Law Expert Faults Mutharika’s Continued Attacks on Judiciary, ‘It is contempt of court’

A renowned law professor has faulted President Mutharika’s repeated attacks on the country’s judiciary stating that from the legal perspective what he has done is at the very least tantamount to contempt of court.

In an interview with state broadcaster MBC over the weekend, the President referred to the Constitutional and Supreme Court’s rulings as a judicial coup d tat and he repeated the assertions during his whistle-stop tour in Thyolo on Monday.

Mutharika accused the judges of being corrupt and bent on his removal from office which was also reiterated when he presented his nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission on 7th May 2020 ahead of the presidential election re-run.

Chancellor College Law Professor Garton Kamchedzera expressed worry over the utterances and on the President’s disregard of the judiciary arguing that his action could have dire consequences on his legacy.

“He is in contempt of court based on the statements that he has made and the way he said them but also it is serious breach of the Constitution; if we had time he would actually be impeachable.

“It should be an obligation on the part of the national assembly to indict the President and then start impeachment proceedings on a President based and done on what this President has said and done so legally there are those implications,” explained Kamchedzera

But with the impending elections, he casted doubt on its viability but nonetheless indicated that if somebody wanted to do it the law is on their side.

He branded the development as sad coming from a Head of state who should be the first and exemplary in upholding the Constitution including and respecting the Judiciary’s independence and separation of powers.

Kamchedzera said this should have been evident in his respecting the judgment from the Court.

“So when you have the President leading others to disrespect the judiciary which is supposed to be independent and respected by everybody, then you are attacking the Constitution that you swore to uphold and you are also attacking the rule of law and that example can result into disastrous breakdown of law and order and really taking us back to the days that we’re not going to go back to because the President is looking at himself as a dictator who knows everything” he noted

According to the law expert, as an interested person, Mutharika, himself a law professor is conflicting his personal interests in the whole matter forgetting that he is a President who has duties relating to the country’s laws.

On the other hand, he pointed out that most Malawians in their reasonableness have a lot of confidence in the judiciary and are able to discern truth from lies.

He explained that this should be time when the nation should be proud of what the courts have done because it is not just for Malawi, but Africa and the international fora as the judgment will be used by many courts.

“Those judgments will be used by many courts the whole world over and there are already appraisals that have been written holding our judges in high esteem. And instead of us being proud of that we chose actually to use other people by saying that they shouldn’t have trust in that

“I think what the President said is the kind like a slideshow maybe something that you can only understudy something that would come from somebody who is mourning. I think people that are mourning can say all sorts of things we can excuse them but it’s dangerous when it comes from a head of state,” he said.

The Supreme Court recently upheld a ruling of the lower Constitutional Court to nullify the May 21 presidential election in which Mutharika had been declared winner.

Source: Kulinji.com