President Mutharika hits at corrupt justice in Malawi: ‘Restore public trust’
President Peter Mutharika has said the rising perception of high corruption in the judiciary overshadow the integrity of the country’s justice delivery system.
Mutharika, speaking at the swearing-in of three new judges to the High Court bench, said the job of the judges is to judge the corruption of others.
He said there is a lot of work to do to restore public trust in the Judiciary.
“I believe in the work of the judiciary myself and I will always support the Judiciary in its efforts to restore public trust,” said Mutharika.
The President pointed out that judiciary is one of the three arms of government and that as a Head of State, he will always respect the independence of the Judiciary in Malawi.
“But let it be clear that in any country in the world, the independence of the Judiciary does not mean that the Judiciary is a government in itself.
“The Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature are supposed to work together for the prosperity of Malawians,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika, a law professor who spent most of his time abroad where he also served a Magistrate in Tanzania, said independence of the Judiciary only means that the Judiciary is allowed to judge cases without interference from the other arms of government.
“But it does not mean that the Judiciary should not be accountable to anyone. So for the Judiciary to enjoy your independence, you also need to exercise strong accountability,” he said.
The Malawi leader said the judiciary needs a strong internal integrity mechanism that enforces ethical conduct and high discipline among judges and magistrates without bias.
He asked the new judges to uphold the rule of Law, be impartial, ethical and disciplined.
“As a generation of justices, it is your collective responsibility and legacy to correct the image of the judiciary. Your duty as judges is to restore public trust. Remember that Malawians have a lot to expect from you,” said Mutharika.
The President said that Malawians expect the judiciary to be a place of “unquestionably high integrity and professionalism.”
He said: “I always find my inspiration from the Bible. In 2 Chronicles, Chapter 19, verses 6 and 7, the Bible says; ‘Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.’
“And in verse 9, the Bible says: ‘He gave them these orders: ‘You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord’.”
Mutharika said he expects the judges to administer justice with fairness and impartiality.
“Malawians expect the judiciary to be transparent. They expect judges to be accountable at all times,” he said.
President Mutharika said in any good governance, everyone must be accountable to someone else and only God to be accountable to no-one.
“The judiciary should be the moral and legal campus of society. This is so because your job is to judge the wrong doings of others,” he said.
Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda, who attended the ceremony, is on record to have confessed that just as it is with every other sector, corruption exists in the Judiciary .
Lilongwe-based High Court Judge Charles Mkandawire is also on record to have admitted that corruption exists in the Judiciary.
“We in the Malawi Judiciary have accepted that corruption does exist in the Judiciary. We do not want to leave in a fools’ paradise where we become so defensive about judicial corruption,” he said.
Mkandawire said it is because of this realisation that the Chief Justice had decided to establish the Judicial Integrity Committee chaired by a High Court judge.
“This committee does sensitise judicial officers and staff on the evils of corruption in the judiciary. It investigates complaints of corruption in the judiciary and makes recommendations to the Judicial Service Commission which may even lead to prosecution,” he said.
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IDIPT ,did pitala go to church today. who is more corrupt ,stop lying who are you to please.you guys has created a chaotic malawi woth the culture of Allowancess, i dont undetstand it when you receive a salary,you all arent future focus. zikadza ndiye eh sonkhani. we have seen ghost workers and nkhani yake inafera mmazila, k365 k1..3 k100 K8 k9 and many more ma BILLION AMENEWO ma allowance thoooo ena kumalembetsa kupita abroad ali mommuno kulandila ma allowance, ena akapitaso ku abroad kumangoitanitsa ndalama zomakalipila mahule omwe amagona nao ,side chicks amlowa mala mwa azikazi ao,kapena zopatsa acinyamata omwe… Read more »
Its you, Peter, who is he most corrupt person in Malawi. We are waiting for the right time to take you down. Malawi is not your village. All the money you and your brother have stolen from Malawi will be returned. I will make you return it.
This adamant man looks exactly to me like Billy Cosby or Rowan Atkinson, Malawi has turned to be a Disney World because of this comedian. Please Jahova spare us from this catastrophe!!!!!
They are CORRUPT indeed where is Kasambara by the way? Ur busy pointing Mpinganjira instead of real thieves…. Shame on ya’ll idiots who’re against APM….
Just because this corrupt fool failed to bribe the judges then the judicial system seems to be corrupt??
This guy is an idiot
Our judges are over-paid and yet sit on cases for years whilst people are languishing without justice. This is not to mention their bias and incompetence.
The people now call for an inventory and investigation into cases that have been sitting for more than a year or more!
The problem is that Mutharika is crying foul because his errand boy Mpinganjira was denied with his 100 million kwacha to bribe the Judges. Who is corrupt here if DDP is the one that is moving left right centre trying to bribe the Judges.
The majority of Malawians has trust in the judiciary sir but its the executive, Malawi Police & Anti-corruption body that has lost public trust.
The majority of Malawians do not trust the judiciary because these judges sit on cases for years whilst being overpaid and receiving so many benefits.
Here are some of the issues the Chief Justice needs to look into:
1. Some courts sitting on cases for months, even years, in the hopes that the cases never go to trial
2. Removing competent judges from cases at the request of individuals/entities
3. Frustrating litigants through delays/excuses in the hopes that they will give up on their case
4. Judge shopping
5. Lack of accountability
6. Lack of urgency to resolve cases
Better MW, you are right. The judiciary will not change though with the current Chief Justice and the type of judges we have who are incompetent and corrupt. Fortunately, the Chief Justice is retiring next year which is good.
Koma galu akakalamba nkutani naye? As for dogs when they grow old and toothless just tie a brick round their necks and drown them in the nearest pond. This man is excessive language or cargo without value. Adzamulira yekha Gertrude. He is worse in bed. Sadzikodzera uyu?