MALAWI: Judiciary leaves Courts for Awareness
The Chief Justice poses for a Group photo with Catholic University of Malawi students
By Luke Bisani
The Malawi Judiciary on Thursday this week held the first-ever Open Day in the commercial city of Blantyre that aimed at bringing awareness to the general public on the processes involved on judicial matters in the country.
Speaking during the event, Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda SC explained that the Open Day gives the opportunity to the Malawi Judiciary to interact with the public as away of achieving clarity on the processes followed when seeking justice.
“For so many years, little has been shared about the judiciary; our output, the processes, challenges are some of the issues that remain a mystery to many and those that share the information about us, have been sharing little information, sometimes misleading information. It is time now that we let the judiciary tell its own story and clear the misunderstanding” said the Chief Justice Mzikamanda SC.
He added that through the interaction with the public, the judiciary seeks to promote open justice, ensure public engagement and help the public understand the processes surrounding justice as a way of blocking confidence crisis with the citizenry.
He further disclosed plans to have such events being held at regional level, district level and magistrates’ courts level as away of ensuring that many people have been reached with awareness about the judiciary in Malawi.
Commenting on the Open Day, one of the law lecturers at the Catholic University of Malawi Carnisius Tamandani Kadyampakeni commended the judiciary in the country for organizing the event.
“It was an important interaction because the public had a rare opportunity to appreciate the services offered by the Judiciary. It was an eye opener because members of the public learnt how to access justice in our Courts” said Kadyampakeni.
“CUNIMA [The Catholic University of Malawi] law school is a key stakeholder in the justice sector. Our students interacted with the Honourable Chief Justice, Justices of Appeal, Judges of the High Court and other Judicial Officers. The event offered our students a networking platform. The faculty hopes that some of our students have been motivated to join the judiciary after finishing law school” He added.
The Judiciary open held was commemorated under the theme; “Serving the People Better” and the events of the day started with a big walk from Chichiri upper stadium to the High Court complex at Chichiri.
Established as among the three arms, the Judiciary of Malawi is the branch of the Government of Malawi which interprets and applies the laws of Malawi to ensure equal justice under law and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution.
