Maravi

Judiciary should be dissolved - Mpundu

Judiciary should be dissolved - Mpundu
By Ernest Chanda
Fri 08 June 2012, 13:25 CAT

LUSAKA Catholic Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu says the Judiciary should be dissolved if it continues to resist reforms. And Archbishop Mpundu has implored Zambians to keep checking on the PF government so that it does not sleep. Archbishop Mpundu said the Judiciary was not a sacred cow that should be left untouched when it made mistakes.

"If there's nothing else that can be done, if there's too much resistance from judicial officers; they are finding every way of blocking what should be a smooth process of reform, then we have no option but to resort to this extreme measure for the good of this country, for the good of the people," Archbishop Mpundu said in an interview yesterday.

"They did that in Kenya because there was no other way to go about it. If you are trying to reason with people; there are provisions within the Constitution that say now, look, if judicial officers as a body will not do XYZ, then another wing of government, in this case the Executive is entitled to do XYZ. So, I hope it doesn't come to that dissolution, but if we must come to that, then let it be."

Archbishop Mpundu said where people did not receive justice, there was a risk of society rising against the system.

"Part of the reason why the Mafia was formed came out of frustrations from not only judicial officers, but also with the police who were conniving with judicial officers to oppress ordinary people. Those who had money, they could buy the police, they could even buy the judges, and so on and so forth," he said.

"So, people said we want justice, we will get it ourselves; we're not going to the courts. And that is a bad thing. Now in a community like ours, the Zambian nation says we are not satisfied with what we're seeing; let us reform the Judiciary, I think it is their right. Why should they be a sacred cow that is not accountable to anyone? Look at what the Constitution says; if the Judiciary within itself is not able to regulate itself, to check itself then another branch of government must come in."

Archbishop Mpundu said there was nothing irregular about public demand for judicial reforms and their subsequent implementation.

Archbishop Mpundu said it was surprising to see so much resistance from the Judiciary which also depended on tax payer's money for survival.

"Why is the Judiciary trying to prevent its being made accountable? What do they have to fear if they are above board? There's nothing to fear. But if there's something that has been going on, then they have a reason to be afraid. If judicial officers are untouchable, if Executive officers say they are untouchable, if Parliament says no we are going to be here till Kingdom come, then there's something wrong with that particular government," he said.

Archbishop Mpundu said since people had been complaining about judicial officers' conduct and some of the rulings that had been handed down; time had come to reform the institution.

"Isn't it time now to look at ourselves and say let's go ahead and reform the Judiciary for their own good, for their own credibility? When the worse comes to the worst, where do we run to? We run to the courts to dispense justice, where people can go and they are treated equally before the law; because it is these people who are there to interpret the laws," Archbishop Mpundu said.

"But if there's no confidence left in the judicial officers and in the judicial system, then what we go to is what? It's lawlessness because people will take the law in their own hands. If they have no more confidence and trust in judges, in magistrates then people don't go there for adjudication; they do it themselves."

And Archbishop Mpundu challenged Zambians to make the government accountable.

"We should never as a nation be complacent; every time we have to take those who are serving us to task, to accountability. We have to challenge them every time. This is our right; they are accountable to us. So, the perception that once a certain political party goes into power they are beyond criticism; they are accountable to nobody, no! They are accountable to us on a day to day basis, so we shouldn't relax," said Archbishop Mpundu.

"We can't wait until something comes out of a fruit. You have to sometimes squeeze it until you get the juice you want. So we are more so as people, a check and balance to the performance of the three wings of government. So, we are the people of Zambia; it is our government and it is our country. We should be free at any time, and, in fact, there should be a time when people must be engaged by the highest authority in assessing their performance; and a deliberate effort made to do that kind of interaction. We should do that sometimes where people are selected to appear on TV and question our leaders."

Labels: JUDICIARY, TELESPHORE MPUNDU

posted by MrK @ 2:10 PM