Somaliland's Broken Judicial System
Recently Seychelles’ government transferred 17 convicted Somali
pirates to prisons in Som aliland to complete their remaining
sentences. We should applaud Somaliland government’s efforts to help
international community to fight piracy that plagues in the Gulf of
Aden and Indian Ocean; however, these new dangerous prisoners would
put more burdens on Somalil and’s already overcrowded jails, and its
broken judicial system. Close to half of the prisoner s in Hargeysa’a
Central prison---which would house the new prisoners, had never been
convicted or charged, and are waiting for trials according to local defense attorneys.
In addition, those who are serving their time, families have to
bring the food they eat, have no access to medical treatment—-mental
illnesses, as well as those with tuberculosis and other infectious
diseases are routinely housed with the general prison population,
and no rehabilitation program or training is available for them.
The detention facilities, courthouses, and police headquarters are
largely in a state of total disrepair and needs rehabilitation. In
this age of technology, I have seen court clerks using typewriter to
type a judge’s order or decision. Somaliland courts need
modernization in offi ce equipment such as computers and word
processors, and better record keeping.
However, backlog of cases, lack of separation between judicial and
executive, and detentio n without trial, are hampering people’s
access to justice. Majority of the population have lost faith in
judicial system due to the costly and lengthy litigation. For
example, for a court to conclude a simple dispute over land
ownership could take years because of corruption and constant
interference by the ruling party. Poor people particularly believe
the decision of the courts favor those who are rich and have access
to government officials.
Lately, the democratically elected President Silanyo has removed
from the benches judges with decades of judicial experience. I
support president to weed out corrupt and incompete nt judges from
our courts; however, our leader should not only rely on the judicial
commissi on for the selection process of the judges. Because the
commission is highly partisan and po liticize, and it is a rubber
stamp to whichever party running the country. In order to restore
the credibility ,the independence of our court systems, and rights
of our citizens to get a fair hearing in a court of law; changes are
needed the way judges are chosen.
As independent judiciary is critical element for the rule of the
law; an effective Attorney Ge neral office is essential as well for
prosecuting and putting behind bars criminals and terro rists who are
very determined harming our people, security and peace.
Nevertheless, Silan yo administration sidelined the Attorney General
office; instead made the highly corrupted Interior Ministry office
to act as though it is the prosecutorial and investigative arm of
our country
The current separation between the Attorney General office, the
ministry of justice, and th e criminal investigative unit of the
police is hindering the investigation, and the prosecution of
serious crimes such as murder and rape. How many murders are
investigated and the cri minals found? We only heard about the high
profile murder cases like Gabiley_Dila Hwy murd ers, but there are
also murders that never made news.
If we want the rule of the law to prevail; the Attorney General
should have to become Som aliland’s chief law enforcer, with the
ministry of justice, and the criminal investigative unit of the
police (CID), should have to be under his or her jurisdiction. The
individual who is goi ng to be Attorney General must have 10 years of
professional legal experience, and must have worked as prosecutor,
judge or law practice. That person should have good judgment to
protect our people while at the same respecting the rights of the
accuser.
Not only the Attorney General is indispensable for prosecuting
criminals but also it is also cr ucial to have a well-trained
professional police force. For example, during the demobilization of
local militia’s, anyone joining the police force was required to
bring his own assault weap on. I think it was right policy and
strategy during that time for recruiting police officers. However,
right now, we should expect our government to provide our police
force a distinct uniform and standard equipment such as Pistol,
handcuff, baton, bulletproof vest, if possib le, and two-way radio
for communication.
Because to rely on the highly politicized United Nations, to supply
our police force for the ba sic equipment, would undermine the
capability of our police forces. If the resources are ver y limited,
at least, The Silanyo administration could auction Somaliland’s
cellular communica tion bandwidth in order to raise money to provide
Somaliland police, especially the criminal investigative unit, the
equipment and the training they needed to fight crimes.
It has become a routine for the police to detain individuals,
without the local prosecutor fo rmally charging them a crime.
Recently police arrested three high-ranking government offi cials
including the governor of Hargeysa region, Mr. Hamarji, for
allegedly stealing food aid intended for the poor families Up to
now, there is no official court document stating their ch arges.
These defendants have rights to know the charges against them in
order to prepare for a defense or the government should release
them.
Without accountability and the rule of law, the government would
lose its authority and le gitimacy to rule. Because of the failure of
the broken Somaliland’s secular western style b ased legal system to
deliver justice, as alternative, some people are settling their own
dis putes through Somali traditional arbitration mechanism or Sharia
law, which is fairer and efficient. The sooner the west provides
democratic Somaliland resources needed to fix its broken judicial
system; the more chance the justice system would work for everybody.
Ali Mohamed
Co-founder Growth and development club of Somaliland
Lewis Center, Ohio
aliadm@aol.com |
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