RUNDU – The Rundu Magistrate’s Court has resorted to using a garage as a courtroom due to lack of space to conduct its daily business.
The court originally had three courtrooms but an influx of cases has forced it to convert a garage into the fourth courtroom.
Court officials who requested anonymity as they are not officially allowed to speak to the media, said the new setup is not conducive or safe as the garage is too small, with squeezed items and closer to the road.
Concentration on official duty is also extremely hard, they allege, as both vehicles and pedestrians pass by noisily.
The Rundu Magistrate’s Court has six magistrates and six prosecutors, in addition to other staff members.
Simon Idipo, Senior Public Relations Officer in the Ministry of Justice, confirmed the situation at Rundu, adding that many other courts across the country face similar challenges in terms of space constraints.
“Yes, the ministry is fully aware of this pressing need of court rooms, and unfortunately is not only Rundu Magistrate’s Court that is experiencing this problem,” Idipo told New Era.
He said a comprehensive upgrade was earmarked for Rundu Magistrate’s Court already since 2016 and was to cost the ministry about N$43 Million.
“Due to budgetary constraints, this project could not take off any more. Due to this prevalent concerns at many of our courts, the ministry is currently doing its best to remedy the situation and as a result we are busy with the program for the construction of prefabricated court rooms and offices at the following magistrates courts: Grootfontein, Outjo, Ondangwa, Otjiwarongo and Windhoek,” he said.
“Should there still be some funds left the Rundu Magistrate’s Court will still be attended to during this current financial year,” he assured.