CJ, CR deny jeopardising assaulted Magistrate’s health, life

Chief Justice (CJ) Terence Rannowane and Chief Registrar (CR) of the High Court Juliana Dube-Gobotswang have denied jeorpadising the health and life of a magistrate who was assaulted by insisting she be transferred from Molepolole to Mahalapye Magistrate’s court.

The judicial heads say the dangers and risks that come with the job of Magistrates are taken seriously hence, the provision of an orderly police escort at work and residence. Responding to Kefilwe Resheng’s lawsuit, a Principal Magistrate, who was reportedly assaulted and verbally attacked by inmates at Molepolole Magistrate’s Court after accusing the judicial officers of ‘negligence’ following the alleged attack, said it was not true that it was business as usual after the attack.

Resheng dragged the pair before court on Tuesday resisting transfer to Mahalapye Magistrate’s Court on condition that she suffered an extreme mental breakdown after being attacked and had mental relapses.

However, Dube-Gobotswang in her answering affidavit, said the insinuation that they do not care about Resheng’s health and life was not true as they had been checking on her progress since the attack. “The applicant sent me a WhatsApp message informing me that she has experienced verbal attack.

I had been checking on how she was doing through WhatsApp and she would respond,” she said. She explained that through her WhatsApp inquiry on the Magistrates’ well-being, she had responded that she was seeing a psychologist and the Safety, Health, Wellness and Environmental Officer had also been checking up on her to find out how she was doing.

The Chief Registrar further stated that their SHE coordinator asked if she could arrange counselling sessions for the applicant but she declined saying that she was already seeing a psychologist. “We further had resolved to pay for the applicant’s mental expenses, which were in the form of a psychologist bills.

We, however, must state that we do not know the frequency of her doctor’s visits,” she said. She pointed out that the Administration of Justice took immediate steps to deal with the incident and that upon bringing the issue to their attention, she informed the Chief Justice who had travelled out of the country by WhatsApp who extended his sincere concern and requested that she conveys his sympathies.

Regarding security, Dube-Gobotswang explained that they have upped the security for all Magistrates and that they have often resolved to rotate them in stations so that they do not meet with litigants. “As a result of the report made by the AOJ officers, the prisons and police officials beefed up security. Instead of there being only one prisons officer and one police officer present in court, there are now two of each present at all the courts in Molepolole. Further, all accused persons are now shackled when they come into court,” she said. On refusal to halt transfer, she explained that Magistrate Resheng was already transferred as she had accepted the transfer. She pointed out that they are not ignoring the doctors’ recommendations as alleged stating that the doctors were obviously making recommendations out of lack of information and context.

Resheng on the other hand says it is going to make her suffer psychological and emotional harm in the maintenance of the decision to transfer her. “Chief Registrar is not an expert in issues of mental health and as such she is in no position to controvert what the experts have advised.

Experts being psychologist and psychiatrist have warned that in the event I am moved from places where I receive therapy and support, I stand to suffer harm,” she said. She said the trauma she suffered was of grave bearing in mind and the violence of the attack and the nature of the criminal that attacked her.

Resheng said for the pair to deny that her health and life are not in jeopardy when they are not health experts qualified to second-guess her doctors was not appalling. “If Chief Registrar had empathy or cared about my health, she had ample time to read through the doctor’s response more so that she claims to have checked on me through WhatsApp communication,” she said.

She submitted that the tardiness in dealing with her request to consider her transfer was contrary to the swiftness claimed by the CJ and CR in transferring Magistrates for their own security and safety as evidenced by their response. On security, Resheng said there was no security officers solely deployed to offer Magistrates security in the work place save to say for one court orderly that attends court sittings and leaves the premises once court was adjourned.

She pointed out that at the time she was attacked, the officer was not present in court and was said to be running errands for a prosecutor. Meanwhile, the legal battle between the parties ensued because the Magistrate is resisting being transferred on reasons that on May 17 she was viciously attacked and assaulted by an accused named Mogorosi Korae whilst executing her judicial functions in an open court.

She explained that after the incident, she was left with extreme Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and was forced to seek medical help in the form of psychologist hence the recommendation by her

doctor not to be transferred away from family.