LAZ at crossroads

Fri, 05 May 2017 11:21:31 +0000

INDEED members of the Law Association of Zambia, now assembled in Livingstone to chart a new chapter for their august organization, are collectively and unquestionably the legal compass of Zambia.

Lawyers around the world and in history, have been regarded as the storehouses of wisdom and are known to have stepped up to offer advice that saved their people each time their communities or nations were faced with challenges of immense governance proportions.

The same should apply to our own men and women of valour now meeting in the tourist capital at their annual general meeting.

The wrangles enveloping the current Linda Kasonde-led executive do nothing to give credence and confidence to the LAZ leadership which incidentally survived a vote of no confidence by the skin of their teeth a few days ago.

As one of their eminent members put it yesterday, a house divided against itself cannot stand.

In our honest endeavour to pursue justice and equity with integrity, we urge the current LAZ executive to listen to the many voices of reason, wisdom and patriotism at their meeting in Livingstone and turn a new page to address the short  but chequered history of their organization since the last two LAZ executive committees were ushered into office.

It will not help LAZ or the country at large to dismiss the rising wave of internal anger and discontent as the work of the ruling Patriotic Front to undermine the organization and replace it with stooges aligned to the ruling political elite.

Every revolution starts from somewhere – it could be from the ruling class or from without. Left unattended, it soon grows into a movement and no-one, not even Madam Linda Kasonde, can stop it.

There are legitimate issues being raised by the members who appear to be opposed to Ms Kasonde. They question the unilateral decisions or lack of consultation characterising the governance of LAZ. They marvel at the obvious bias towards certain members of LAZ who are either selectively chosen to handle certain juicy cases on behalf of LAZ or are themselves awarded the privilege to be defended by the organization when they are brought before the courts.

Any member who questions these unsavoury and suspicious decisions is categorised as a rebel and cadre of the ruling political party bent on embarrassing the LAZ leadership.

 This is what led to the recent incident when some members of LAZ sponsored a motion of no confidence against the present LAZ leadership. It had to take the clout of senior members of LAZ to persuade the disgruntled members to withdraw the motion which was about to be put to a vote.

We urge Madam Kasonde and her executive to heed the advice of Muchinga Member of Parliament and chairperson of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee Howard Kunda that LAZ must not be seen to be partisan but stand firm to uphold the values, integrity and honour of what Zambia stands for.

Mr Kunda says to do this LAZ must aspire to be the moral campus of the nation and defender of truth. He quotes his late father, State Counsel George Kunda, who was fond of saying: ‘‘Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.’’

If indeed the problems in LAZ are as a result of lack of knowledge and wisdom, it is most unfortunate. And if there are lawyers with knowledge but have no integrity, the profession is doomed.

That is why we call on the historic AGM in Livingstone, which paralysed the judicial system in the country this week to allow all its members to attend, to decide which way LAZ must go from here. The cross-roads is tomorrow when LAZ elects a new executive.

Surely, we cannot afford a situation where the cartel will decide for all the lawyers in Zambia.