Tafa misdirected himself � CoA Judges

Judges often have different interpretations of the law
Judges often have different interpretations of the law

A bench of five acting Court of Appeal (CoA) judges has ruled that Justice Abednego Tafa misdirected himself in concluding that President Ian Khama “has the discretionary power to appoint or not to appoint a Justice of Appeal on a fixed term contract of three years”.

“The power to appoint such a judge properly vests in the JSC [Judicial Service Commission]. To the extent that the President may have any discretion, I entertain no doubt that such discretion must be exercised rationally and for a legitimate governmental purpose and certainly not at the ‘whim of the President’,” said deputy Chief Justice of Namibia Petrus Damaseb.

Two High Court Judges Terrence Rannowane and Leatile Dambe, retired deputy president of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, Louis Harms and retired Chief Justice of Zambia Ernest Sakala concurred. This was in the appeal case in which Tafa had ordered that the appointment of Isaac Lesetedi, Monametsi Gaongalelwe, John Foxcroft,John Cameron, Arthur Hamilton and Craig Howie was invalid in that the President had no right to reappoint them to the bench.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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