Criminal justice system overstretched

MANPOWER shortages, tardy Police investigations and not enough money to employ more staff have all been cited as the reasons for the wheels of justice turning so slowly in Namibia.

Prosecutor General Martha Imalwa said yesterday that the massive backlog of cases in the country’s Magistrate’s Courts was because there were just not enough trained Police officers to conduct proper investigations. “Until we have an effective criminal justice system, we can forget about talking about democracy, the rule of law, investment and peace and stability.The criminal justice system is the core to all of this,” Imalwa told the parliamentary standing committee on constitutional and legal affairs, which is currently probing the slow rate at which criminal cases are investigated and prosecuted.Imalwa said Namibia had lost the experienced Police detectives it had at Independence because there were no incentives to make them stay on in the civil service.”We cannot keep them because we have no money to pay them.It extends to the prosecution as well, and to the bench,” she told the committee.Only 77 of the needed 103 prosecution posts are filled and there are only 54 magistrates to hear the around 47 000 cases which have passed through the Magistrate’s Courts since the beginning of the year.Magisterial districts in the south of the country, Imalwa said, were operating with either no or only one magistrate to cover vast distances and with only one prosecutor to handle the huge caseload.”They are operating under massive stress.They don’t have time to prepare cases properly.You might end up with a guilty person being acquitted.They don’t have enough time to even consult with witnesses,” said Imalwa.Also called before the committee to explain the role of the Police in bringing criminal cases to the courts, NamPol Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga confirmed Imalwa’s remarks that the Police lacked the necessary resources and training to carry out investigations.Imalwa cited the Avid-SSC and ODC cases, in which millions of dollars in public funds have gone missing, the Gruenschloss tax evasion and Works Tender Board cases as ones that needed to be investigated immediately, saying it was important that evidence did not “disappear”.”These cases need to be investigated as a matter of urgency.We can’t blame the Police.They are trying, but money is a big problem,” said Imalwa.Ndeitunga said as white-collar crime increased, there was a need for “intellectual” and “clever guys” to join the Police force.”We need professional people.Some people think you just leave school, become a Police officer and then walk around the streets,” said Ndeitunga.Not only is there not enough money to train Police officers to take on detective work, there is not enough to ensure that they stay on the Police payroll.Over the last two years, 233 378 cases have been reported to the Police for investigation – 59 000 of these await investigation from the Windhoek Police.Ideally a Police officer would have between 20 and 30 cases to investigate, but Ndeitunga said the reality was that they each had between 300 and 400 cases.”By the time witnesses go to court, they have forgotten what they said.The situation is so serious, that it is out of hand,” Ndeitunga said.He bemoaned a lack of vehicles for Police to follow up leads and contact witnesses and said he was “embarrassed” by the many Police vehicles that had been damaged beyond repair over the years.He said he had been forced to diminish the Police’s communication capacity to limit overspending.Faced with harsh criticism from the committee, Ndeitunga acknowledged that he was faced with indiscipline, negligence, laziness and a “don’t-care attitude” within his force and promised to work at instilling discipline.Despite the obstacles facing the Prosecutor General’s office, Imalwa said she had no doubt that her staff were doing their best under the circumstances and statistics showed that there had been an increase in the finalisation of cases this year.Imalwa said witnesses were losing faith in the justice system because they often came to court only for cases to be postponed or to find out that there is no magistrate.Witnesses, she said, played a key role in the success of criminal prosecutions and her office would launch a campaign next year to encourage victims of crime to report cases and similarly for witnesses to assist.”People should not lose faith in the system.We have problems but we are managing,” she said.The PG’s office operates on a budget of N$26 million – of which N$21 million goes to salaries.Imalwa estimated that her office needed double that amount to ensure a more effective and speedy justice system.The chairperson of the committee, Loide Kasingo, said starting in the new year, the committee would be visiting justice centres around the country to experience the situation first hand.”Until we have an effective criminal justice system, we can forget about talking about democracy, the rule of law, investment and peace and stability.The criminal justice system is the core to all of this,” Imalwa told the parliamentary standing committee on constitutional and legal affairs, which is currently probing the slow rate at which criminal cases are investigated and prosecuted.Imalwa said Namibia had lost the experienced Police detectives it had at Independence because there were no incentives to make them stay on in the civil service.”We cannot keep them because we have no money to pay them.It extends to the prosecution as well, and to the bench,” she told the committee.Only 77 of the needed 103 prosecution posts are filled and there are only 54 magistrates to hear the around 47 000 cases which have passed through the Magistrate’s Courts since the beginning of the year.Magisterial districts in the south of the country, Imalwa said, were operating with either no or only one magistrate to cover vast distances and with only one prosecutor to handle the huge caseload.”They are operating under massive stress.They don’t have time to prepare cases properly.You might end up with a guilty person being acquitted.They don’t have enough time to even consult with witnesses,” said Imalwa.Also called before the committee to explain the role of the Police in bringing criminal cases to the courts, NamPol Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga confirmed Imalwa’s remarks that the Police lacked the necessary resources and training to carry out investigations.Imalwa cited the Avid-SSC and ODC cases, in which millions of dollars in public funds have gone missing, the Gruenschloss tax evasion and Works Tender Board cases as ones that needed to be investigated immediately, saying it was important that evidence did not “disappear”.”These cases need to be investigated as a matter of urgency.We can’t blame the Police.They are trying, but money is a big problem,” said Imalwa.Ndeitunga said as white-collar crime increased, there was a need for “intellectual” and “clever guys” to join the Police force.”We need professional people.Some people think you just leave school, become a Police officer and then walk around the streets,” said Ndeitunga.Not only is there not enough money to train Police officers to take on detective work, there is not enough to ensure that they stay on the Police payroll.Over the last two years, 233 378 cases have been reported to the Police for investigation – 59 000 of these await investigation from the Windhoek Police.Ideally a Police officer would have between 20 and 30 cases to investigate, but Ndeitunga said the reality was that they each had between 300 and 400 cases.”By the time witnesses go to court, they have forgotten what they said.The situation is so serious, that it is out of hand,” Ndeitunga said.He bemoaned a lack of vehicles for Police to follow up leads and contact witnesses and said he was “embarrassed” by the many Police vehicles that had been damaged beyond repair over the years.He said he had been forced to diminish the Police’s communication capacity to limit overspending.Faced with harsh criticism from the committee, Ndeitunga acknowledged that he was faced with indiscipline, negligence, laziness and a “don’t-care attitude” within his force and promised to work at instilling discipline.Despite the obstacles facing the Prosecutor General’s office, Imalwa said she had no doubt that her staff were doing their best under the circumstances and statistics showed that there had been an increase in the finalisation of cases this year.Imalwa said witnesses were losing faith in the justice system because they often came to court only for cases to be postponed or to find out that there is no magistrate.Witnesses, she said, played a key role in the success of criminal prosecutions and her office would launch a campaign next year to encourage victims of crime to report cases and similarly for witnesses to assist.”People should not lose faith in the system.We have problems but we are managing,” she said.The PG’s office operates on a budget of N$26 million – of which N$21 million goes to salaries.Imalwa estimated that her office needed double that amount to ensure a more effective and speedy justice system.The chairperson of the committee, Loide Kasingo, said starting in the new year, the committee would be visiting justice centres around the country to experience the situation first hand.