THE president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Michael Ramodibedi, was spot on last Friday when he lashed out at the slow pace of the justice delivery system in Lesotho.
The president delivered a withering attack on High Court judges and other key officials involved in the dispensing of justice.
In his damning verdict, Justice Ramodibedi said the justice system in Lesotho was virtually on its knees.
He went on to cite numerous cases in which judgments were delayed over years because court records had disappeared.
“If there is proof of the collapse of the justice system, the few examples quoted above provide such proof. This is a matter of grave concern to this court,” he said.
We have raised similar concerns in our previous editorials.
We are still concerned with the slow pace in resolving criminal cases at our courts.
We cannot understand why cases, some of them dating as far back as the early 1990s, are still unresolved.
Surely there can be no justifiable reason for such inordinate delays.
At the risk of repeating a tired cliché we wish to remind the government, particularly the justice ministry, that justice delayed is justice denied.
The huge backlog of cases at the High Court is not healthy for the justice system in Lesotho.
Delays of such magnitude undermine confidence in the judiciary system.
It is equally traumatic for suspects to be subjected to years of waiting before their cases are brought to a close.
Such trauma is just unbearable.
It is against this background that we want to salute Justice Ramodibedi for mustering the courage to raise these concerns.
We wait to see how the government responds to the concerns and address the inherent weaknesses in our justice system.
In his address Justice Ramodibedi expressed concern over the failure by High Court judges to deliver written reasons for their judgments.
The delays by judges to deliver written judgments are a serious threat to the administration of justice in Lesotho.
We also cannot understand why those entrusted with the safe keeping of court records fail to do so.
When tapes disappear or are stolen or destroyed crucial evidence that could help during the trial period is irretrievably lost.
Court cases are therefore heard on the basis of partial evidence.
This is a brazen threat to the justice system.
It is our fervent hope that the government will move swiftly to find solutions to the problems haunting the judiciary if we are to avoid reducing our court system to a joke.
The problems haunting the judiciary are not unique to Lesotho.
We need to take a leaf from other countries that have had the same problems and managed to solve them.
The problems are not insurmountable. They can be successfully addressed.
This reminds us about the commission of inquiry set up by the Law Society of Lesotho earlier this year to look into the problems in the judiciary.
It is interesting that lawyers who spoke during the public hearings also lambasted High Court judges for delaying judgments.
The lawyers also accused judges of spending more time attending to personal matters that had nothing to do with their core business.
They said it was this lackadaisical attitude to duty that was contributing to the huge backlog of cases.
When everything has been said and done we need to reiterate the fact that a speedy resolution of court cases is at the core of a functional judiciary.
People want to see court cases speedily dealt with and brought to a logical conclusion.
When the courts keep someone on remand for years it is purely a case of miscarriage of justice.
The wheels of justice turn slowly.
But we need to see them turn quickly to ensure that the rights of the accused are protected.
