By Vicky Baunke in Goroka, EHP
Senior Provincial Magistrate for Goroka District Court, Josephine Nidue said, no officers at the court house should be collecting money from the general public.
“If anybody knows of any court officer using the commissioner of oaths stamp, stamping any court documents, statutory declarations, passports and certificates outside of the court premises, please come forward and report the matter,” Nidue said.
“I want to make it clear that the district court house is a service provider and all services are free of charge. If there are any monies to be paid then it has to be at the bank with receipt issued by the Bureau of Management Service (BMS), and brought to us”.
“It’s weird when I keep asking about the stamp and no favorable response is forthcoming”, she stressed.
No one at the district courts has the authority to stamp documents with the commissioner of oaths seal. This responsibility now lies solely with lawyers.
She also mentioned that since June when the Magisterial Service stopped all appointments for commissioners of oaths, the stamp has mysteriously disappeared.
