Home | News | UNREST: BACKLOG OF 1 500 CASES AT MAGISTRATES COURT

UNREST: BACKLOG OF 1 500 CASES AT MAGISTRATES COURT

29/11/2021 08:22:00 BY PHIWASE PHUNGWAYO

Font size:

MANZINI – The recent political unrest has resulted in a backlog of about 1 500 cases at the Manzini Magistrates Court.

This has worsened the already difficult situation at the court, which has always had the challenge of a backlog of cases. The Manzini Magistrate Court deals with all criminal and civil cases in the hub of the country. Normally, this publication gathered that there was a backlog of about 17 000 cases at the Manzini Magistrates Court in a year. The unrest started at the end of June. It was also experienced in October where public transport workers downed tools for about two weeks, in protest over the release of incarcerated Members of Parliament (MPs) in Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza of Hosea Constituency and Mthandeni Dube of Ngwempisi Constituency. They also demanded the stoppage of the prosecution of Siphofaneni MP Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane, among other concerns.

Taxpayer

The backlog of cases has caused a ripple effect on not only the parties involved in a court matter, but the taxpayer as well, whose money is used to cater for suspects who are kept in Correctional facilities while their matters are delayed. According to an impeccable source at the court, those who lived far away could not come to court because of the unrest, which saw many motorists being stopped and fined at illegal toll gates for travelling on the road to work. He said it was only those who lived close by who came to the court to deal with cases.

The source said during the unrest, one may find that there was half or less staff coming to work. He disclosed that as much as magistrates came to court and dealt with cases, prosecutors, clerks and other staff would not. “So you would find that a prosecutor could be away from work for a whole week, and that means we could not be able to work in court for an entire week,” revealed the source.

It was further stated that the gigantic task to deal with the backlog of cases required that they worked every day, from morning until the evening. He said the coronavirus pandemic had also played a similar role in accumulating the backlog of cases in the courts. The source added that it called for employees at the court to work even at home. However, due to working on rotational basis, which was inevitable, this was impossible to do, according to the source. “People were committing crimes every day and being arrested while on the other hand we were not working fully,” the source said. Consequently, he mentioned that the court staff had more numbers of unattended matters, hence stifling their work. He registered his hopes that the situation would normalise.

Meanwhile, the reliable source stated that the backlog of cases which accumulated during the political unrest had negative implications on all parties involved. These are the magistrate, plaintiffs, as well as the accused. “It is common knowledge that justice delayed is justice denied. The effects of a failure to deliver justice on time can have a deleterious impact on the lives of all parties involved, in particular the aggrieved party,” the source said. The source highlighted that while the cases were delayed, the accused were kept in Correctional facilities for a prolonged time. This, according to the source, also affected their relatives who worried about them.

He also mentioned that the defendants also spent money on bus fare or fuel, to get to court on the dates of their trials, only to find that their cases were postponed. When reached for comment, Principal Magistrate David Khumalo confirmed the figures. However, he referred this reporter to the registrar or the minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, as he was not the rightful person to comment. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Pholile Shakantu could not be reached for comment.

It is worth noting that during the opening of the High Court in 2018, the chief justice was quoted saying the Judiciary was in the process of acquiring land to build courts, for example the Buhleni and Big Bend courts, as a measure to address the backlog of cases in the country’s courts. The Big Bend Court is now operational. He also stated that they would also settle land to build the Supreme Court and further hire judges on a permanent basis. He added that they would be equipped with further skills.

A human rights lawyer who requested to comment on condition of anonymity reiterated the same sentiments shared by the source. “This can lead to the violations of fundamental rights and the negative effects of such delays are much more pronounced where the matter being litigated or prosecuted involves violation of fundamental rights,” he said. The lawyer further mentioned that any continued delay of justice constituted a further breach and the net effect of this was to place the State in bad light in relation to its international law obligations among its peers.