Govt petulant behaviour sickening

The statement released by Augustine Makgonatsotlhe, the acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security in response to the remarks made by the Law Society of Botswana (LSB) at the opening of the Legal Year is a case in point. The LSB chairperson talked about the appointment of a foreign Judge of European descent to the Court of Appeal while there was a pending case against the appointments of some Appeals’ Court.

The lawyers’ representative also noted that it is accepted principle in the dispensation that the presiding officers of courts must reflect the demographics of the society that those courts serve.  However, he noted that this is not the case in the High Court and especially the Court of Appeal where gender, race and age are disproportionate to the demographic position of the country. In our view this is a fair comament that did not warrant an ill-advised response from the Executive.