Officials to be stood down in Jan

By KARO JESSE
ALL village court officials except magistrates will be stood down from work in January, says secretary for the Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Dr Eric Kwa.
Kwa announced the cessation of all existing peace officers and court clerks in all villages around the country during a presentation ceremony of National Identification (NID) cards at Barakau village, Central, on Saturday.
He explained that the change was criticised by the public when it was made aware, however, he further emphasised that this was for the purpose of actively addressing law and order problems at the village level.
Kwa said the change was to replace the existing village court officials with grade 12 school leavers who did not have a chance for further studies.
Village court officials will now be required to have a grade 12 education.
“I want a village court officer who can read, write and send me messages or updates through emails and/or whatsapp,” Kwa said.
“This will also create job opportunities for our children finishing from grade 12 who could not continue for further studies.”
He said there was a need for village court houses and qualified officials to improve court systems in rural areas.
Kwa said village court officials would also be accommodated in a government-planned and established Joint Forces College for police and defence personnel.
He said the grade 12 leavers when employed as court officials could have the chance for further (tertiary level) studies in the college which the government was planning to establish soon.