‘Surviving by the grace of God’

MASERU – Sparsely furnished dilapidated buildings with falling ceilings and broken windows count for court buildings in Lesotho.
Leaking corrugated iron sheets and hazardous toilets complete the sorry sight – one that barely befits the justice delivery system.
When thepost was in the magistrate offices in Maseru there was no toilet paper for officials.
Add to this, the dire working conditions and low salaries of judicial officers.

Magistrates have heard enough and last week brought their grievances to the fore by embarking on an industrial action.
The “go slow” has resulted in the suspension of some proceedings at the courts.

The judicial officers have endured a barrage of criticism over alleged failure to urgently dispense justice. They say those criticising them have little appreciation of their working conditions.
Due to pitiful funding, some of the cheapest items such as pens are unavailable – never mind houses, cars, security and other equipment that cost more.
These are some of the challenges that have been presented to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Service Mokhele Moletsane by the Judicial Officers Association of Lesotho (JOALE).
Minister Moletsane pleaded with the judicial officers to continue with their work and ensure justice delivery does not suffer while their challenges are being addressed.
Moletsane said accommodation is a problem common to all civil servants, citing three judges that do not have houses.

These include Chief Justice Nthomeng Majara, who was in the spotlight recently after it emerged that the government was forking out M20 000 monthly to rent her a house.
Chief Magistrate ’Matankiso Nthunya said the challenges faced by judicial officers are longstanding.
Nthunya is part of the magistrates’ management and could not speak on behalf of her concerned colleagues.
Nonetheless, she knows all about the strife in the judicial sector.

Nthunya said the circumstances endured by judicial officers make their work insurmountable.
Judicial officers have repeatedly lodged their grievances with successive governments without getting any reprieve, Nthunya said.

The final blow, she said, was when the government failed to implement a structure that would have improved the salaries of the judicial officers.
That structure could not be implemented because it was blocked in court by some fellow judicial officers despite being approved by the Public Service Commission, said Nthunya.
Even the Prime Minister Thomas Thabane is aware of the problems that include transport and understaffing, she said.
She said magistrates have got just two cars that have to serve the whole country.

There are 101 subordinate courts across the country served by the two vehicles.
“Judicial officers have to be ferried from one place to another in their execution of justice.
“And this has to be done in time so as to avoid defeating ends of justice,” she said.

Given the terrain of the country, some judicial courts are located in hard to reach areas.
She cited the example of Semenanyane Local Court. It does not have a presiding officer because judicial officers are afraid to stay in the area after a watchman was killed due to lack of security.
The court’s closure has affected people living in the Setleketseng area and surrounding villages.

In some instances, it has been impossible for court messengers to take convicts to the police because there is no transport. This applies to Local Courts or Customary Courts where there are no available prison warders and the convicts have to be sent back to the police for a handover to the correctional officers. Nthunya said some convicts have been left to roam the streets because there is no transport to take them to the police.

An unpaid electricity bill has heightened fears that the Lesotho Electricity Company (LEC) could cut power supplies.
“If LEC runs out of patience, we are doomed,” she said. “We are only under the mercy of God.”

Majara Molupe