Weak judicial and prosecutorial system a recipe for crime in Somalia, Chief Justice says

The absence of a strong judicial system is a major obstacle to access to justice in Somalia, Chief Justice Aidayd Ilka-hanaf has  said.

The Chief Justice said the country lacked proper investigation and prosecutorial mechanisms making it difficult to deal with criminal acts in the country.

“Everytime you hear that investigations are underway regarding a particular matter but you never hear of any tangible conclusions. We lack the capacity and qualified personnel to bring water tight cases before the court,” said Ilka-hanaf.

Speaking to the media after returning from the second African Judicial Dialogue in Arusha Tanzania, Ilka-hanaf said there was need to train judicial staff and prosecution teams including the police to ensure they are able to investigate and prosecute any criminal acts in the country. This way, the CJ said will ensure justice is accorded to every citizen fairly.

The CJ said Somali prosecutors were currently undergoing training in Kenya to equip them deal with organised crime and other crimes such as terorism and money laundering.