For the first time ever, the Francistown High Court will hold an open day event next week in an endeavor to reach out to the public and also to enlighten the nation on its procedures and how the justice system operates. Letsweletse Mophalane, the Principal Bench Clerk of the Francistown High Court and the Secretary General of the organizing committee, told the Sunday Standard in an interview that the event, which will be merged together with a wellness day, comes after the High Court Management realized that most people are not very informed on the procedures of the courts due to some limitations within the judicial system, especially on divulging some information to the public.
He added that management also observed that the public seems to confuse the role of the District Commissioner (DC), the magistrate and the registrar. Mophalane went on to say that in this endeavor, they decided to combine forces with the Masunga Magistrate Court, Francistown Magistrate Courts and the District Commissioner’s office to try and clearly define their roles for the benefit of the public.
“There will be various stalls during this day and judicial officers such as magistrates and court clerks will be in the stores to explain to the public and further network and share information,” he said.
Mophalane went on to reveal that the Chief Justice of the High Court Maruping Dibotelo is expected to officiate at the event.
He also added that as compared to Gaborone, a lot of people in the north of the country have not been accessing information on how the courts operate therefore this called for an urgency to conduct such an event.
He indicated that in Gaborone people accessed the information in stalls during the trade fairs unlike in Francistown where such stalls have never been done in the trade fairs.
