Judges allegedly receive bribes – LSB
Sharon Mathala | Monday February 12, 2024 06:00
This was expressed at the law society’s own opening of the Legal Year hosted at their head offices in Gaborone, as well as another satellite meeting in Francistown and Maun. The first burst of the bubble was from one of the senior members of the bar, Doreen Khama who said, “I have never in my life thought I would see a narrative or a statement telling me as a member of this society that a certain judge was given a bribe to rule in favour of a litigant. This is totally disgraceful, and I think it needs to be nipped in the bud and those who can nip it in the bud are all of us seating here today.” Former LSB council chairman and also senior member of the bar, Lawrence Lecha also stated that the issue of judges taking bribes is something they hear about quite a lot. “It is quite regrettable and therefore we should do something about it. We should pressurise the authorities to take action against those judges,” he said. Lecha is also of the view that judges who take bribes should be named and shamed. “There has been an ongoing discussion for us to name the judges.
However, the problem is that those who name the said judges will be victimised when they appear before court, so instead the names should be forwarded to the Law Society so we speak as one voice. So that the names are named as the Law Society so that individuals could not be put in a compromising situation when it comes to appearing before those judges,” he said.
Commenting further, a former judge and now senior member of the bar, Peter Collins, remarked that whether the LSB boycott will have the desired results remains to be seen, “but one thing is certain if this dysfunctionality continues, a crisis will spread beyond the judiciary and within the function of our democracy.” He continued: “I am told that the website is going to be revamped and I suggest we have a page where we will name and shame and publish delinquent judgements. This page will give the name of the judge, case citation and when the judgment was delivered.” According to Collins, Chief Justice (CJ) Terrence Rannowane should step up and “fix the crisis within the judiciary”. “The buck stops at the door of the CJ; this is not to say this is personal, it is at this office. The CJ alone is both the administrative and judicial head of the judiciary. It is within his power to fix that which is broken,” he said.
For his part, the chairman of the Law Society, Osego Garebamono, said there is no denying that the well-being of the Judiciary is at an all-time low. “I could be addressing you all from within the four walls of Court Room 8 at the High Court in the CBD. However, following the astounding outcome of the poll that was run by the Secretariat, you all expressed your choice to be here, in a first time ever event of our own. This is truly a historic moment. But a moment which we have embraced with sombre reflection rather than cheerful ululation.” For the LSB, boycotting the opening of the Legal Year is in their interest as members of the bar to protect the integrity of the judiciary, Garebamono stated.