It was sad to hear Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku lamenting over the poor performance of judges that are deployed in the judicial system. It boggles the mind to note that a full judge is kept on the bench for deciding just two cases throughout 2014. This level of incompetence is shocking and unimaginable in a country that leads Africa in terms of education.
Is it worth keeping such personalities in our judiciary service? This type of conduct amounts to gross violation of human rights because every citizen, as defined by the constitution, has the right to timeous fair justice, bearing in mind that justice delayed is justice denied. Therefore, these ‘dead’ judges are suitable candidates for possible relief of duty as they cannot meet the primary objectives of their appointments.
The obvious sure case is that, the generality of the public is now skeptical over the subsequent fate of the whole judiciary system if such judges are left to continue serving in that capacity.
Chief Justice Chidyausiku deserves applause for working flat-out to expose in-competencies that are inherent in the judiciary system. In the previous year he took a leading role in making us all see for ourselves the quality of judges that were aspiring to join the Supreme Court. Some of them, if I recall well, failed to distinguish a ‘court action’ from a “court order’ which are elementary concepts in the legal system. This was a pathetic scenario which stirred public debates over the efficiency of such persons.
This is another public display that The Chief Justice is a no nonsense tolerating man who is poised to spruce up the judicial system. He needs support from all relevant authorities so that sanity is restored in this critical sector of our society. A health judiciary system is the bedrock of a modern democratic society.
It is common knowledge that the judge is the pillar of our entire justice system, and the public has a right to demand virtually reproachable conduct from anyone performing a judicial function in the Republic of Zimbabwe. Normatively, judges must strive for the highest standards of integrity in both their professional and personal lives. They are expected to be knowledgeable about the law, willing to undertake in-depth legal research, and able to make decisions that are clear and cogent, as well as being conscious of the fact that any delay on deliverance of judgment is equally damaging to our society. Their judgment should be sound, and they should be able to make informed decisions that will stand up to close scrutiny by the generality of the public.
One wonders how the judges that wrote just two judgments can extricate themselves from ridicule in the face of their counterparts that delivered about 72 judgments under similar circumstances within the same period.
More often than not, judges come to the bench after making a significant contribution to the legal profession and their communities. Many might have been active in law societies, in view of that backdrop, one wonders on what merit some of these judges attained their current posts as high court judges; or are they deprived of staff development programmes?
Certainly the rest of the public concurs with the Law Society of Zimbabwe, which calls upon Chief Justice Chidyausiku to go beyond simply disapproving such conduct by coming up with solid measures meant to deal with such delinquent judges in line with the Judiciary Code of Conduct which prescribes time frames which are acceptable for finalising cases.