Results of an Afrobarometer survey on Malawians’ perception of the Judiciary, rule of law and the Office of the Vice-President have shown declining public trust in courts dropping to 63 percent.
But despite the dip, the Judiciary has the highest level of public trust among the three arms of government at 38 percent followed by Parliament at 26 percent and the Executive, led by the President, trails third with 17 percent.
The findings, presented by University of Malawi (Unima) Centre for Social Research (CSR) director Joseph Chunga at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe yesterday, show that public trust in the courts dropped to 63 percent under the Tonse Alliance administration from 81percent in 2012 during the Bingu wa Mutharika administration.
He said: “While we may be concerned about the courts, we should also be worried about the other two arms of government, as their trust levels are even lower.”
Further, the survey found that trust in the Judiciary was at its lowest ebb in 1999 during the reign of Bakili Muluzi and United Democratic Front (UDF) at 48 percent. However, the confidence levels rose to 78 percent in 2005 under Bingu before dipping to 59 percent in 2017 under Peter Mutharika of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but slightly increased to 66 percent by 2019 under the same administration.
Chunga said the survey was conducted in August this year and interviewed 1 200 respondents.
The survey also reveals that four out of 10 people believe judges and magistrates often decide cases based on political influence while 30 percent of the respondents suspect that judges and magistrates are involved in corrupt practices.
In an instant reaction to the findings at the venue, Magistrates and Judges Association of Malawi (Majam) secretary general Peter Kandulu dismissed the outcome as “an absolute lie”, saying there are established channels for seeking justice through appeals if individuals feel aggrieved by court decisions.
He said: “When a matter comes before a judge or magistrate, they base their decisions on the facts and the law. If a determination in the court of law is perceived to be influenced by public, social or political factors, one can appeal.”
On the Office of the Vice-President, 67 percent of participants opposed giving the President the power to appoint or remove the Vice-President while 77 percent supported abolition of the office altogether.
According to the findings, 76 percent of DPP supporters, 81percent of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) supporters, 54 percent of UDF supporters and 80 percent of UTM Party supporters agreed with the suggestions.
Commenting on the proposals to abolish the Veep’s office, a representative of the Political Science Association, Clemence Alfazema, said the lack of organisation within political parties and the tendency to choose a Veep from a different party contribute to suspicions between the President and the Vice-President.
“There is a gap that we haven’t seriously addressed. When we have the office of the Vice-President, we want to ensure there is no gap in leadership if the President dies or is incapacitated, beyond just delegating duties,” he said.
On his part, researcher Professor Maxton Tsoka added that views on these suggestions have remained consistent over time, as history shows that no VP has worked well since 1999.
Weighing in on the issue, Chunga stressed the importance of context in the ongoing debate about abolishing the Office of the Veep, saying the recurring suggestions to eliminate the position stem from public concerns that need to be addressed.
Regarding equality under the law, the survey findings reveal that more than half of Malawians feel that officials who commit crimes go unpunished while 64 percent believe that punishments for political leaders, government officials, and other powerful individuals are too lenient.
Additionally, 53 percent of respondents think that ordinary people receive harsher punishments compared to officials.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African nonpartisan research network that has provided reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance and quality of life since 1999. In Malawi, it works with Unima’s CSC.
