Time for judiciary to slow down on seminars and hear cases

Courts must prioritise hearing cases over frequent seminars and official engagements. [iStockphoto]

Our judiciary, we love you because, as I have overly stated, you are the only arm still with some form of life – the rest are on life support. Their independence remains that of the myopic partisan politics and their efficiency is often motivated either by malicious compliance or self-service. This may not be the piece to advance the full yard story of a legislature long captured by a majoritarian chorus and short memory on substantive democracy that values our national values. Yes, it may also not capture the full picture of an executive that has never fully accepted that we have a transformative constitutional project to implement and it does not matter what else you do for optics; it starts and ends with the Constitution.

The judiciary is increasingly becoming insensitive to the plight of citizens. It has recently developed an uncommon love for outdoor activities. This piece makes no such contention that magistrates and judges should not have time to undertake duties on corporate social responsibility, training, or conferences. No, but Madam Chief Justice, it is too much. The Judicial Service Commission and the judiciary at large should have some voice on this. The entire judiciary has a duty under Article 46 to ensure the consumers of their services are protected and respected.