As the Police deployment for Saturday November 17 elections continue nationwide, Courts in Freetown have been forced to defer sittings till the Police prosecutors return.
This was noticed when our reporter went to the Law Courts and saw that the Law Courts devoid of its usual activity due to the fact that the police prosecutors were all absent. We noticed yesterday morning that only three courts, (Magistrate Court No.1&2 and a High Court ) was on session at around 10:30 A.M.
A complainant, Usman Bangura, residing in Calaba Town, said he is fed up just coming to court without any action. ‘Since last week my matter was not called up because the prosecutor of my matter was not in court.’
He said the Inspector-General of Police should have considered that the judiciary is a very crucial institution that needs to be working all the time and should not stop. He also said that now that the police are not present, complainants are stressed up but the frustrated ones are the accused remanded at Pademba Road Prisons.
Inspector Agatha Heals, one of the prosecutors attached to the Magistrate Court No 1, said most of the prosecutors were posted to the provinces and that she herself was posted to Bo.
Questioned on why she was in court adjourning cases, the prosecutor said that she is not the prosecutor for most of the cases, and was sick before the posting and only resumed on November 19, adding that she has no right to sit at home that was why she is in court adjourning matters.
She said they are expecting their colleagues to resume by November 26 and will be in court for the justice system to move forward.
Presiding Magistrate Court No.1, Steven Conteh, who was also available in court ready to work with only one prosecutor in his court, said the judiciary is not functional, explaining that if it were, then there would have been prosecutors in court, no matter what is happening in the country.
‘Now that there are no prosecutors in court and the justice system has been delayed,as justice delayed, is justice denied.’
By Emmanuella Kallon
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