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A FRIENDLY WARNING TO LAWYERS

10/03/2019 08:57:00 BY SIBONGINKOSI MAMBA

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I was born here. I have lived my life here and my commitment to this beautiful Kingdom of Eswatini is deep.

And that is precisely the reason I have the best interests of this country at heart just like any other liSwati who understands the meaning of patriotism.
This morning I am prompted to interrogate the matter of black and white with lawyers.

To start with the importance of lawyers cannot be overstated. Their profession forms an integral part of our lives. There may be issues regarding saturation of the field, however, lawyers are here to stay if you like. That the corporate world has adopted them says a lot. They are not only for criminals, but for advice as well.
Their significance is further underlined by the fact that even the most hardened criminal who commits the most heinous of crimes, but cannot afford the legal costs of lawyers, the State takes over and finds a lawyer to represent that accused.

represented at OUR expense

The court of public opinion may vilify and convict such suspects, but once they are hauled before the court of law, they are represented at the taxpayer’s expense.
Their rights are upheld. That is why we had to bear the legal costs for one David Simelane, who was convicted for killing 28 women and children. Spine-chilling as it was, the tenets of justice called for Simelane’s representation. And the taxpayer had to foot that bill, no matter how long the conclusion of the matter took.

But today my gripe is not about the costs thereof, but the character of the men and women who burn the midnight oil while preparing to represent those arraigned before court. And I am not about to elucidate their code of ethics because I am not part of them. However, I am intrigued by the colours of their regalia, which is black and white. Often times, I have heard some people remark that they will not do something unless it is in black and white. And my reading to that means people want to do or not do something only when they can back their actions or inactions on something written down. In one word they require certainty. That is how powerful the statement ‘black and white’ is.

Now forget the cliché by fashion addicts that you can never go wrong with black and white. Lawyers robe in black. Why black? Black is the colour of authority and power. Black represents submission of oneself. And to the man on the street that says as soon as lawyers put on that robe, humility has to take over. They must forget the self in them and become servants to their clients. However, humble as they are, lawyers must not abdicate the authority and power with which they are entrusted.
Then there is the white. White signifies light, goodness, innocence and purity. A lawyer is the hope of justice for the common man; hence the colour white was chosen to represent him.

There are two pieces of white cloth joined to form the bands around their necks. These represent the tablets of the laws or tablets of stone. These are the tablets that according to Christian belief were used by Moses for inscribing the 10 commandments which he received from the burning bush on Mount Sinai. And that is the reason we expect our lawyers to shed the light that hangs around their necks to the rest of us. When we go to them, we bank our hopes on the fact that the white jabot incessantly talks innocence and purity to them. After all that is why some refer to their profession as a noble one. Nobility itself carries or means a privileged class. Lawyers are a class considered to be superior to the rest of society. That is why some refer to them as the only cadre of learned friends above all the other professions. This class is expected to know every trick in the book and even a few which have not been written yet. That is just how high their class is elevated.

elements of distrust

We regard and accord them that much. Actually some worship them and the ground they walk on. They are revered by many. However, it is worrying when we notice elements of distrust creeping in. It washes all the respect and reverence away like a flood. It sickens us to the depth of our very souls.

This erosion of trust came out in June 2018 when the Chief Justice of the High Court of Eswatini, Justice Bheki Maphalala disclosed that complaints against lawyers accused of embezzlement of Trust Accounts gave him a headache.
Further, the Chief Justice highlighted that it was gravely concerning that complaints by members of the public against certain attorneys remained unresolved by the Law Society of Eswatini and its Tribunal. We may not be privy to details, contents and meaning of the Legal Practitioner’s Act 1964, but we have an idea that among other things it should deal with malpractice on the part of the learned friends. And to say the discontent of the chief justice about the alleged lack of action on the part of the Law Society left a bitter taste in the mouth would be putting it mildly.

That the chief justice decided to raise his hand and eventually banned one attorney, dented the image of the lawyers. To the ordinary man on the street, the reading was that they had failed to deal with one of their own. Or were they on their way to do that but just that the messenger sent to take action was on a donkey’s back whose speed was slower than a tortoise?

innocence and purity

Like I disclosed early on, I really admire lawyers for their craft. When I watch them battle in court, a rush of adrenalin kicks in and I get overwhelmingly excited.
The spirit between and among them is that of fair play hence they exchange papers willingly which exhibits humility, innocence and purity. Even after vigorous arguments, they embrace, hug each other and laugh together. I really like them a lot.
However, with the Legal Practitioner’s Act of 1964 allegedly gathering dust in a shelf somewhere, in some building, the perception people have about them might not necessarily change, but will shift.

I must warn that the old wise men were full of wits when they observed that iron rusts from disuse. It is shameful when people allow themselves to get in a rut and never climb out. I bet the Legislature had very good and honest intentions when it passed the said Act into a law. It further entrusted the Law Society to uphold and defend this piece of legislation with their every fibre without coercion.

This they must do not to impress the powers that be, but to preserve their dignity. This will remind ordinary citizens that lawyers are servants who regard and know that they have been loaned the craft hence they handle it with the greatest care. If the teeth of the Legal Practitioner’s Act would bite, the albatross that perches itself on the neck of the very soul of the society would diminish and people would trust lawyers with everything under the sun except their souls.