Tanganyika: the shortage of judges at the root of prison overcrowding in Kalemie

The provincial coordinator for the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in Tanganyika, Dieudonné Kabulo, reported on Wednesday, February 21, that the Tanganyika province is facing a shortage of magistrates in the peace courts, which is exacerbating the overcrowding in the Kalemie prison.

In an interview with Radio Okapi, Dieudonné Kabulo stated that the lack of magistrates does not favor the handling of several cases of defendants, most of which are pending in the peace courts.

Dieudonné Kabulo is calling on the Higher Council of the Judiciary to urgently find a solution to this problem, which is prejudicial to the litigants.

He explains that there are no magistrates assigned in the Tanganyika province, nor in any of the territories.

There are only the heads of jurisdictions, so the presidents of the Tripaix [Editor's note: peace court] but the judges who should accompany them are not there, it creates serious problems in justice since when the prosecutor's office arrests and sets a date for the case, it is necessary to evacuate the case either to convict or to acquit,” said the CNDH coordinator in Tanganyika.

He also insists on the fact that, when the prosecutor's office replenishes the files and arrests offenders, it causes problems with the defendants.

Hence his plea to the Higher Council of the Judiciary, to find solutions as soon as possible.

The lack of magistrates in the peace courts also has an impact on the overcrowding in prisons. Since cases are not processed, and no judgments are rendered, it is difficult to decongest these overcrowded detention facilities, which directly leads to deaths due to suffocation in cells, asserts Dieudonné Kabulo.

The provincial coordinator of the CNDH therefore draws attention: "Here there are deaths every day, there are people dying of suffocation."