Big Fish Off The Hook
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday November 23, 2015 12:33
Passing judgement on Friday in the contempt of Court case in Francistown Justice Lot Moroka said that it was not shown how the Attorney General violated the court order.
Hev also ruled that the commissioners of police and prisons did not violate the court order because it was not personally served on them.The judge rather put the blame on the two police officers who refused Dingake to consult his clients confidentially.
With regard to deputy station commander Unoziba Rari of Sir Seretse Khama International Airport police station, judge Moroka said he also did not violate the order because he did not act in way that prevented the order to be served and could not be held liable for omissions that were committed by other police officers.
Regarding other respondents: an immigration officer and some other police officers, Moroka said there was not evidence to convince him that they acted maliciously, with willful intent. The respondents were ordered to pay the costs of the application, and they will appear in court again on December 3.
About the deportation of the two Ugandans, Moroka advised Dingake to make a proper application in a proper way.
The refugees: Musa Isabirye and Timothy Yamin wanted the Attorney General, commissioners of Botswana Police Service and Prisons and Rehabilitation, five police officers and an immigration and citizenship officer to be jailed or fined P2, 000 each.
On October 23, Justice Lot Moroka of the Francistown High Court ordered that the refugees could meet their lawyers, and also interdicted the state from deporting them pending their review application.
On Friday Moroka said that the Ugandans were married to local women and have children in Botswana. Moroka said their lawyer was denied access to consult the applicants by two police officers who are cited as the fourth and fifth respondents.
As a result, the lawyer was not able to get the applicants to sign court documents as required by law, hence he started contempt of court proceedings against the respondents. Moroka said when the rights of other people are infringed upon, it was the responsibility of the courts to make sure that people who violate such rights answered for their actions.