SHORTAGE OF MAGISTRATES HINDERS JUSTICE DELIVERY IN DOWA

The Dowa Magistrate Court in Dowa District is currently experiencing a severe shortage of Magistrates, leading to significant delays in the dispensation of justice for suspects in criminal cases

In an interview with spokesperson for Dowa Police, Alice Sitima said that severe shortage of magistrate is causing the disruption in the justice system as the need to transfer the cases to other courts

She further said, the court is on relying on one third magistrate to handle all the cases each month and we receive more than 100 criminal cases on a monthly basis

“In our station we receives so many criminal cases and we have been compelled to remand most suspects at Maula Prison, and that has been our main problem because we place the additional strain on resources and cause disruption in the justice system” she said

Meanwhile, Kondwani Banda, a supreme court and high court of Malawi registrar  has accepted the challenges facing the Dowa court and local police and he is assured that the matter will be handled to alleviate the burden on the court

“We have recognized the situation that is in Dowa court and our office is working tirelessly to find the solution to that challenge at hand” he said.