Editorial: Speedy Criminal Justice Can Help in Fight Against Crime
CRIME in this country appears to be continuing in its upward spiral, and linked with ways and means to deal with the scourge, is of course the necessity to speed up the administration of justice in our courts.
The words of newly-appointed Prosecutor General, Martha Imalwa, on
the need to improve things in our courts this week, were, for the
abovementioned reason, welcome.
When interviewed, Imalwa shared concerns about Namibias often
snail-paced justice system, saying she also worried about the state
of affairs dealing with criminal cases, and that one of her
priorities was to improve the workings of the courts in this
regard.
One of the most vexatious, and probably most prolific problem,
is the often endless postponements of cases and therefore, even
finalisation of trials.
If ever there was something that would serve to spur on criminal
components of our society, then it would be the knowledge that if
apprehended, their case could take years, if ever, to reach
finalisation.
Interviews by our reporting staff revealed that the complaints
of private lawyers focus on postponements as the most problematic
issue in what they see as an accelerating deterioration in criminal
courts.
Imalwa confirmed her office had been compiling statistics on the
performance of lower courts throughout the country, and this
revealed that some were better off than others.
The situation seems most serious in the capital itself, which
Imalwa said was made worse by resignations of prosecution staff who
were often replaced by untrained successors; as well as
under-staffing.
Many accused persons, unable to afford private lawyers, were
also knocking at the door of the state for representation from the
Directorate of Legal Aid, which in turn faced severe staffing
problems.
This in turn causes further delays in the implementation of
justice in this country.
On a more optimistic note, Imalwa said that there was ongoing
consultation between the various components of the criminal justice
system, which included the Police, the Directorate of Legal Aid,
her office and others, in order to work jointly to try and get
criminal courts back on a faster track.
Imalwa also correctly identified the fact that
properly-functioning courts were a crucial component in the fight
against crime and there is little doubt that only the criminals
themselves will benefit unless the situation is quickly
reversed.
Justice must be done, but most crucially it must be timeous as
well.
There are cases, too numerous to name, which have been dragging
on, sometimes for years, with no closure in sight.
The longer situations like this perpetuate, the less likely it
will be that cases will be solved and the culprits apprehended and
brought to book.
We need to tackle the problem of crime head-on, and there is a
lot of work to be done in this regard.
But it cannot be dealt with in isolation from the deficiencies
in our criminal justice system.
We therefore welcome the assurances from the new
Prosecutor-General and look forward to seeing a period of positive
change ahead in the administration of justice in the lower courts
of Namibia.
When interviewed, Imalwa shared concerns about Namibias often
snail-paced justice system, saying she also worried about the state
of affairs dealing with criminal cases, and that one of her
priorities was to improve the workings of the courts in this
regard.One of the most vexatious, and probably most prolific
problem, is the often endless postponements of cases and therefore,
even finalisation of trials.If ever there was something that would
serve to spur on criminal components of our society, then it would
be the knowledge that if apprehended, their case could take years,
if ever, to reach finalisation.Interviews by our reporting staff
revealed that the complaints of private lawyers focus on
postponements as the most problematic issue in what they see as an
accelerating deterioration in criminal courts.Imalwa confirmed her
office had been compiling statistics on the performance of lower
courts throughout the country, and this revealed that some were
better off than others.The situation seems most serious in the
capital itself, which Imalwa said was made worse by resignations of
prosecution staff who were often replaced by untrained successors;
as well as under-staffing.Many accused persons, unable to afford
private lawyers, were also knocking at the door of the state for
representation from the Directorate of Legal Aid, which in turn
faced severe staffing problems.This in turn causes further delays
in the implementation of justice in this country.On a more
optimistic note, Imalwa said that there was ongoing consultation
between the various components of the criminal justice system,
which included the Police, the Directorate of Legal Aid, her office
and others, in order to work jointly to try and get criminal courts
back on a faster track.Imalwa also correctly identified the fact
that properly-functioning courts were a crucial component in the
fight against crime and there is little doubt that only the
criminals themselves will benefit unless the situation is quickly
reversed.Justice must be done, but most crucially it must be
timeous as well.There are cases, too numerous to name, which have
been dragging on, sometimes for years, with no closure in sight.The
longer situations like this perpetuate, the less likely it will be
that cases will be solved and the culprits apprehended and brought
to book.We need to tackle the problem of crime head-on, and there
is a lot of work to be done in this regard.But it cannot be dealt
with in isolation from the deficiencies in our criminal justice
system.We therefore welcome the assurances from the new
Prosecutor-General and look forward to seeing a period of positive
change ahead in the administration of justice in the lower courts
of Namibia.