The Malawi Judiciary’s dependability is in tatters as of December 2024, says University of Malawi (Unima) professor of law Garton Kamchedzera.
Writing on his Facebook page on Thursday, the renowned professor observed that the trustworthiness of the Judiciary has waned largely owing to judicial indiscipline, including questionable orders issued by judges.
He cited single judges in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal granting bail in high-profile cases based on reasoning, which Kamchedzera described as shrouded in shadiness.
The professor noted that the Judiciary’s reliability increased, only for a short time, during and soon after the 2020 Presidential Election case that annulled the 2019 Presidential Election.
He said: “For example, both the World Governance Index and the Rule of Law Index show associated indicators rising significantly at that time. Judicial indiscipline, however, quickly re-emerged. Certain judges issued questionable orders.”
He faulted the Judiciary and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), for being insensitive to massive allegations of corruption in the Judiciary, saying the regulator had initially been “detached, clueless, and careless”.
Kamchedzera also slammed the Executive for bowing to the wishes of the Judiciary on matters of “tenure, salaries, privilege, and status”.
The massive allegations of misconduct in the country’s Judiciary recently also drew the wrath of legal scholar Professor Mwiza Nkhata who tore into the JSC and described the much-touted Judiciary Bills as lacking.
Nkhata, who currently works for the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, Tanzania, said calls for greater transparency of JSC have been there for a long time, describing the emerging issues as a wound that has been festering and has now exploded.
Nkhata said for years, the JSC has been operating without an Act of Parliament contrary to constitutional provisions for guiding its conduct, revealing that “there is, therefore, no legislative guidance for the disciplinary operations of the JSC”.
Last week, it emerged that alleged corruption and delayed conclusion of cases dominated the 28 complaints lodged with Malawi Human Rights Commission in its judicial accountability probe.
The inquiry follows allegations made on social media by lawyer Alexious Kamangila about corruption involving judges, lawyers and the Judiciary in general.
