BOOZE LOVE LENIENCY?

Sir,

I can’t believe what I have read in the papers on Monday; this fandangle leniency for ‘booze love’ is actually incredible! A senior magistrate who for whatever reason grants leniency to drink-driving offenders and also informs them how fortunate they are the courts avail themselves on Saturdays and Sundays to ensure their freedom.

This despite, according to the magistrate, government possibly losing money on the expense of putting offenders through the system; the magistrate says this is a kind gesture from government. A kind gesture? How many drink-drivers genuinely warrant any kind of kind gesture considering the nature of these offences and the high possibility of endangerment, serious damage and in the saddest cases, even fatalities?

Is our government so flush with funds to allow these kind gestures; just ask the guys who completed the government census at the end of April and are still waiting to be paid? Exactly where is the benefit for government affording expenses related to drink-driving offences - perhaps a ridiculous boost to the tourist industry?  

There was an article in one of the newspapers recently where the national commissioner of police felt it was high time offenders received jail time for drink-driving offences as this leniency is not bringing the number of cases down? Week in and week out drink-driving offenders increase yet the fines stay manageable and no one fears the wrath of the court.

Week in week out I read about those presiding in court making their pointless sweeping statements; next time woe betide your licence will be cut in half; warnings of higher fines.

Drink-drivers should appreciate that within the SADC region Swaziland is the only country where courts make an effort to ensure offenders were freed before Monday, this from Monday’s lenient Manzini magistrate? Is this something for the nation to be proud of, giving drink-driving offenders an easy time?

From the article I read on Monday morning and the comments from this magistrate it would appear that leniency with drink-driving offenders is a good sell for visiting tourists, even police officers who like to partake in one or two. I wonder how the nation’s figures compare with other SADC countries’ drink-driving statistics.

Officers of the court here seem to believe that leniency is the way forward to improving the awful drink-driving statistics in the kingdom. Good luck with the leniency school of thought, I’m sorry for not being able to swallow your wisdom; it makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

DDersParadise2022.com

   

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