It’s a grand occasion not unlike Prince William’s wedding. I cannot remember if the soldiers bring their white horses but I know they bring their feathered helmets, guns and bayonets. The occasion is graced by the first citizen, chiefs, ministers and just about any other pretender to high office. Beneath a snowy horsehair-wig, His Lordship reminds the nation of the Jurassic backlog of cases clogging the judicial pipework and how the plumbers are at work to address the situation. It is nothing new. Just last year’s speech entered through another door. It is made to a throng of sleepy attorneys, confounded clergy, dejected magistrates and fatigued, well dressed High court staff and it is forgotten by the lunch hour, if not before. When I joined the profession, lawyers would wake up to an impressive array of spirits at state expense. One day, some members of the LLB class of 2001 exceeded the prescribed limit and were seen parading the High Court grounds some wearing Barbara Mogae’s VIP name tag. Someone decided that no University of Botswana (UB) student would ever be happy at state expense.
Senior lawyers generally disregard the event. It has become pretty routine unless you are going to support the Law Society president in his yearly mock charge over the appointment of judges. The justice system ill-deserves the romp and pomp. Beneath the grandeur is a pitiable state of affairs. A former Police Commissioner once remarked that the system had collapsed. He wasn’t far from the truth. Hardly anything moves.
