Is the judiciary a trustee of society?

The recent dismissal of UDC petitions merely on account of technical grounds, not based on substance, reminded people of the way Mme Pelonomi Venson-Motoi’s case was knocked out. This rejoinder is inspired by learned Justice Key Dingake’s piece, “Theorising about Judgeship” (Mmegi 17, January 2020).

To lay a foundation, we would like to refer the reader to one the foremost Marxist scholars and revolutionaries of our time, Rosa Luxemburg. In her masterpiece pamphlet “Reform or Revolution”, she writes a critical rebuttal against Eduard Bernstein revisionism and Karl Kautsky opportunism. In essence, she defends scientific socialism, materialism and the dialectical method ultimately reminding her protagonists that “theories are invented images of reality”. Reading through Justice Dingake’s article, one misses a theoretical peg which grounds the heading, “Theorising about Judgeship”. Equally missing is a theory to sustain the main discourse and argumentation he proffers.