Courts throw out 70% of cases

More than 70% of criminal cases have been struck from the court roll between April and June as a result of missing dockets and absent prosecutors.
This was revealed by Magistrate Rina Horn during the National Judicial Conference in Windhoek yesterday.
According to Horn this is the biggest challenge in the justice system, along with a shortage of courtrooms.
“It is assault cases, housebreaking, grievous bodily harm, theft, dealing in liquor without a licence,” said Horn.
The Ombudsman John Walters was shocked by this revelation, exclaiming: “That is a serious concern. It says 70% of people did not find justice.”
He expressed confidence that the conference will shed light to other challenges that hampers the free flow of justice.
On the sidelines of the conference Chief Justice Peter Shivute told Namibian Sun that Horn’s assertion needs to be investigated.
“We need to look at the evidence, the facts that are being presented. But as a general question, obviously, you do not want to have a system where 72% of cases are struck off for whatever reason,” he said.
Justice Minister Albert Kawana admitted the magnitude of the problem, saying the time has come for the government to “drastically address” the administration of justice.
To address this issue, Kawana said, a committee is being formed by investigating officers in the Ministry of Safety and Security as well as officials in the Prosecutor-General’s Office.
“We are really struggling with criminal cases, especially traffic courts which are the most challenging sometimes. You can record hundreds of cases at the roadblocks on weekends,” he said.
Other interventions to ensure access to justice include the introduction of mobile and weekend courts where traffic cases such as reckless driving and drunken driving will be heard.
“Civil cases are not such a big problem; we have introduced e-justice so people can register their cases online. We are the second country in Africa to have introduced this,” Kawana said.
The e-justice system, developed by a company called Crimson Logic from Singapore, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, was introduced in Namibia in 2014.
The system allows litigants and the judiciary to file civil court documents and manage case activities in civil litigation electronically.

JEMIMA BEUKES