‘Judiciary on autopilot’

There are about 2 000 murder suspects currently awaiting trial in Malawi with half that number on bail. Government is failing to clear the backlog of murder cases due to lack of special funding from a development partner. Lawyer Justin Dzonzi, who is also executive director of Justice Link, talks with FRANK NAMANGALE and gives his suggestions on the matter.

What are the implications on the country’s justice system and on crime in general when government fails to prosecute murder cases?

It is a cardinal principle of law that justice delayed is justice denied. This principle is even more applicable in criminal matters because prior to trial, an accused person’s liberty is at stake. The majority of suspects on murder charges are denied bail on grounds that either the offences are too serious or to protect them from mob justice.

I am aware of suspects who have been in custody for long periods without trial. This amounts to unfair trial as witnesses die and, meanwhile, the suspects would have served a long jail term without being tried. So, these delays seriously undermine delivery of justice as they result in detention without trial contrary to the supreme law of the land.

Britain used to fund murder trials through Malawi Safety, Security and Access to Justice (Massaj) project. It now seems we no longer have that funding. Can we not find other means to fund prosecution of murder cases?

The legal processes used for trying murder cases are not so different from the procedures used to try any other case. This means that there is nothing substantially difficult about Malawi funding murder trials.

However, I think because of the funding from Britain, the judicial officers have either become too complacent about it or because of the allowances which judges and court officials were given during assizes; the Judiciary would rather wait for funding from donors instead of funding it internally. I am aware, of course, that most murder trials require the presence of the jury, a requirement which is costly, but under the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code, the court can dispense with a jury trial if the circumstances so allow.

Shortage of State lawyers to take up murder trials is still there. Is there anything government can do to solve this problem?

I know government has a perennial shortage of lawyers, but I am not sure if these delays are caused due to shortage of lawyers. I think the delays come from the Judiciary side because that is where Cause Lists of Cases are formulated.

So, it is possible that some of the delays may be due to lack of judges and not State lawyers. However, if the problem is created by lack of State lawyers, my view has always been that the government can ask private legal houses to take up at least one murder trial every year. Going by the number of law firms, this would go a long way in alleviating the shortage of lawyers.

Do you think there is commitment by government to ensure that murder cases are disposed of?

I generally get the feeling that outside politics, our governments have very little time to deal with such matters so much so that they may even be totally unaware of the situation on the ground.

So, I do not believe we have had any commitment towards these issues by any of the previous administrations except where donors are willing to fund.

Secondly, it is also important to keep in mind that even if there is enough political will to ensure speedy justice, Malawi is very poor and it can only do so much given that there are other equally pressing issues calling for government’s attention. The Judiciary would do with a bit of policing because at the moment it is on autopilot.