The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
12 July 2008
editorial
It's incredible that the shortage of handcuffs can cause much ado in the justice system. Yet it has become a national problem. There are so few around that police sometimes tie up suspects with ropes or clothing.
But it is more dangerous to take suspected hardcore criminals to courts using makeshift fetters. They can either escape or wrest guns from police or warders and cause mayhem. To avoid gambling with the delivery of justice, two suspects are tied with one handcuff.
Cases and rulings are sometimes deferred because it is impossible to take all the suspects to courts in insecure circumstances. Courts, which have been striving to clear backlogs of cases, are becoming overwhelmed. As they say in legal parlance, justice delayed is justice denied. And that runs counter to the tenets of human rights in a democracy like Tanzania.
In Mwanza city, about 100 remanded people are taken to courts daily. Such people are tied up in only 11 handcuffs - 10 of them new and one defective. Why can't there be enough handcuffs? Can't they be made locally even by small and medium-size enterprises?
We appreciate the reforms carried out to speed up the hearing of cases. Modern buses have replaced decrepit trucks that carried suspects and inmates. Buses are more expensive than handcuffs and it is intriguing that the Government just can't buy enough these small but useful items.The shortage of handcuffs must not hold up justice.
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