Law Society rebukes Dibotelo

Sharon Mathala | Friday July 17, 2015 11:00

In a statement issued yesterday, LSB chairperson Lawrence Lecha said as the chairperson of the JSC, Dibotelo is party to these court proceedings.

In March this year, the LSB and attorney Omphemetse Motumise filed their lawsuit after Khama rejected the recommendation of the JSC to appoint him (Motumise) as a judge after the JSC had recommended the veteran lawyer to the bench.

“The local media has recently reported on a speech by the Honourable Chief Justice (CJ) of Botswana, Mr. Maruping Dibotelo at a gala dinner organised for magistrates in Francistown. At the event the Honourable CJ took the opportunity to present his views on the state of the Judiciary in Botswana.

“In his widely published speech, the Honourable CJ stated amongst other things, that the judiciary has served Batswana well over the years and as such they are comfortable with the status quo. He also questioned why the status quo should be changed when there was nothing wrong with it as evidenced by the immense trust that Batswana have for the Judiciary. He cautioned those agitating for change against simply doing so to imitate the judicial systems of other countries,” said Lecha.

The chairperson said the media’s interpretation of Dibotelo’s statements is evidently an epitome of public perception of his statements.

“His statements may be read to be an attempt to influence the direction of the case. It is for this reason that the Honourable CJ is respectfully advised to let the rule of law take its course. It is appropriate to be reminded at this point of the age-old sub judice rule,” he said.

Lecha also said that the LSB respectfully called upon Dibotelo to refrain from making “any public statements which might be interpreted by a reasonable member of the public to be an attempt to influence the direction of the ongoing case against the JSC, which he chairs, and the President.”

“We hold the judges of the High Court who are seized of the case in high esteem, but we cannot ignore the fact that reasonable public perception and public trust in the judiciary is an important part of the rule of law,” he said.