High Court judges call for more action against human trafficking

 High Court of Malawi judges Patrick Chirwa and Jean Kayira have called for concerted efforts against trafficking in persons if Malawi is to register success in the fight against the practice.

The two judges made the call in separate interviews on the sidelines of a three-day workshop for magistrates and police prosecutors and investigators in Blantyre that started on Monday and ended on Wednesday.

Chirwa, who was the guest of honour, described the training as crucial as it helped to iron out complexities magistrates, police prosecutors and investigators encounter in their quest to effectively deal with trafficking in persons.

He said: “Apart from training, we, as the Judiciary, need distribution of proper materials to be used. We should not have a situation where a magistrate does not have the Trafficking in Persons Act; we shouldn’t have a case where a prosecutor doesn’t know the materials to be used.

“So, you can train them, but if they don’t have those materials at hand, they will not be able to apply themselves. So, distribution of proper materials for use in daily court business [such as the] Trafficking in Person Act, 2015, the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code and the Penal Code where some of these offences are provided for is vital.”

On her part, Kayira emphasised the need for witness protection in order to successfully prosecute trafficking in persons cases.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime programme officer Maxwell Matewere said unemployment, high levels of poverty, lack of information and inadequate capacity on the part of law enforcers are some of the factors contributing to a hike in human trafficking in the country.

Father Francis Tambala of the Archdiocese of Blantyre of the Catholic Church said human trafficking is evil as it dehumanises the human being who was created in God’s image.

The workshop, which was funded by the United States Department of State through a Plan Malawi and Catholic Development Commission (Cadecom) partnership, attracted 30 participants from Mwanza and Mulanje.

It was held under Cadecom’s Enhancing Capacity and Coordination to Combat Trafficking in Persons Project.