SD’S CHAOTIC JUSTICE SYSTEM

EZULWINI - The judicial problems that engulf the country are caused by the country’s undemocratic political landscape.
They will never be fixed so long as the Tinkhundla system of governance is in place.

This was a sentiment shared by Pretoria-based Professor Michelo Hansungule during the Rule of Law Conference in Ezulwini yesterday.
He said this at a meeting that was attended by Majahenkhaba Dlamini, Judges Qinisile Mabuza, Mbutfo Mamba and Thomas Masuku among a host of political activists and civil society members. The professor listed about 10 reasons why the Judiciary in the country was having challenges.

He said there was lack of transparency and accountability in the processing of appointments of judges of the High Court and those of the Supreme Court.
He also decried the continued appointment of foreign citizens into the position of chief justice and judges of the Supreme Court.

“I raised the same issue in Lesotho, asking why after 30 years of independence, their judges of the Supreme Court were from South Africa? In South Africa, these judges do not hold higher positions.”
“The answer I got was that Mosothos know each other very well and know that some of the judges belong to certain political parties, therefore, the South African judges did not belong to any political party.” The professor said he wanted to know from the conference, why Swazi courts were still populated with foreign judges.

He said another source of the judicial problems was the hiring of judges on a contract basis. He said this became a problem mainly when considered in relation to the independence of the Judiciary. The issue of contracts for judicial officers becomes prominent when judges execute their duties. They cannot be said to be independent on cases involving the authorities, especially when they involved the appointing one and those who are foreign nationals. He said that was the reason some judicial officers were seen at the airport, especially on occasions when the prime minister left the country, to pay homage to him.

“We have it in many jurisdictions. Even in the United Kingdom, we have people appointed on an acting basis. Sometimes this works very well but in other countries, this system could easily be abused.”
The professor also said the judicial problems in Swaziland were also caused by the lack of a dedicated plan for gender equity in judicial appointments.
He said there was no gender plan or policy in the judiciary.

There was also lack of a dedicated plan for indigenisation of appointments, as per the constitution.
“The status, composition and mandate of the Judicial Services Commission also poses a huge challenge to the judiciary.”
He said Justice Thomas Masuku’s 2011 removal from the bench was one highlight of this glaring anomaly.
“We tried to observe the trial of Justice Masuku but we were rejected. We even tried to observe the case as judges but we were turned down again,” he said.

The professor feels that the judicial problems were also caused by the non retirement of foreign judges from the Swazi Supreme Court bench.
“Some people are resisting retirement and they always want to work. This may probably be caused by the fact that some reached retirement age without achieving certain personal goals.”

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