Graft court on horizon as 14 judges picked

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.