Lesotho’s director of public prosecutions has threatened to prosecute members of the Law Society for criminally defaming High Court judges in a memorandum.
Lindiwe Sephomolo, secretary of the society, said on Tuesday the memorandum — addressed to Chief Justice Mahapela Lehohla — dealt with the ”constitutional infirmity” of the appointment of acting Judge Brendan Cullinan.
”The merits of the said infirmity are now a subject of a constitutional case filed by the Law Society. The memorandum also covered the inefficiency in the management of the business of the High Court of Lesotho,” she added.
The Law Society of Lesotho has expressed its dissatisfaction about the under-use of courts and personnel that compounds the backlog of cases in the high court.
”The society, therefore, called upon the chief justice … to ensure full utilisation of judges. More importantly, the chief justice was called upon to show leadership by hearing cases on a daily and weekly basis as other judges do.”
The Law Society also called on Lehohla to protect the integrity of the courts by reversing Cullinan’s appointment, said Sephomolo.
To the Law Society’s dismay, Sephomolo said, the response of the chief justice and the director of public prosecutions was that the society’s resolutions are criminally defamatory of the entire High Court bench.
The society views the threatened prosecution as an ”intimidatory manoeuvre intended to cow the Law Society and dissuade it from discharging its constitutional, statutory and professional duties”.
She said: ”Judges are servants and not masters of the public … There cannot be holy cows in the important task of protecting the integrity, public confidence and efficiency in the administration of justice.”
The Law Society and the chief justice have clashed over a number of issues regarding the administration and dispensation of justice in Lesotho in recent months. This has led to the justice system in the country suffering some serious setbacks, including, at times, lawyers refusing to argue cases in the courts. — Sapa