Counting the cost of Judiciary strike

• Police holding cells congested
• l Magistrates move to police stations
• l Files piling up, 317 for Maula, 53 for Dedza prisons since strike

Since November 11 2014, the wheels of justice in the country ground to a halt following a strike by the Judiciary support staff.

In the course of the strike, one arm of prosecution, the police in particular, have felt the pinch due to congestion after the closure of the courts.

Judiciary support staff comprising court clerks, court marshals, interpreters and court reporters downed tools nearly two months ago demanding a salary increment equal to their mainstream civil service counterparts.

Over the seven weeks of the Judiciary strike, the police have unintentionally violated the constitutional rights of suspects by denying them access to fair trial and to be charged within 48 hours of the arrest as outlined in Section 42 of the Constitution.

It is also Section 42 (2) (f), which states that an accused person has a right to a fair trial, which includes the right public trial within a reasonable time after having been charged and to be informed of the particulars of the charge.

These rights can only be fulfilled before a court of law, but for the past weeks, this has not been the case and the few court sessions have been sporadic and under a veil of secrecy to avoid incurring the wrath of Judiciary support staff.

In the past week alone, Lilongwe Police Station had in its holding cell between 85 and 121 suspects waiting to appear in court to be charged and be given bail. The cell has a capacity of 80.

For fear of increased congestion, uncharacteristically, the police did not conduct sweeps prior to the festive season to reduce cases of crime and disorderliness.

Lilongwe Police Station deputy spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula told The Nation on Wednesday that it was the intention of the police to respect the rights of suspects, but the strike has not made this possible.

Efforts to reduce congestion

When the police realised that the Judiciary strike would take long to be resolved, they devised a plan to transfer suspects with grave offences to Maula Prison and move some to nearby police stations, which had low numbers.

Lingadzi, Kawale, Namitete and Nathenje police stations as well as Kasiya Police-Post rely on Lilongwe Model Police Station whose four cells are well ventilated.

Every morning, the officer-in-charge or his subordinate at Lilongwe Police Station conducts a tour of the police cells to get updates of his “visitors”.

Afterwards, the officer sits with prosecutors who recommend suspects for release on police bail.

Some are sick and should be released on bail, but due to the gravity of the offences they committed, the courts were closed to their plight.

Earlier in the strike, police transferred suspects with serious offences to Maula Prison, but Dandaula disclosed that prison officials have shut the door in their faces: More people in cells mean a strain on their budget for meals and they cannot accommodate anymore in the already congested prison facilities.

Recently, the police arrested vendors in Lilongwe on various offences and those who were able to pay fines did so at the Lilongwe City Council and earned their freedom.

National Police prosecutor Happy Mkandawire concurred that some of the offences deemed bailable by the police include assault, petty theft and trespassing in an effort to reduce congestion.

But following a landmark ruling by High Court Judge Redson Kapindu in Zomba last week in which he asked the police to obey court orders made during the strike and asked magistrates to justify presiding over particular cases, there are moves to reduce congestion in the police cells and reduce the workload of prosecutors.

On Tuesday, The Nation learnt that Lilongwe magistrates had requested for space at the nearby police station to preside over cases, in the absence of the Judiciary support staff.

How is this being done? As Kapindu conducted his review case in the absence of Judiciary support staff that were represented by an assistant registrar, the magistrates in Lilongwe are using their colleagues to form a quorum.

For example, when court convened inside the community policing room at Central Region Police headquarters on Wednesday; chief resident magistrate Ruth Chinangwa was presiding, senior resident magistrate Patrick Chirwa acted as court clerk while senior resident magistrate Chisomo Msokera acted as court marshal.

Mkandawire said courts can sit anywhere; hence, the police did not hesitate to give the magistrates space when they made a request.

He said: “In the past, we have always offered the magistrates space to conduct their business, we have buildings at the Central Region Police headquarters for that purpose. In other districts, the magistrates are using the normal courtrooms.”

It is the chief prosecutor’s hope that this system would be rolled out to other districts as the Judiciary support staff strike continues.

Prosecution challenges

Since they are debilitated by the strike, prosecutors who previously spent a larger part of the day at the courts have been transferred to general duties. They are now on security patrols and conducting traffic duty.

Mkandawire said his office across the country has a lot of work on its table, justice has to be delivered and without the courts, the files are gathering dust.

In the seven weeks of the strike, number of cases accumulated indicate that Maula prison had 317 which are waiting to be brought before court while Dedza prison had 53 cases, including 11 homicides, by January 6, 2015.

“We have case files which are piling up, but we cannot do anything about them. We have prepared for cases, but for now we can only manage the situation so that it does not get out of hand,” Mkandawire said.

The ideal situation would be to resolve the impasse between government and the Judiciary support staff, Kapindu said in his December 31 order and Malawi Law Society (MLS) concurred.

MLS honorary treasurer John Suzi-Banda said the absence of the courts was a major constitutional crisis that should concern everyone, including politicians and civil society.

It was MLS which proposed to the Judiciary before the delivery of Kapindu’s ruling that the courts should be open for certain cases such as applications for injunctions, applications for bail and probate matters.

Suzi-Banda said they proposed that the Judiciary should put together skeleton staff for these types of cases to be heard to avoid complaints of people failing to challenge orders granted against them.

“We are still waiting to hear from them on our proposal and we are constantly in touch with them on this,” he said.

MLS also commended judges and magistrates who are discharging their duties in absence of support staff. n

 

Since November 11 2014, the wheels of justice in the country ground to a halt following a strike by the Judiciary support staff.

In the course of the strike, one arm of prosecution, the police in particular, have felt the pinch due to congestion after the closure of the courts.

Judiciary support staff comprising court clerks, court marshals, interpreters and court reporters downed tools nearly two months ago demanding a salary increment equal to their mainstream civil service counterparts.

Over the seven weeks of the Judiciary strike, the police have unintentionally violated the constitutional rights of suspects by denying them access to fair trial and to be charged within 48 hours of the arrest as outlined in Section 42 of the Constitution.

It is also Section 42 (2) (f), which states that an accused person has a right to a fair trial, which includes the right public trial within a reasonable time after having been charged and to be informed of the particulars of the charge.

These rights can only be fulfilled before a court of law, but for the past weeks, this has not been the case and the few court sessions have been sporadic and under a veil of secrecy to avoid incurring the wrath of Judiciary support staff.

In the past week alone, Lilongwe Police Station had in its holding cell between 85 and 121 suspects waiting to appear in court to be charged and be given bail. The cell has a capacity of 80.

For fear of increased congestion, uncharacteristically, the police did not conduct sweeps prior to the festive season to reduce cases of crime and disorderliness.

Lilongwe Police Station deputy spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula told The Nation on Wednesday that it was the intention of the police to respect the rights of suspects, but the strike has not made this possible.

Efforts to reduce congestion

When the police realised that the Judiciary strike would take long to be resolved, they devised a plan to transfer suspects with grave offences to Maula Prison and move some to nearby police stations, which had low numbers.

Lingadzi, Kawale, Namitete and Nathenje police stations as well as Kasiya Police-Post rely on Lilongwe Model Police Station whose four cells are well ventilated.

Every morning, the officer-in-charge or his subordinate at Lilongwe Police Station conducts a tour of the police cells to get updates of his “visitors”.

Afterwards, the officer sits with prosecutors who recommend suspects for release on police bail.

Some are sick and should be released on bail, but due to the gravity of the offences they committed, the courts were closed to their plight.

Earlier in the strike, police transferred suspects with serious offences to Maula Prison, but Dandaula disclosed that prison officials have shut the door in their faces: More people in cells mean a strain on their budget for meals and they cannot accommodate anymore in the already congested prison facilities.

Recently, the police arrested vendors in Lilongwe on various offences and those who were able to pay fines did so at the Lilongwe City Council and earned their freedom.

National Police prosecutor Happy Mkandawire concurred that some of the offences deemed bailable by the police include assault, petty theft and trespassing in an effort to reduce congestion.

But following a landmark ruling by High Court Judge Redson Kapindu in Zomba last week in which he asked the police to obey court orders made during the strike and asked magistrates to justify presiding over particular cases, there are moves to reduce congestion in the police cells and reduce the workload of prosecutors.

On Tuesday, The Nation learnt that Lilongwe magistrates had requested for space at the nearby police station to preside over cases, in the absence of the Judiciary support staff.

How is this being done? As Kapindu conducted his review case in the absence of Judiciary support staff that were represented by an assistant registrar, the magistrates in Lilongwe are using their colleagues to form a quorum.

For example, when court convened inside the community policing room at Central Region Police headquarters on Wednesday; chief resident magistrate Ruth Chinangwa was presiding, senior resident magistrate Patrick Chirwa acted as court clerk while senior resident magistrate Chisomo Msokera acted as court marshal.

Mkandawire said courts can sit anywhere; hence, the police did not hesitate to give the magistrates space when they made a request.

He said: “In the past, we have always offered the magistrates space to conduct their business, we have buildings at the Central Region Police headquarters for that purpose. In other districts, the magistrates are using the normal courtrooms.”

It is the chief prosecutor’s hope that this system would be rolled out to other districts as the Judiciary support staff strike continues.

Prosecution challenges

Since they are debilitated by the strike, prosecutors who previously spent a larger part of the day at the courts have been transferred to general duties. They are now on security patrols and conducting traffic duty.

Mkandawire said his office across the country has a lot of work on its table, justice has to be delivered and without the courts, the files are gathering dust.

In the seven weeks of the strike, number of cases accumulated indicate that Maula prison had 317 which are waiting to be brought before court while Dedza prison had 53 cases, including 11 homicides, by January 6, 2015.

“We have case files which are piling up, but we cannot do anything about them. We have prepared for cases, but for now we can only manage the situation so that it does not get out of hand,” Mkandawire said.

The ideal situation would be to resolve the impasse between government and the Judiciary support staff, Kapindu said in his December 31 order and Malawi Law Society (MLS) concurred.

MLS honorary treasurer John Suzi-Banda said the absence of the courts was a major constitutional crisis that should concern everyone, including politicians and civil society.

It was MLS which proposed to the Judiciary before the delivery of Kapindu’s ruling that the courts should be open for certain cases such as applications for injunctions, applications for bail and probate matters.

Suzi-Banda said they proposed that the Judiciary should put together skeleton staff for these types of cases to be heard to avoid complaints of people failing to challenge orders granted against them.

“We are still waiting to hear from them on our proposal and we are constantly in touch with them on this,” he said.

MLS also commended judges and magistrates who are discharging their duties in absence of support staff. n