounds but the recent demise of a child in such a facility speaks volumes of what incarceration does to a child.

SACRO would like to salute the visionary Ministry of Justice led by the late Minister Reginald Dladla for seeing it fit to establish a Government NGO to ensure that a checks and balances mechanism in the justice system exists for proper efficiency. It is unfortunate that there is no sufficient funding to facilitate success of programmes seeking to protect the welfare of the child. I rest my case.

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