Search on for acting judges
Mpho Mokwape | Wednesday September 16, 2015 18:00
Administration of Justice (AOJ) spokesperson Clement Sibanda has confirmed the appointment of Godfrey Radijeng as acting judge at the Lobatse High Court.
The appointment follows President Ian Khama’s suspension of four High Court judges, Key Dingake, Modiri Letsididi, Mercy Garekwe and Ranier Busang over allegations of misconduct. Khama recently appointed a tribunal to inquire into the judges’ conduct, as a legal and judicial battle pitting them against Chief Justice, Maruping Dibotelo plays out in the public eye.
Radijeng, a former University of Botswana law lecturer is a director of compliance and monitoring at the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA).
“He was sworn in on Monday in Gaborone. He will start work with immediate effect until December 2015,” Sibanda said yesterday.
Various sources yesterday reported that several other lawyers had been approached to fill up the suspended judges’ positions in acting capacities, but had declined. The lawyers reportedly wanted full time appointments.
Sibanda, however, said he was not aware of the reports and referred Mmegi to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which is responsible for the appointment of judges. “I don’t know the lawyers who were approached,” Sibanda said. The Commission was unavailable for comment by press time yesterday. Meanwhile, at the Gaborone High Court tomorrow (Thursday) Judge Tebogo Tau is scheduled to hear an urgent application launched by the four judges challenging their suspension and the composition of the tribunal.
For weeks, a crisis has formed within the judiciary, with judges at loggerheads with Dibotelo, who reported them to the Botswana Police Service for allegedly earning housing allowances despite being accommodated in government houses.
Suspended judges have also demanded that Khama revoke their suspension and replace his investigative tribunal with foreign judges who have no connections with the Botswana legal system.