OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT HICHILEMA ON APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUSTICE

OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT HICHILEMA ON APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUSTICEDear Mr President,The Appointment of Chief Justice of the Republic of ZambiaFOLLOWING the death of the Chief Justice, Madam Justice Mambilima, you are required, on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, to appoint someone to the office of Chief Justice of the Republic of Zambia, subject to ratification by the National Assembly. Your predecessors, when exercising this constitutional responsibility, did so without much transparency and paying attention to the qualities of the individuals chosen to head this critical branch of government. Accordingly, I write to ask you not to embrace the practice followed by your predecessors in the appointment of the Chief Justice and other Judges of the Superior Courts.Previously, the process of appointing Judges was a sham: it did not have any semblance of transparency or fairness. It eroded the independence and integrity of the Judiciary and institutionalised political nepotism in the Judicature. During the reign […]