LSS DECRIES NON-ARREST OF JUDICIAL OFFICERS

 MBABANE - Lawyers are concerned about the growing trend of allegedly letting off the hook judicial officers who are reported to have done things that are in conflict with the law.

To this far, the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) now wants to meet with the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to explain his alleged failure to prosecute these matters.

The lawyers also want the DPP to give a clear explanation on the status of all the matters involving judicial officers who were reported to the police and handed over to him for prosecution.

LSS Secretary General Thulani Maseko said the council would be meeting today to discuss among other issues that of judicial officers who were reported to have violated the law but not arrested.

“We will propose to meet with the DPP so that he can explain what happened to the matters involving the judicial officers,” said Maseko.
He said they had noted with great concern that cases involving judicial officers were reported and when the time came for the Crown to prosecute nothing happened.

He highlighted that last month a judge was implicated in a shooting incident at Kai- Kai and now a principal magistrate is alleged to have assaulted his wife. 
Concerned

Maseko said the public was rightly concerned about the alleged unbecoming behaviour of the judicial officers as their conduct should be beyond reproach.
“People are going to lose confidence in the justice system. There seems to be this growing tendency of judicial officers being found to be in conflict with the law,” said the LSS general secretary.

It should be noted though that none of the judicial officers alleged to have been implicated in these cases have been charged.
He said if it were true that the senior magistrate was indeed involved in a domestic violence case, it would be worrying as the conduct of judicial officers should be beyond reproach.

According to reports published by our sister publication, Eswatini News, the principal magistrate allegedly assaulted his wife after she confronted him about bringing a woman to their house.

Information gathered was that the wife was in the house already sleeping in a separate bedroom, when the woman was allegedly brought inside her home.
The wife and the magistrate had been sleeping in separate bedrooms for a while now.   

Meanwhile, it was gathered that the presence of the magistrate’s female companion was noted in the morning just before the wife left for work with the children, whom she was to drop off at school.
It was reported that one of the children went via the magistrate’s bedroom to say her goodbyes to him and that is when she allegedly found her father with the woman.

Arrest

The source said the child went straight to inform the mother who was already inside the car, getting ready to drive them to school. Other organisations that are calling for the arrest of the senior magistrate are the Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA)

WLSA Director Colani Hlatshwako was quoted having said: “Both the senior magistrate and his wife recorded statements with the police, which we believe is evidence enough for police officers to effect an arrest.”

Hlatshwako said it was not about what the wife wanted and the fact that she wanted to pursue civil action or a protection order against her husband meant that there was sufficient evidence for the police to arrest. She said the same evidence (protection order) would be required in any routes that the wife wished to take.

“The law can and will protect the senior magistrate’s wife and her children, therefore, there is no need for her to protect him,” said Hlatshwako. She said the senior magistrate should just be arrested as the same police officers had arrested others for lesser crimes and with hardly any evidence.
Preferential

“There should be no preferential treatment given to the senior magistrate because it will make people lose hope in the police and the rule of law.”
When reached for comment yesterday, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said no arrests had been made so far.

Superintendent Vilakati highlighted that for a case to be ripe for prosecution there were other stakeholders they worked with and in this case (magistrate’s case) they were still engaging them.

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