‘Lawyers’ professional standards must be maintained’

Mwiza Jo Nkhata, an associate professor of Law at the University of Malawi was elected president of the Malawi Law Society (MLS) at the society’s annual general meeting (AGM) held last Saturday in Mangochi. In this interview, Nkhata explains his vision to our News Analyst LUCKY MKANDAWIRE.

What inspired you to contest as MLS president?

My return to the society’s leadership was really motivated by own sense of civic duty to the profession, firstly, and to the country at large. The profession belongs to its members, first and foremost, so members must always be willing to take up leadership positions but crucially, the society owes the larger public several key responsibilities which necessarily requires that the society must constantly choose from among its midst individuals who can help it fulfill its broader societal obligations. I am hoping that the leadership I will provide to the society will assist it in fulfilling its broader obligations to the Malawian population.

What will be your immediate task as MLS president?

I would rather speak of the several tasks that are before me and the executive committee that has been elected to serve the society for the next 12 months. The tasks are, roughly put, summarised in what I called the five-point plan during the annual general meeting (AGM). Overall, I am hoping our committee can preside over a professional and disciplined cadre of practitioners who remain mindful of all their ethical obligations.

Could you briefly explain about the five-point plan?

My five-point plan actually builds on the aspirations that the Malawi Law Society already captured in its strategic plan. It must be recalled that a chairperson of the society serves for a period of about 12 months only, unless one decides to renew his/her mandate. Considering that there are many issues that normally fall within the mandate of the society, I believe it is important to try and be focussed , in order to make progress on some of the key issues that affect the legal profession in the country. To this end I am hoping to provide a leadership that will focus not the following five areas:

•  Paying constant attention to the key welfare issues that affect lawyers and their work. Key here, I believe, would be engaging in robust consultations with various stakeholders to ensure that the conditions for practising the law remain optimal. This could include, among other things, ensuring that the society arranges regular continuing professional development seminars for lawyers and also ensuring that the hourly rates for the remuneration of lawyers are in line with the prevailing living conditions in the country. I strongly believe that if many of the welfare issues are attended to lawyers may also be more inclined to conduct themselves in line with their professional standards and ethics.
•  Improving the relationship between the MLS, the Judiciary and the public at large. I am mindful that lawyers are not the only stakeholder in the work that the judiciary undertakes. As a matter of fact, the entire population in Malawi is a key stakeholder in the work that the Judiciary discharges. Nevertheless, lawyers are a crucial component in the work that the Judiciary undertakes. My view is that there are many clogs in the administration of justice in the country and some of them can be resolved simply by utilising more meaningful avenue for engagement between the various stakeholders in the judicial system. I pledge, therefore, to continue engaging with the Chief Justice and other relevant offices so as to work towards eliminating the fetters in the administration of justice.
•  The society has key governance roles to play in this country. As a matter of fact, the society’s history establishes a distinguished pedigree in terms of the governance interventions that the Society has undertaken. My pledge is to keep the Society as a proactive actor in the various governance issues that affect this country.
•  The society has a duty to maintain disciplinary oversight over its members. It is important for members of the public to understand how the disciplinary structures under the current law operate. Briefly, the society must work together with the Solicitor General, the Attorney General and even the Chief Justice to ensure that the full disciplinary provisions provided for under law are put into effect. I have promised to provide a leadership that will enable the society do its part in terms of ensuring that professional standards are maintained. This, as I have intimated, I cannot do alone or simply with my executive committee. I will, therefore, also be relying on the other offices legally mandated to help with this oversight function to ensure that we fulfill our legal mandate.
•  I also wish to see the Society grow as an institution. To this end we are hoping we can identify resources that we can invest into the development of the capacity of our secretariat.

Of late, the legal fraternity has been dogged by misconduct by some lawyers. What will you do on this to preserve that image of the profession in the country?

Like in many other professions, it is not strange to find some professionals who may have failed to act in line with their professional ethics and standards. Professional misconduct, therefore, is not exclusively a lawyer’s preserve. Indeed, acts of professional misconduct tend to taint any profession badly. In the case of the legal profession, as I suggested earlier, the MLS must keep working with other mandate holders to ensure that professional misconduct is minimised and where allegations of misconduct are laid against lawyers, the same are dealt with in the manner permitted by law.

There has also been a concern on delays to conclude disciplinary processes instituted against some errant lawyers, what will you do on this?

Well, I would rather respond to specific concerns about delayed disciplinary processes. So I hesitate to make general comments. Other than that, I think it is acutely important to note that because the disciplinary processes involve various stakeholders delay in the process should not necessarily be equated to the society not doing anything about disciplinary matters.

Some people accuse MLS of deliberately delaying to conclude disciplinary cases because as lawyers you would want to defend each other, what would you say to that?

I gravely doubt if this is correct. Let me just reiterate that the secretariat’s office in Delamere House remains open to receive complaints from the public in relation to all manner of professional misconduct against lawyers and we will do our best to assist anyone who lodges a complaint with us.

What is your last word?

I will try to serve the MLS to the best of my abilities, and I hope in the process, I will also continue serving my country. As citizens there are many roles in which we can serve our country, we should all be willing to put in our shifts from our various placements. n