A KICK AT THE BELLY OF LADY JUSTICE!
By Amos Chanda
The dastardly attack on ex-minister and former ruling party chief, Davis Mwila, is a direct kick at the belly of Lady Justice given where it occurred, in the hallowed halls of the very citadel of justice, the Supreme Court.
The response from the Judiciary was swift, and appropriately so.
Chief Justice Mumba Mumba described the incident as fragrant lawlessness and an assault on the administration of justice.
The attackers are clearly visible and audible in the videos that captured their audacious strikes at the visibly hapless Mwila.
And so, Justice Malila’s demand for their arrest should be easy for the police to do.
The offence, presumably go beyond just possible assault and public disorder, and possibly touch on “contempt in the face of the court.”
This is because the violence, and the disgraceful fall to the ground of the victim, was right on the marble floors of the high ceiling entrance of the courthouse that sits our country’s highest courts, the Supreme and Constitutional courts!
We were brought up to uphold court premises as dignified altars of justice where you must always mind the tone and pitch of your voice, your walking steps, gestures and dress code among others.
If this is a place of such near- choreographed conduct designed to enforce a certain desired order befitting the dispensation of justice, how then can anyone conceive, even remotely, of any mischief such as we saw on the consecrated floors of our Supreme Court.
This ugly dent on the time honoured traditions and adherence to the observance of the sanctity of courts must be nipped right in the bud and now.
This is not just a violation of the person of Mr Mwila but an abhorrent desecrastion of the very sanctity of our courts and the administration of justice.
It would not be unreasonable at this rate, to fear that such violence, against witnesses and observes to court
proceedings may just be extended to the judicial officers as well.
That mob justice, right at the sacred fountain of justice, is a scar, not just on the face of our Judiciary but also on the collective conscience of the nation.
Therefore, the need to restore the dignity of this elevated institution of our democracy, is urgent and necessary in order to forestall such unwanton behaviour on the premises of justice
The ruling party, the UPND, has rightly condemned and distanced itself from the attackers.
The Chief Justice is asking for an arrest.
The nation waiting.
And so, the Zambia Police remain our focus of the highly anticipated remedial action.
In the meantime, the wound inflicted on the face and belly of our Lady Justice is wide open and festering, awaiting urgent treatment.
(The author is former State House press aide and diplomat and now public commentator on public affairs.)