By Mubanga Mubanga
Let us make the judiciary attractive so that people who are aggrieved can seek recourse there, President Hakainde Hichilema has said.
Speaking at State House today when he sworn in Eva Jhala and Kephas Katongo as members of the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC ) and Jack Kalala as a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) board respectively, President Hichilema said the judiciary should be attractive, so that people can have confidence to go there and seek recourse .
“These two institutions are extremely important to this country, very, very important I must say! For the Judicial Complaints Commission, we need the integrity of the judiciary, we need a judiciary to be one as the Constitution provides for. Where citizens, institutions, or indeed other formations in the country or in our jurisdiction, when they feel aggrieved, they should not take long to seek recourse of the courts, the judiciary, knowing that the court will hear them number one,” President Hichilema said. “And the judiciary has an obligation to hear them, and once they are in that space, the courts have a right to dispense justice, fairly, and timely.”
He said the right to be heard was an entitlement to citizens.
“We have cases, and l talk because l occupied some of those apartments in the correctional services, those beautiful apartments and l found people there who have been in the correctional services facility for 20 years, and they have not been heard. When they have been heard, there is no judgment made 20 years (later),” President Hichilema said.
President Hichilema further urged the commissioners to discharge their roles without fearing or favoring anyone and see to it that no citizen was above the law.
“You will be supervising dispensation, not managing, but checking that one of the three arms of government is functioning. And that arm of government is not above the law. l have emphasized this to the two of you, because sometimes, there are some … implied perception that some citizens are above the law. There is no citizen who is above the law, we are all under the law,” President Hichilema said.
He said when complaints go the commissioners, they must be heard.
“If they are merit, they must be heard. And you also apply fairness so that justice also prevails and applies to that segment of citizens as well. Please go and discharge your duties without fear or favor,” he said.
And President Hichilema urged Kalala to ensure that ACC investigates before arresting someone and that if they arrest someone, they must be ready to take them to court.
“Mr Kalala you have known the public service for too long, performing different functions, including working here at State House. The Anti-Corruption Commission is a very important organization, it lost its salt … we have injected the test of that salt back into the organisation,” said President Hichilema. “Your organisation you will be suprentending over, they must investigate. When they are arrested, they must be ready to prosecute, simple.”
