735 divorce cases filed in 2019
Specialised Courts to be set in Chief Magistrates courts beginning Dec. 1, 2020 to treat GBV cases as urgent matters Penal Code is being amended to enhance penalties Sex Offenders’ Register Bill 2020 will contribute to addressing GBV cases
Starting 1st December 2020 government will establish specialised courts at all Chief Magistrate Courts to handle all
cases of Gender Based Violence ( GBV) as urgent matters.
This was revealed by Minister of Defence Justice and Security, Kagiso Mmusi who further said that the cases must be expedited in their disposal in accordance with the Practice Directive No. 9 of 2020. Mmusi stated that these courts are at Molepolole, Gaborone, Francistown, Maun, Palapye and Selebi Phikwe. An additional court will be established in Mogoditshane during this financial year, he said. Mmusi told Parliament that these interventions will contribute to national efforts to curb and address incidences of GBV.
“The total number of cases where both interim and final orders were issued, that were registered under the Domestic Violence Act in various Magistrate Courts across the country in 2019 is 440. “Out of this, 298 cases were completed within 30 days, thus making it a completion rate of 68 percent.
A total of 735 divorce cases were filed in the year 2019, out of these, one or more elements of domestic violence was alleged as a ground for divorce. “511 cases which translate to 69 per cent were allowed for divorce. Where all pre- trial formalities have been complied with, the average duration of divorce proceedings for defended cases is 12 months and for undefended cases it is three months. “It must be noted that from a portfolio responsibility perspective, my ministry comes into the picture after the event,” the minister said, adding that the police, prosecutors and the courts only deal with GBV after it has happened.
Mmusi said however, they have not left intervention and “we do engage in proactive and preventative measures.” Mmusi said it is in this respect that it is necessary to establish components and/ or units in the key departments and ministries that deal with GBV cases.“In my ministry, the Botswana Police Service, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions ( DPP) and Administration of Justice ( AoJ) have already established specialised structures within their respective departments to deal with GBV. “In terms of expedited investigations, prosecutions and adjudications of GBV crime, my ministry has the portfolio responsibility to ensure that the necessary legislative framework is in place to enhance efforts to address crime. “In addition, the Penal Code is currently being amended to enhance penalties.
The Sex Offenders’ Register Bill 2020, which was published on the 16th of September 2020, will also contributes to addressing incidences of GBV,” the minister explained. The minister was responding to a question in Parliament from Specially elected MP Dr. Unity Dow who asked what percentage of cases brought under the Domestic Violence Act were concluded, where both interim and final orders were issued within 30 days during the year 2019 and what legal and/ or policy and/ or structural reforms he considers necessary to curb the increased incidences of Gender Based Violence.