Maravi

Archbishop Mpundu defends criticism of judiciary

Archbishop Mpundu defends criticism of judiciary
By Ernest Chanda
Wed 29 Sep. 2010, 04:02 CAT

LUSAKA Catholic diocese Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu has defended public criticism of the judiciary.

In an interview, Archbishop Mpundu said just like any other public institution, the judiciary was not immune to criticism. He said judicial officers were not angels who should not be expected to make mistakes, but that they were human beings vulnerable to corruption.

“The judiciary’s over-sensitiveness to public criticism is indeed very unfortunate. The executive, which is the most visible among the wings of government, is criticised and Parliament is also criticised; the media both private and public are criticised, Civil Society is criticised, NGOs are criticised, the Church is criticised and, in the case of the Catholic Church even maligned,” Archbishop Mpundu explained.

“Nurses and doctors make mistakes and sometimes at the cost to life. Why should the judicature be the only exception and sacred cow that can do no wrong? Judicial officers are ordinary mortals like the rest of us, not angels walking on earth immune to bribery, corruption and pressure from the almighty executive wing of government. The bottom line is the stark truth that the judiciary is not infallible and, therefore, it ought to and must also be criticised just like any other group of people.”

Archbishop Mpundu contended that the judiciary had in the recent past delivered controversial rulings that had lowered its image. He said where the judiciary was independent, no one would be stopped from appealing against certain cases or judgments.

“In this country’s history, especially the recent past, some of the rulings of the judicature have not enhanced the image of this learned institution as an independent part of government. This nation has witnessed the abuse of our judicial system by successive administrations without exception to punish real or perceived political adversaries,” he said.

“When and if the judiciary loses or is deliberately deprived by the executive branch of government of its ability to make independent judgments, then a situation arises whereby some animals become less equal than others. Inevitably the majority of the people who are poor and worthless, don’t have justice done to them. It is therefore extremely important that all citizens and non-citizens resident in our country be equal before the law of our land. Nobody should be considered guilty until proved so by the courts of law. In the same vein, no one individual or group, including the people of Zambia, should be prevented by the executive from appealing to a higher court if they have reason to believe justice has not been done to them by a subordinate court.”

Archbishop Mpundu said although some of the criticism could be from ignorant people, their views should still be respected.

“Admittedly, quite a good deal of criticism is from ignorance but citizens should and must have a right to air their opinion about the performance of a branch of government that is meant to serve them. Is it not high time we revisited the laws governing ‘contempt of court’, that shield the judicature from legitimate criticism?” he asked.

Asked about the real cause of government interference in the judiciary, Archbishop Mpundu cited serious flaws in the Republican Constitution. He contended that the executive had taken advantage of constitutional flaws to interfere with the operations of the judiciary.

“The recent controversial judgments of the judicature, in my opinion, are not entirely the fault of judicial officers. It is true that some judicial officers have defied all odds including executive pressure and given fair and right judgments, some of them landmark. The fault, however, lies squarely on the Constitution which does not make for an adequate and clear separation of powers and vests excessive power into the hands of one person - the President,” he reasoned.

“Nature abhors a vacuum. In the Second Republic, the ruling party UNIP was supreme, the legislature was a mere rubberstamp of the almighty Central Committee with its Cabinet. Consequently the judiciary had no option but to adjudicate according to the laws enacted by a rubberstamp Parliament.

“The executive wing of government, which is the most powerful in successive constitutions, has taken advantage of the lacuna which still exists in the present and the NCC Draft Constitution on a clear and adequate separation of powers but endows the person of the President with excessive power to bully the other branches of government with impunity.”

Archbishop Mpundu argued that most of the judicial officers allowed themselves to be compromised because of insecurity.

“Judicial officers in the constitutional chairs of the Chief Justice, judges, Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, for instance, should enjoy not only autonomy in their discharge of duties but also security of tenure of the office. Some of us were around when justice Skinner was hounded not only out of office but also escorted by cadres to the airport and out of the country for making a ruling that was unpalatable to the political powers-that-be of the day. Which judicial officer wants to have his or her career end in such ignominy?” asked Archbishop Mpundu.

Labels: JUDICIARY, TELESPHORE MPUNDU

posted by MrK @ 10:09 AM