Dear judge Mbadwa,
My lord, the A-Fallmeter opinion poll results always fascinate me.
The recent one, released just a few months before Nyasaland goes to the polls, is most telling with revelations that public trust in the country’s courts is gradually eroding.
With the raging debate on whether the courts are somehow helping to derail the wheels of justice, it was no brainer that the public’s perception of the Judiciary seems to be gravitating towards the negative side.
I, therefore, found it strange that the Judges and Magistrates Association of Nyasaland (Jumanya) decided to dismiss the outcome of the perception survey.
My lord, I thought the people’s perception is just what the citizens hold to be true about something? It is the citizens’ perception really and whether it is not based on facts is neither here nor there.
Jumanya might think otherwise, but the truth of the matter is that the citizens have raised eyebrows on the way the Judiciary has conducted itself in recent times.
You can’t force people to trust you because trust is earned any way.
My lord, if your courts are as sacred as they want us to believe, they have to convince the public by ensuring that they are performing their duties at optimum to win the trust of the people.
My lord, I was also not surprised to hear that the general perception out there is that Parliament and the Executive, led by the Presidency, remain the least trusted arms of government.
I have always said, my lord, that you can trust politicians at your own peril. From the look of things, politicians are shedding off every modicum of integrity at each passing year. We are now wiser that these folks do not serve the interests of the citizens.
My lord, there is also a good reason the Nyasaland constitution established the Office of the Vice-President, but abolishing it because the people who make a sitting President a demi-god feel insecure should not be a reason for belittling that office.
My lord, just as I explained when results of another A-Fallmeter survey were released, the opinion poll should always act as a wake-up call to put one’s house in order.
Remember, it is the citizens who have the poor opinion of you that have the power to hire or fire our political leaders. Hey! Trust is earned.
Regards,
John Citizen.
