By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:King Mswati’s alleged deliberate delay in appointing the Judicial Service Commission(JSC) has compromised the operations of the courts, some Offices of the Master of the High Court are grounded while Magistrate Courts are struggling with a backlog of cases.

Speaking to this Swaziland News, a bank employee said, she “has been struggling to secure a Peace Binding order at the Manzini Magistrate Court” for over a year now.

“After the endless postponements, I was then told that Magistrate Lokotfwako’s contract has expired.This delay affected me because at work they are now questioning why every month I must be in court”, said the banker who cannot be named for ethical reasons.

It has been disclosed that,almost all the Magistrate Courts across the country including Mbabane,Big-Bend, Simunye and Pigg’s Peak among others continue to face the backlog of cases.

Responding to this Swaziland News earlier, King’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane said announcing the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) “is a process,”adding that,he was not sure when the announcement would be made.

“Our experience is that there is no calendar date for the appointments in question and that to pool such a team is a process and not an occasion.It would,therefore,be difficult to figure out when the announcement will be made.We believe stakeholders too,would rather have it done right for many weeks than rushed to meet a deadline half-heatedly”, said the King’s Spokesperson.

But sources told this publication that, the delay “was triggered by an ongoing plot to remove Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala” the King is alleged to be considering whether to remove him or not.

Efforts to reach Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.

But human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi confirmed that, Magistrate Courts are facing a backlog of cases, he described the delay in the appointment of the JSC as illegal.

“It is illegal for the Judiciary to function without the Judicial Service Commission because as the situation stands,the permanent Judges and Magistrates are facing a backlog of cases and this, is compromising the quality of the judgements. These Acting Judges and Magistrates some who are sitting at home now, were assisting in handling other cases to avoid the backlog”, said the lawyer when responding to this publication.

The delay in the appointment of the JSC that is responsible for the employment of Judges, Magistrates and other judicial officers, has also affected the Small Claims Courts and Master of the High Court Offices.

Mswati is currently in seclusion as part of the ongoing Incwala ritual ceremony.