Ntlo Ya Dikgosi Want Police Officers Not Court Bailiffs

By Lekopanye Mooketsi
Correspondent | Monday February 8, 2010 00:00

Members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi have expressed regret at government decision to replace police officers with court bailiffs at customary courts.

Instead of hiring court bailiffs, Lotlamoreng wants police officers to be re-deployed to the kgotla.  He said Ntlo ya Dikgosi has also passed a motion about the deployment of police officers to the kgotla. 

Lotlamoreng said police officers are covered by the Police Act.  He wondered what law would cover the proposed court bailiffs. He argued that there is no law which says that police officers should not administer corporal punishment.  'I don't agree that police officers should not administer corporal punishment,' he said.  He said the advantage of working with police officers is that they have been trained in law at the police college. Assistant Minister of Local Government, Kentse Rammidi requested members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi to defer the motion pending the proposed meeting with the minister.

Presenting his motion, Lotlamoreng said he does not see the reason why the minister should take police  officers from the kgotla and then hire other people to do the same job. 

Lotlamoreng's motion received overwhelming support from other members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi.

Kgosi Lempadi of Shakawe, who supported the motion, said the government should suspend the recruitment of court bailiffs.  'We must first be told what their duties will be.  We are wondering whether these people will be hired as police officers.  We are not against their recruitment but we want to know their duties,' he said.

Kgosi Seeletso of Mmadinare said the chiefs have long requested that a section of the Botswana Police Service be deployed at the kgotla.  He also called for the recruitment of the court messengers to be suspended. 

Kgosi Garebakwena of Molepolole said the government should not have removed local police officers from the customary courts.  'We cannot replace the police with people who do not have powers,' he said.

He said chiefs are operating legally and they should be backed by the police to implement court orders.

Kgosi Potsoeng of Tsau appealed to the government to heed their concerns.  'We are pleading on behalf of our people.  They are the ones who are calling for police officers,' he said.

He said they want to have a unit of the Botswana Police which will be assigned to the Tribal Administration. 

Potsoeng said they are facing a hard time in their duties because they no longer have police officers in their villages.  He spoke about one incident in which he was called to attend to a suicide scene with other villagers.  

The chief lamented that the government was making decisions on their behalf.  'We should have been consulted when this decision was taken,' he said, as he supported the motion.

For his part, Rammidi admitted that there was no consultation when the idea of recruiting the court messengers was mooted.  'If there was consultation you might have advised us,' he said.