Attending Court

I forewent the MDG meeting last week to do what I came to Swaziland to do- go to court. I went to the High Court of Swaziland, in Mbabane. Braved the long distance Khombi ride to get there. Note to everyone as I do not think that I have been fully up-front about the Khombis. There is a group of British volunteers here and the British government has made Khombi rides off limits because of 'safety concerns.' So getting one for a half an hour trip, climbing up the mountain that Mbabane sits on, is dedication to my legal service.

The case that I sat in on involved two wee girls, 6 and 4, who were raped by a man in their town, Piggs Peak (where I went to stay in the luxurious hotel for the CRC meeting). A passionate and dedicated counselor from work was in attendance to provide translation services for the children as they were giving evidence in the child friendly closed circuit camera room off to the side of the court room. It was a little unnerving sitting 2 metres away from such a person and there were more then a few things wrong with the whole process- the defendant could not afford a lawyer and so was cross examining the girls himself. His preparation was complicated by the fact that he could not read, nor could he understand English- the language which a majority of the proceedings were conducted in.

I was very proud of the 6 year old when she was able to come out of the child friendly room and point directly at the accused. She was totally confident and looked a little bit bemused about having to do such a thing, her story and answers to the court was so unwavering and complete you couldn't really blame her.