TODAY'S LETTERS

Sun, 04 Dec 2016 12:02:19 +0000

Trouble at the High Court bench

Dear Editor,

Nerves of steel could soon be a prerequisite left for Lusaka Central PF member of parliament Margaret Mwanakatwe.

And that is due to Judge Mwiinde Siavwapa’s refusal to grant her a stay of execution, because doing so, in his view, would be an attempt on his part to prevent the Speaker of the National Assembly and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) from performing their duties which would be an illegality.

Presumably, this judgement renders the Lusaka Central PF

member of parliament’s appeal to the Constitutional Court meaningless and purely academic (“Judge Siavwapa refuses Mwanakatwe a stay”, Daily Nation, December 3, 2016).

Strange as it may appear, Ndola High Court judge Edward Musona in a similar matter granted Professor Nkandu Luo a stay of execution pending determination by the Supreme Court and she has since returned to parliament and resumed her duties as Munali PF Member of Parliament.

With due respect, let’s be honest about things, the state of the judiciary cannot be divorced from the state of society.

Judges are picked from people who live and function within it. So, if the

society has a deficit of morals and ethics based on ethnicity, do you seriously expect the entire judiciary to be clean?

But what is the way out for Margaret Mwanakatwe? For now, the only option is to lodge a formal complaint against the judge at the Judicial Complaints Authority (JCA).

Interestingly, the fate of Judge Mwiinde Siavwapa – and the entire matter – could go in one of two directions.

If he is found guilty of the allegations made by the Lusaka Central PF member of parliament, the JCA would have no choice but to recommend his dismissal from the bench and a criminal prosecution for attempting to pervert the course of justice – in clear contravention of his judicial oath. But should

the judge be found innocent of the charges, it would mean Margaret Mwanakatwe, who would have made her grave allegations against the judge in a sworn, court affidavit, would certainly be prosecuted for perjury which is punishable by a jail term.

So, regardless of the direction in which the winds of fortune blow, no one would emerge smelling of roses.

All in all, of the three arms of Zambia’s government, the judiciary was the sole branch that commanded a modicum of respect from the country’s skeptical population, which has, with very good reason, little faith in the integrity and efficacy of its public institutions.

But whatever respect the public had for the enforcers of the law has certainly been diminished by the ongoing Lusaka Central constituency election petition controversy that continues to stain the reputation of judges and puts into serious doubt the ability of the country’s JCA to effectively police the conduct of those sworn to uphold justice.

By all accounts, there is trouble at the High Court bench.

Mubanga Luchembe,

LUSAKA

Now that the truth is known

Dear Editor,

Now that the truth is known that at least six judges are allegedly working with a named opposition party to undermine or even bring down President Edgar Lungu’s government, as claimed by a consortium of opposition political parties; is there any hope for impartiality in Zambia’s judiciary in our lifetime?

One can’t close one’s eyes and ears to what the UPND president Hakainde Hichilema once opined in public and has been seeking to do in courts after failing to win the August 11 general elections (“We’ll expose you, parties tell judges”, Daily Nation, December 2, 2016).

No one should easily forget, either, the involvement of the Law

Association of Zambia (LAZ)’s top honchos in campaigning for regime change in Zambia prior to the August 11 polls.

But what is happening in the judiciary is most unfortunate and most embarrassing. The judiciary is however a part of the Zambian polity.

It is therefore naturally reflecting the general ethnic and moral decay that has unfortunately permeated the entire system for some time now.

Presumably, what happens in the judiciary raises more dust and poses more danger because the judiciary is supposed to be the citadel of rectitude and the bastion of law and order.

The last hope for a nation-state melts away when ethnicity and politics also engulf the very core of law interpretation and enforcement.

Needless to say, an efficient and incorruptible judiciary will

guarantee a vibrant, just and egalitarian society.

On the other hand, a crooked, ethnic-tainted and inefficient judiciary will promote disunity, insecurity, anarchy and strife in the polity.

However, the expected naming and shaming of the suspected six judges by the consortium of opposition political parties, does not mean that members of the general public shall sit helplessly with their chin in hand.

The Zambia developmental project is far too important for them to resign themselves to utter helplessness.

They must be resolved to confront the governance system proactively. They must be resolved to confront any form of ethnicity and lawlessness be it executive, judicial or legislative.

All in all, there is no question that the way and manner in which the UPND election petitions have been handled by some crooked and ethnic-tainted judges is doing tremendous damage to the judiciary’s reputation. So, what happens next? Watch Zambia’s judicial space and time will tell.

ML, LUSAKA

Politicians and

parastatal companies must work together

Dear Editor,

I would like to appeal to politicians at all levels to work together with parastatal companies and service providers such as ZESCO and Kafubu Water and Sewerage Company.

Attacking and threatening managements in the media is not healthy at all.

Politicians such as members of parliament and councillors are better placed to even summon heads of organization to explain for example why water supply is erratic in a particular area.

Going on radio or TV station to tell off managers should be avoided.

Why can’t you just call or drive to the company and grill them without the media knowing.

Only ordinary citizens like us who have no access to certain offices may use the media to send the message across.

I believe that only the president has that power to do that using the media as he enjoys that power.

Timothy Kambilima