The police had 3,061 cases pending from the previous year and another 16,111 complaints received during the year. There is no data on how many of those cases were investigated or referred to the OAG. The police received 176 reports of GBV and investigated 120 of them. All 120 investigated GBV cases were subsequently forwarded to the OAG. The data suggests that no juveniles were arrested.
The OAG received 13,516 cases and laid charges in 11,327 cases. Included in that number are 470 cases of GBV. Note that the OAG filed charges relating to GBV in a far greater number of cases than the police investigated. There is no data in how many, if any, juveniles were charged. OAG data point to a conviction rate of over 90% in Sidama. Convictions are by far the most common outcome in criminal cases. Less than 2% of criminal cases that were prosecuted by the OAG ended in an acquittal.
There were 17,291 new criminal cases filed in the RFIC and 3,229 in the RHC. Note that these numbers are considerably higher than the number of cases in which the OAG is reported to have framed charges. The balance could perhaps be made up of cases in which the police prosecuted without the involvement of the OAG. The disposal rate was very high. There was no data on convictions, however, the data shows that 1,723 (about 10%) persons were acquitted in the RFIC and 293 (9%) in the RHC. These figures differ significantly from those coming from the OAG, but again this might be because the court data includes cases prosecuted by both the OAG and the police. A total of 146 cases involving GBV and 91 juvenile cases were disposed of.
The regular courts received 24,034 new civil cases, while the Sharia courts received 488. Again the disposal rate was high at well over 90% for the regular courts and very nearly 100% in the Sharia courts. In 4,254 of the civil cases in the regular courts women were the primary complainants. This shows that most civil cases were instigated by women. There was no data on the proportion of women complainants in the Sharia courts.
The Office of the Public Defender received 496 cases and disposed of 294. In 200 of those cases the accused was a man and in 94 cases the accused person was a woman. If seen in the context of the 20,806 criminal cases that were filed in all courts, the Public Defender was able to represent accused persons in about 1.4% of cases. As there were 5 Public Defenders working in Sidama, this suggests that on average each Public Defender was able to dispose of about 59 cases in a year, or about 5 in a month.
There was no data for any other legal aid service provider which is controlled by the Sidama Region OAG.
There used to be 9 university legal aid clinics in Sidama, however, their services were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data suggest that prisons are overcrowded, with prisons operating at 319% of capacity. The data further indicate 75% of sentenced prisoners are sentenced to terms of 3 years or less, implying that they have been convicted of relatively minor offences (and in line with international guidelines, could be considered for alternative community-based sanctions). The proportion of unsentenced prisoners stands at about 21%.
The data around juveniles is inconsistent. They indicate 820 sentenced boys in total but 900 boys sentenced to less than 3 years imprisonment. However, regardless of which of these numbers are correct, the proportion of both sentenced and un-sentenced juveniles is relatively high in the Sidama prison system.
Police
Number of investigation files: data unreliable when compared with OAG case data.
OAG
AG annual report states 420 pending in total.
The OAG investigate jointly with police. Investigation files from police are not separately recorded. The 13516 represent investigation files received from police and files opened by the OAG.
AG Annual Report states there were 2869 settlements in total after charges were filed, and a further 2339 cases were closed following negotiations before charges were filed.
AG Annual Report states there were 171 aquittals in total.
Courts
The record shows number of convictions are not known. However, the number can be inferred from the data set as 12185 (number acquitted (1723) + number settled (2319) + number dismissed (450) subtracted from number disposed (16677).
Prisons
Data mismatch: the total prisoners should comprise the total on remand + total sentenced. The data provided here do not add up.
Data mismatch: 18 girls in total made up of 9 on remand + 28 sentenced (37).”
Data mismatch: prisoners on remand broken down by category total 1211 and not 1579. No explanation.
Sentenced prisoners broken down by category total 4520 and not 4094. No explanation.
Data mismatch: total number of boys in prison aged between 15-18 is given as 900. The data recorded show: 900 sentenced +290 on remand (total 1190). No explanation.
Sharia
The Supreme Court of Sharia was established in July 2013 (E.C.). No new cases were heard in 2012-2013.
Courts
Data mismatch: number of new cases civil (3779) + criminal (3229) totals 7008.
Data mismatch: cases in – cases disposed = 366 carried forward.
Data mismatch: total new cases civil (19030) + criminal (17291) total 36321.
Data mismatch: total cases in (36321) – total cases disposed (34972) = left to be carried forward into the next year (1349)