CJ: POLITICAL ELEMENTS INFILTRATE LAW SOCIETY

MBABANE – It will take some doing for the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) to shake off its alleged association with political formations.
The purported association has dogged the law society for a number of years now and despite the LSS denying being affiliated or associated with political parties, let alone being one itself.

Yesterday, Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala accused the law society of having in its midst attorneys who are involved in politics. The head of the Judiciary described this as a historical tragedy.

The chief justice made this statement during the admission of candidate attorneys at the High Court.
Before the start of the admissions, the chief justice said the legal profession was a professional body of legal experts and practitioners who should remain professional at all times.
The law society, according to Maphalala, should not be used as a political vehicle. He said the LSS should retain its image and status of being a disciplined professional body.

He further mentioned that attorneys were respected officers of the court whose mandate is to dispense justice equally to all people.
Maphalala pointed out that lawyers should shun conduct that is inimical to their cause and that the misappropriation of funds should come to an end.
“Recently, we have witnessed a historical tragedy where the law society has been infiltrated by political elements masquerading as lawyers. These elements have embraced and protected wayward attorneys who have misappropriated trust funds belonging to widows, orphans, marginalised groups of people and the clientele in general to the extent that they have legally represented wayward attorneys in court,” said the chief justice.

Maphalala went on to urge the candidate attorneys to remain true to the profession and maintain the highest standard of professionalism.
The law society has scheduled a meeting of its council on Tuesday and the chief justice’s statement, among other issues, will be deliberated upon. This was confirmed by the Secretary of the LSS, Thulani Maseko. As a result, Maseko said the LLS would not comment for now until the council met.
This is not the first time that a chief justice has accused the law society of being a political party. Former Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi, who is now deceased, also made similar accusations about the law society being a political party.

Former Senator and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Sibusiso Shongwe referred to the law society as a political party, as well, previously. This was during the tenure of Titus Mlangeni as the President of the Law Society. Mlangeni is now a judge of the High Court. The former minister said he criticised the leadership of the LSS allegedly for its failure to discipline members who acted unethically with regards the administration of trust funds and policy issues.
This is contained in an application in which Shongwe wanted Judge Mlangeni to recuse himself from the matter in which he challenged the constitutionality of his warrant of arrest.

During the official opening of the 2018 legal year, former president of the law society, the late Mandla Mkhwanazi, told the chief justice that the LSS was not affiliated to any political party.
“Your Lordship, we are not a political party nor affiliated to any. We are a professional body standing on the side of justice and the truth,” said the president.
This was after Mkhwanazi had informed the gathering that the chief justice had refused to meet with the newly-elected LSS General Council at the time.
Mkhwanazi mentioned that the labelling the law society as a political party was not a new thing.

The former president made an example that even during the era of a certain former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, that minister made it clear that he was reluctant to associate with political parties.
Mkhwanazi said this happened at a time when the minister did not see eye to eye with the law society.

The chief justice and the law society have also recently disagreed on the legality of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The previous council of the LSS, through former President Ben J Simelane, raised the issue of the JSC not being compliant with the dictates of the Constitution regarding the appointment of its members.

Simelane’s comment on the constitutionality of the JSC did not go well with the chief justice who pointed out that the commission was legally in office.
The chief justice further said: “We further welcome the address by the President of the Law Society. However, as a caution, issues of mutual interest should be discussed between the Executive of the Law Society and the office of the chief justice before they are discussed in other forums and the public domain,” said the CJ.

Yesterday, the chief justice told the candidate attorneys that they had a responsibility to protect the country and abide by the Constitution at all times, in the interest of prosperity.

“The future of your country, destiny and profession lie in the manner in which you conduct yourself in the practice of the legal profession.”
Maphalala said lawyers were expected to embrace these values for the betterment of their profession and the development of the country as a whole.
Notably, Lucky Howe, LSS Acting President, attempted to address the CJ after his speech but he would not allow him to speak. It is not known what he wanted to say.

When the chief justice was called at 7pm in an effort to get him to substantiate the statement about the law society being allegedly infiltrated by political elements masquerading as lawyers, his cellphone rang unanswered.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: