The delivery of justice and law enforcement in Lesotho has lately become unsatisfactory and it is common to hear complaints from the public about cases taking unreasonably long before they are dealt with by police, prosecutors, lawyers and the courts. 

The Prime Minister Mr. Pakalitha Mosisili, officiating at the launch of the national vision and strategy for the Justice Sector at the Lesotho National Convention Centre on June 20, said this cancer of tardy investigation of crime, slow disposal of cases and delivery of judgments as well as poor execution, need urgent surgical operation, which the strategy paper will hopefully provide an operating theatre for.

'Prisons are overflowing with inmates waiting for their cases to be dealt with by the courts, a frightening prison environment of inhumane conditions, antithetical to rehabilitation and fertile to the spread of HIV/AIDS and other air-borne and opportunistic infections,' Mr. Mosisili said.

Mr. Mosisili said observance of human rights, timely investigation of crime and disposal of cases ending in prompt delivery and execution of judgments are not only constitutional imperatives but social needs. People need to derive benefit from equal protection of the law and delivery of justice whilst they are alive.   

The Vision and Strategy paper therefore, is a clarion call to the nation at large to hold hands with government in building a culture of rights-based democracy, zero tolerance of crime and corruption and effect justice delivery, he said.

The call for a that timely delivery of justice was taken up by the Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Rehabilitation, and Law and Constitutional Affairs Mr. Refiloe Masemene, who said the launch should signal end of an era of finger pointing and blaming each other for delays within the sector.

Leaders in the sector, including the police service, prosecution, judiciary, correctional services and the Law Society have jointly developed an operational framework to guide operations for the whole sector, Mr. Masemene said. 

Work on the Vision and Strategy Paper started in 2004 under the auspices of the Lesotho Justice Sector Development Programme and describes what the justice sector hopes to achieve, including improved delivery of justice, improved access to justice, restorative peace and observation of human rights.

21 June 2005