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The Judiciary said on Friday it is still considering Malawi Law Society’s request that Attorney General Peter Fachi be disciplined for allegedly putting the legal profession into disrepute.
The lawyers asked Chief Justice Leonard Unyolo to discipline Fachi for unfairly accusing High Court Judge Dunstain Mwaungulu of “corruptly” handling a multimillion dollar pre-shipment inspection contract case involving government and a Swiss firm, Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS).
He later withdrew the allegation after failing to produce evidence.
Acting High Court and Supreme Court Registrar Sylvester Kalembera said in an interview from Lilongwe on Friday that the Chief Justice received the petition and is working on it.
“No decision has been made on the lawyers demand,” said Kalembera.
But a senior judicial officer said on Thursday Fachi’s conduct could create friction between the Judiciary and the Executive, which is against the principle of separation of powers in a democracy.
“It is not our wish to be seen to be antagonising with other arms of government but I can assure you that the Judiciary is taking care of the request by the lawyers for some action on the Attorney General,” said the officer.
Law Society Secretary Charles Mhango said in an interview on Monday the lawyers formally wrote the Chief Justice to act either on his own or through a motion of the court because the law gives him such powers.
He said the lawyers’ letter cannot be said to be a petition because there is no legal basis for such action since the law gave the Attorney General powers to discipline lawyers who put the legal profession into disrepute.
“May be the law did not expect the Attorney General to be in the wrong, that’s why he was given those powers but today it is the Attorney General who is the culprit and he can’t petition himself,” said Mhango.
The Court provided three affidavits sworn by Judge Anaclet Chipeta and court clerks—Watson Mankhanamba and Talakwanji Mdala—stating that Mwaungulu’s handling of the case is normal, according to assistant registrar Michael Tembo.
“The case ended up before Judge Mwaungulu, through the normal course of court business. There was nothing irregular and the judge will continue hearing the case to the end,” said Tembo.
Mwaungulu himself, delivering a preliminary ruling in the SGS case on Tuesday this week, commented on Fachi’s accusation, saying the assignment of a judge to a particular case is a matter for the Judiciary subject only to a right of the individual to have “a natural judge.”
“There was therefore nothing suspicious in the manner I came to be seized of the matter,” said the judge who nevertheless ruled in favour of the Attorney General’s application to dismiss SGS’s application for a judicial review.
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