AG reveals gross case backlog
Sharon Mathala | Thursday February 4, 2016 16:06
Molokomme said case backlog in the courts largely begins right at the mouth of the pipeline when a case is reported to the police.
She said for criminal cases in particular, the delays may start from when the case is reported, to who investigates and hands over the docket to the DPP, to who assesses the case and decides whether to prosecute or not.
“The system can become clogged right at the beginning of the pipeline as a result of shortage of staff, transport and inadequate skills, and dockets going back and forth between police and the DPP,” she said. “This has resulted in case backlogs, and causes delays in the criminal justice system.” Molokomme noted that the majority of the 10,948 cases with the DPP were more than 40 months old, “which amounts to an undesirable backlog that must be addressed urgently. “We also need to collectively address causes of delay at the various stages of the justice pipeline, for example according to the DPP, they continue to experience delays in the productions of records of proceedings, particularly those from the Magistrates courts.
“Whereas the rules clearly stipulate timelines within which such records should be produced, those timelines are sometimes not met.
“This results in the hearings of appeals and application being delayed and sometimes undeserving applicants are granted bail pending appeal, due to unavailability of the record.”
Molokomme also addressed the Law Society of Botswana’s concerns about the delays in the issuance of judgements, particularly at the higher courts, noting that the Chief Justice was considering a directive to enforce the three-month turnaround time.
“We also suggest that when judgements are delivered in court, parties should be provided with copies immediately thereafter.
“This would avoid instances where parties have to wait months for the copy of a judgement which has long been read,” she said.