CHISHALA MUSONDA
Livingstone
CHIEF Justice Mumba Malila has assured of fair dispensation of justice even as the country approaches the August 13 general election.
Dr Malila has also advised Zambians against unwarranted attacks on the Judiciary because unfounded accusations have undesirable effects on the judges’ justice responsibilities.
He said it is important for Zambians to maintain their confidence in the Judiciary because it means well, and it is not made up of politicians.
“We are all apolitical,” Dr Malila told a media briefing here yesterday on the sidelines of this year’s bar-bench conference.
“We mean very well, we mean to dispense justice, and we hope that the disputes that will arise in the run-up to the general election will be resolved quickly,” he said.
“And those that will arise after elections will equally be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Dr Malila is unhappy about unjustified attacks and unsolicited accusations against the Judiciary, especially when there is no evidence.
He said baseless accusations are disturbing to judges, who may recoil into self-censoring rather than interpreting facts and the law on matters before them.
“When they begin to selfcensor, it is justice that gets compromised in the process.
“So they fear reprisals, they fear that people will act in a certain way rather than interpret the facts and the law before them,” Dr Malila said.
Earlier, during the opening of the bar-bench conference, the chief justice said the period of
passive citizenship is long gone and criticism is not necessarily a bad thing.
“It should serve as a vital tool for appraising performance, detecting areas of improvement and nurturing growth,” he said.
“When it is positive, criticism can provide actionable feedback that enables the criticised to learn, grow and improve.”
The real problem, Dr Malila said, lies in criticism that is groundless, speculative, personalised and vain, designed to strike at the heart of the independence of judges or the court.
And Law Association of Zambia president Lungisani Zulu said when justice is strong, democracy stands taller and when the courts are trusted, the nation breathes easier.
“The bar and the bench are not opposing camps in a permanent contest of institutional ego. They are two arms of the same constitutional callings,” Mr Zulu said.
Meanwhile, Dr Malila urged lawyers-turned politicians to always speak the truth.
“Lawyers who are also politicians are in a very precarious position…they want to speak as politicians and they also want to speak as lawyers at the same time,” he said.
“My advice to them is that they are duty to the law, they are court officers in the first place, they are duty to the court.”
Dr Malila added: “So, as they speak, they should also remember that they must be truthful to the rule of law, they must be truthful to justice.”…https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
