SC RUES PENDENCY OF APPEALS, SEEKS 'CHANGE IN MINDSET' BY HCS

The Supreme Court on Friday sought an urgent relook on the criminal justice system accepting that flaws within the system deny expeditious hearing on appeals to persons accused in petty crimes, with courts below adopting a “colonial” approach in issuing summons and denying bail to accused without understanding the reasons that force persons to commit crimes.

- Abraham Thomas

The court rued the fact that increasingly, the Supreme Court has to deal with challenge to summoning orders and denial of bail in petty crimes, that must be dealt with at the level of the trial court and high court, leaving little time for the top court to deal with matters of constitutional importance and final appeals in criminal cases.