JUSTICE delayed is justice denied and this is real for most Zambians incarcerated in various prisons awaiting trial or judgement, ex-prisoner Valley Chaholoka has complained.
Ms Chaholoka in a walk-in interview told the The Sun that continued delays in disposing off cases of incarcerated suspects are a worrying development which should be looked into urgently for the sake of justice
She complained that though she was kept in prison for seven months for forgery, she later released after she was subsequently found not guilty.
She said there was need for Judges and magistrates to expedite case rulings instead of letting suspects rot in prisons.
Ms Chaholoka said in 2016 she was accused of obtaining money by false pretences when in fact she was innocent and was locked up in prison for seven months..
“Judges and magistrates should ensure that they just adjourn the case twice thereafter make a ruling because it is wrong to keep a person in prison without being found guilty,” Ms Chaholoka said.
She appealed to Judges and magistrates to look into the matter of delaying cases as quickly as possible because many people were being subjected to punishment when they were innocent.