By Tṧeliso Tṧosane
The High Court of Lesotho yesterday released a report on the three months of the criminal session conducted as part of efforts to end a backlog of cases pending in the court and to speed up delivery of justice.
This special criminal session was arranged to specifically deal with 35 cases, 19 of which have been successful heard to finality and three more nearing completion. The remaining cases are to be allocated judges of the court. The completed cases include that of prominent Teyateyaneng businessman Tṧeliso Nthane who was accused for killing his employee Kopano Mohapi in January 2019 in Mokhotlong. The case was before Acting Justice Palesa Rantara, who in her acting capacity found the accused not guilty, discharged and acquitted him.
High Court and Court of Appeal registrar ‘Mathato Sekoai said she was pleased with the progress made by the project as they successfully managed to expedite the administration of justice, especially long-running cases.
“This initiative was well supported by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions DPP and the ministry of finance through the office of the budget controller. So I am very pleased with their commitment to the session,” she remarked.
She also indicated that seven judges set to join the bench will be sworn in today to enhance the justice system. Additionally, the Northern Region High Court located at Tṧifa-li-Mali in Leribe will start operating soon, and will the Leribe, Botha-Bothe and Motlotlong districts.
