Lawyers’ demos set for Thursday
Lawyers in the country are set to leave their offices and courtroom settings to protest in the streets on Thursday.
The demonstrations are aimed at forcing the Ministry of Justice to publish and table in Parliament three Judicial Reform Bills.
The protests will be held in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, according to a notice issued by the Malawi Law Society (MLS) on Friday to its members.
Initially, the society’s extra-ordinary general meeting on August 26 2024 resolved to hold the demonstrations tomorrow.
However, the date was shifted after Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice Alison M’bang’ombe advised that the ministry already submitted the Bills to Cabinet for approval.
He also told MLS that Cabinet can only be convened to look at the Bills once President Lazarus Chakwera returns from his trip in China.
“In view of this development, the executive committee met and resolved to shift the demonstrations to Thursday, September 12 2024 to allow for the Cabinet process.
“It is hoped that in the interim, significant steps will be taken by the executive branch of government to have the Bills introduced in Parliament and, further, abridge the time period necessary for giving notice pursuant to the enactment of the said Bills,” reads the notice to the members.
The notice says having debated on the progress of the Bills, a majority 73 percent of MLS members at the meeting passed a resolution to hold the protests to compel the ministry to publish the Bills.
“The Malawi Law Society resolution was sent to the Ministry of Justice through the Solicitor General on August 29 2024. It was also sent to the Judiciary on the same day,” reads the notice.
The legal practitioners want to hold the Executive accountable due to continued delays to take to Parliament the Judicial Service Administration (JSA) Bill 2024, the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Members resolved that the society should present a petition to the Minister of Justice during the demonstrations for the Executive to introduce the Bills for debate in the current sitting of the National Assembly.
It was also resolved that MLS should consider promulgating and introducing the Judicial Service and Administration Bill, 2024 in the National Assembly through a member of Parliament as Private Members Bill.
In its letter to the Solicitor General dated September 6 2024, MLS advised the ministry that in view of the fact that Cabinet is yet to convene to discuss and approve the said Bills, it advised its members to shift the demonstrations to Thursday to allow Cabinet to discuss and approve the said Bills, hoping that a lasting solution will be found for the Judiciary Bills to be published and introduced in Parliament.
“Please be advised that the society is bound by the resolution of its extraordinary general meeting to proceed with the demonstrations. It is, however, our hope that there will be significant movement with respect to the Judiciary Bills, in the interim period, which will lead to the introduction and passing of the Bills during the September 2024 sitting of Parliament,” reads the letter.
Among others, the JSA Bill has provisions to promote transparency and accountability in the appointment, execution of duties, transfer, discipline and removal of judicial officers and funding of the JSC without interfering with the constitutionally entrenched independence of the Judiciary.
The last time Malawian lawyers took to the streets in major cities across the country was in June 2020 when they protested what they called government interference in the Judiciary following the courts’ move to nullify the May 2019 elections.
The demonstrations were in reaction to former president Peter Mutharika’s decision to place then Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda on forced leave pending retirement as the country geared up for a hotly contested election rerun.
The proposal to hold demonstrations first surfaced in May this year after the MLS revived its advocacy initiatives to ensure the draft Bills are introduced in Parliament. That time the target was to have the Bills tabled in Parliament during the July 2024 sitting.
The advocacy initiatives started on May 6 2024 in Lilongwe and the society and the MLS-Judicial Service Commission Bill (MLS-JSC) Advisory Team have met representatives of civil society organisations and selected lawyers from MLS Southern and Central region chapters.
Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale said the ministry is commmitted to take the Bills to Parliament once all relevant processes have been completed.
