THE Chief Justice, Mr Mohammed Chande Othman, has appointed 14 judges to preside over cases at the newly-established corruption and economic sabotage division of the High Court of Tanzania scheduled to begin operations later this month.
Mr Othman told reporters at the High
Court pavilion at the Mwalimu Nyerere Fair Grounds in Dar es Salaam
yesterday that the selected judges will undergo special training from
next week to impart appropriate instructions to them on effective
handling of the cases. “They will be trained at our institute in
Lushoto, Tanga Region, ready to take over their new responsibilities,”
he said.
Mr Othman reiterated that the decision
by the government to introduce the special court is very clear – “and
that is to fast-track hearing of such cases through effective
handling’’. He outlined the baseline for each law suit to be filed at
the special court, saying it will not exceed nine months soon after its
submission.
“We have already allocated premises for
the court in Dar es Salaam. We have also set guidelines, including the
one to the effect that all cases filed should be fully investigated
before they are brought to court,’’ the chief justice reported. He
lauded the government for amending the founding legislation of 1984,
saying the new law, which now awaits presidential approval, set the tone
for proper handling of corruption and embezzlement cases.
The new law, however, empowers the chief
justice to establish new guidelines for opening charges and protecting
witnesses. “Soon after the president has signed the bill into law and
put on gazette, I will develop the guidelines to secure all the
testimonies. This is very critical for the court. We just need the
public to trust the court,” he pointed out.
As the public awaits the much talked and
awaited special court to try corruption and economic sabotage suspects,
the chief justice assured the public that the government was, however,
working to build more courts across the country to improve service
delivery.
Figures from the High Court of Tanzania
show there were 3,963 wards and 139 districts across the country in
addition to 960 and 27 court buildings for primary and district courts
respectively.
This means there is a deficit of 3,115
courts across the country. “Court buildings are in bad condition. We
have been forced to close many buildings that were previously being used
as courts since they don’t meet the requirements,” he told reporters.
Mr Othman added that the government has
allocated 24 billion/- to improve the courts’ infrastructures. “The
judiciary is also working with Ardhi University and National
Construction Council in a pilot project using Moladi technology to fast
track construction of court buildings”.
He said the pilot project is now carried
out at Kibaha, Kigamboni, Kawe, Kinyerezi, Mkuranga and Bagamoyo to
examine how effective and cost-cutting the technology can be for court
buildings.
While the conventional methods take more
than 180 days (minimum), Moladi technology is projected to take less
than 76 days for an 1,168 square-metre floor area. The Judiciary’s Civil
Engineer, Mr Mohammed Kitunzi, explained that when the technology is
applied, it can cut down costs by 50 per cent.
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