Magufuli laments dragging of case investigations

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday expressed concern over poor investigations that delay cases in court, thereby adversely affecting persons who are otherwise innocent.

Noting that the delays do not only frustrate court operations; they also result in unnecessary congestions in remand jails that could easily be avoided.

Dr Magufuli cited as an example the current number of inmates, put at a little over 31,000, but 17,632 of them being remand detainees undergoing trial in the courts.

“Every time you (investigators) claim in court that investigations are ongoing. This is really a big challenge,” the President said at a ceremony to mark Law Day, February 6.

This year’s Law Day theme is about the role of the Judiciary and its stakeholders in facilitating the investment environment in the country.

“I have been to some jails and people are always crying out there. Others do not even have a genuine case against them, other than fabricated charges. Investigators and prosecutors are giving the courts a hard time. You have to reevaluate your responsibilities - and change for the better,” the head of State counselled in the presence of officials from the security forces, as well as lawyers and judges.

“Innocent people are being punished for crimes they haven’t committed,” he lamented.

Some people - especially those who are accused of non-bailable economic crimes such as money laundering - have been in remand for more than two years pending completion of investigations, the President said.

A total of 1,422 people who were held on framed charges were freed last year after thorough scrutiny that was done by the office of the director of public prosecutions (DPP).

Indeed, 38,801 inmates have been freed since 2015, including prisoners who were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Tanzania’s chief justice, Prof Ibrahim Juma, said there were 20 cases involving $247 million in disputed taxes in Tanzanian courts.

He revealed that the Judiciary has already reviewed some regulations that were thought to cause undue delays in court processes as a way of fast tracking justice delivery in Tanzania.

“Our analysis is that most cases which relate to economic crimes are stuck in the lower levels waiting for investigations to be completed. This is a challenge, as such delays cause the Judiciary to also delay making decisions,” said Prof Juma.

Tanzania Law Society (TLS) president Rugemeleza Nshala said the current state in which commercial disputes involving foreign firms were handled by international organisations was a clear indication of the justice-delivering power of the international organisations.

“Investors need to be assured of a stable and clear justice system - and this is a better incentive than giving them tax concessions,” said Dr Nshala.

He advised that the government could capitalize on imposing fines as a way of reducing congestion in our jails. At the same time, the government would be boosting public revenue from the fines.

“We can take a leaf out of the book of the traffic police in dealing with traffic offenders. Fining offenders on the spot has reduced traffic offences to a certain extent. And, at the same time, theTraffic Division has been making good money for government coffers,” he added.

President Magufuli took the opportunity to reveal that Tanzania is talking with the Ethiopian government with a view to releasing 1,415 Ethiopians being held in jail in Tanzania and sending them to their home country. Doing this would reduce crowding in our jails.