LAW SOCIETY ROPES IN JUSTICE MINISTER ON COMPLAINTS AGAINST CJ

MBABANE – Amid an overwhelming national outcry that the country’s judicial system is in tatters – and the blame solely resting on the chief justice – the Law Society og Swaziland (LSS) has subsequently roped in Pholile Shakantu, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, to deal with their complaints against the head of the Judiciary.

This follows that the Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala, has so far, not entertained the society’s requests to meet him. The LSS met with the minister a week ago where they discussed issues on administration of justice in Eswatini. Secretary General of the Law Society, Charity Simelane, confirmed to the Times that they, together with council, indeed had an audience with the minister. Simelane had been queried on the outcome of that meeting and that if nothing had come out, what was the next step.

Meeting

According to Simelane, three issues were discussed at the meeting and these were the complaints against the CJ, the administration of justice and rule of law and the role that the Law Society could play in matters of the law in the country and the law profession’s participation in broader issues. “The engagement with the minister was constructive,” Simelane related, pointing out that they had subsequently requested to meet the CJ who had, however, not responded positively. This reporter called the CJ several times on Saturday and his mobile phone rang unanswered. A WhatsApp message was also sent to his phone where his comment on the issues in question was being sought. He was called again yesterday and his phone was in a ‘busy mode’.

Meanwhile, Simelane said: “There has been no engagement thus far, as he (CJ) has been unavailable.” The Executive Council of the Law Society met with the chief justice briefly last year, with a view to engage more deeper on substantive issues affecting the administration of justice, Rule of Law and the dispensation of justice to the citizenry of Eswatini. This was preceded by numerous efforts to have an audience with the CJ as stakeholders on a more meaningful discussion to, among other things, engage on issues believed to be substantive and of paramount importance in the administration of justice, which the council and the membership felt were the root cause of the current judicial crises.

In a statement to the membership, the Law Society noted that it was better for them to engage privately, candidly and meaningfully, rather than resorting to the annual ‘mudslinging match’ at the annual opening of the High Court, being the only opportunity for engagement, which in their view, was undignified for all concerned and unnecessary. “Instead, what should be happening at the annual opening of the High Court is a setting of new milestones for the future, taking stock of achievements obtained, celebrating their respective achievements, goals and contributions towards the administration of justice and the rule of law,” the Law Society said.

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