GOVT FUEL WOES GROUND CASES

SITEKI – The impact of the government fuel crisis is getting serious as it is now slowing down the wheels of justice.

His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) is the latest government department to be hit hard by the fuel crisis and this is adversely affecting the operations of the courts. Last week Thursday and Friday, inmates who were scheduled to appear at the Siteki Magistrates Court could not turn up due to fuel shortage at Big Bend Correctional Services. And this disrupted the operations of the court on both days as several inmates were scheduled for remand hearings and trials. On Thursday, a court clerk was overheard informing a magistrate that several rape cases could not be tried because the suspects were not present.

Furthermore, the clerk informed the magistrate that the Big Bend Correctional Services had communicated to the effect that it was facing serious fuel shortages. This inconvenienced the court staff as they had challenges postponing the matters and re-scheduling the trial dates in the absence of the suspects. HMCS confirmed that it was experiencing fuel shortages but the department said such a crisis was not unique to it. “This is a challenge faced by almost all government departments and not only the Correctional Services,” said Senior Superintendent Gugulethu Dlamini, HMCS Public Relations Officer.

She added that, when such happens, the department quickly communicates with the Judiciary so that the trial and remand dates could be re-scheduled. She said sometimes judicial officers came to Correctional facilities to conduct remand hearings. Dlamini did not state when the situation would normalise hence there were fears among judicial officers in Lubombo that the crisis could continue until next year, resulting in a backlog of cases. A magistrates court staff said: “This does not only affect the Siteki Magistrates Court but the other courts in the region, including Simunye Magistrates and Siphofaneni Circuit Court.”

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