By Politico Staff Writer
The Communications Director at the Judiciary of Sierra Leone Elkass Sannoh has highlighted the reforms that the Judiciary has undergone, during an engagement with National Youth Corpers at the Peace Mission Training Centre in Hastings, outside of Freetown.
He said that with the appointment of the Chief Justice, Desmond Babatunde Edwards, massive reforms could now be seen in the sector, unlike in the past that saw complaints against clerks misplacing court files and sureties. He added that skipping bail was a normal pattern, coupled with poor salary and unqualified staffing.
Addressing the over three hundred and fifty youth corpers of Batch 5, Sannoh said journalists were deprived of certain information, and that the then judicial administration did not respect the work of journalists.
“We also had insufficient Judges and Magistrates with huge burden as referenced by the 2017-2018 Management and Functional Review Report with 143,000 citizens to a Judicial Officer”, he recalled.
He explained that the activities of the Judiciary were shrouded in secrecy and that the sector was never accountable to the masses, describing data records or court management issues a nightmare.
He said some court structures were dilapidated, with Judges and Magistrates having to write judgments in dark chambers with no air conditioning facility.
The Director stated that as a way to expedite cases, the Chief Justice established the country’s first Virtual Court which gives opportunity to suspects in detention to remain there whilst their cases are being heard, adding that witnesses overseas could now be heard from where they are.
Sannoh added that the Judiciary with support from the Government has been able to conduct Special High Court Criminal sessions thrice every year in areas where there are no resident Judges, with over 823,000 persons accessing justice in those places. He stated that apart from the increased access to justice, the regular court sittings reduced the financial burden on the people and the difficulties to travel outside their localities just to seek justice.
According to Sannoh, positions such as Court Operations Manager, Principal Accountant, Human Resources Manager, Procurement and Logistics Manager, Supreme Court Registrar, Court of Appeal Registrar and Estate and Facilities Officer among a host of other positions have been established due to the reforms.
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