BY JACK BANDA
In my quest to make sense of the protest carried out by Tonse Alliance Lawyers today, I read the placards, comments on social media and listened to the speeches.
I will talk about what Mordecai Msiska said but let me point out here that, all things considered, what we saw today is a symptom of how the judiciary has degenerated over the period Justice Andrew Nyirenda has been at the helm.
What that section of lawyers displayed today is tribalism, mediocrity and politics. It is a crying shame for the judiciary.
I listened to Mordecai Msiska speak, he tried to put thought to what he was saying. At some point he even had notes he referred to.
There’s a time he spoke like a lawyer when he said, the conditions of service under which Andrew Nyirenda was employed was illegal because the constitution says retirement for a judge is at 65 years old.
It is a good argument for a lawyer in court but not in the streets. That is clumsy because, what he told us with that is that Muhara is right after all according to the conditions of service.
That aside, Mordecai Msiska tried to explain what constitution is in a philosophical way. This is where you see the confusion in the judiciary about who they are within the system and what the constitution is.
It doesn’t matter that this is the document that they use every day but once he said the constitution is not a document, it is people speaking, I had to pose a minute and think.
In my thoughts, I thought about what the Tonse Alliance lawyers were doing in the streets:
- Whose voice were they representing?
- When you say it is people speaking, which people. I am neither MCP nor UTM but I am speaking, is my voice constitution?
- Are the lawyers that marched the voice that we should take as the constitution?
- Is the voice that is telling us that Andrew Nyirenda can’t go or should not go, the constitution?
- How is refusing Andrew Nyirenda’s departure the constitution?
What I would suggest is that when Andrew Nyirenda is gone, we need to properly define the constitution for us to understand where we belong and our responsibilities.
Listening to these people:
They look at the constitution synonymous with judiciary. When we say, the constitution is the supreme law of the land, they think that they are the constitution and therefore what they say, (their voice) is Supreme.
They call it rule of law and rest of us have to ask how high, when they, as the law says, jump!!. I don’t take the constitution as the voice of the people myself, I think that is wrong and cheating people.
The constitution is law of the land, not voice. That law however gives us the permission and the space to speak freely
Are the Tonse Alliance Lawyers being paid by the public purse? If so, it is a waste of public taxes, especially when some of the individuals have no scruples.
Its amazing to see these so called educated men and women used to advance the political agenda of their friends. This is the same way jessie turned unima lecturers into with her failed hidden agenda. Our judiciary is really rotten and it stinks because its full of half baked graduates who relied on kujompha to be where they are. They can’t reason before they fall prey to their abusers. This is abuse of the highest order. Is it right to remind these mcp lawyers that this whole judicial mess was started by them? How on earth can the whole judiciary ambush our constitution? This is very shameful indeed. Our constitution has been grossly violated by the biased judgement passed on elections case. Why not did the same when the same judiciary crossed its boundaries to dictate on parliament to meet and twist the constitution to bury their judgemental errors? There is need to balance up things not only criticising one side and back up the other, this is unprofessional. Are you the only guys who are sacred and untouchable by the law. Were anastanzio and lovemore breaking the law when they went through the same process?
a dpp mulila mpaka liti kuvota tivotanso
Tivota anthu akupha inu mutaopseza majaji. Chipani chamagazi chatsankho. Ndi m’busa wanu wokuphayo ndi wokuswa mashop. Mcp sichipani koma chipembezo cha ziwanda. Nkhanza zanji zam’busa, majaji mpaka kumayenda muakasinja ati kunthawa akang’wing’wi ochakwera dala pokaweruza milandu. Ziliko kunyasaland. Ziwanamizani mabulutu amaloya anuwo omwe mukuwagwiritsa ntchito iwo asakudziwa ngati ma lecturer a unima ndi kabwira.
Why didn’t they match when chakwera and chilima offer death threats to the judges through chimwendo and kabwira respectively. These 2 guys made there threats during politcal rallies they held while the case was taking place. They warned the judiciary dare follow the truth of the matter and follow the constitution and face the brutal consequences. Where is the judicial independence here? Is this what you call democracy? These honourable men and women folded there robs and white wiggs and hide them under their pants on their office chairs. The rough of mcp cult has died down and now they have put on their attire to proof to the whole world that here in nyasaland its only dpp they can demonstrate against even on issues that are making sense because its the only political party that will respect them and their lives can’t be risked. If mcp is able to silence everyone now while not in government, what more when it comes into power? My worry is all those brave men who were not scared of this cult have gone, who else can stand against this evil cult? Viwanthu vankhanza ivi ine sin’dazione. Malawians don’t take mcp brutality for granted, its really and is there trickling in their blood, you will be scotched to death.