President Lazarus Chakwera has called upon the Judiciary to expedite delivery of justice to the public as one way of averting mob justice which has become a norm in the country’s social order.
The President said this on Thursday when he presided over the swearing-in ceremony of four new Judges of the High Court who he appointed on October 24 this year.
The four judges are His honour Howard Brighton Pemba, Ms. Eddah Edayi Ngwira, Mrs. Etness Chanza and Mr. Allan Muhome.
In his remarks, the President noted that society today is growing more desperate for justice, a situation that presents a challenge for judicial officers to do right and do so quicker than before.
“We are living in volatile times in which the cry for justice from the human heart rings loud. This cry for justice represents both a danger we must guard against and an opportunity we must take advantage of. The danger with today’s thirst for justice is the temptation to quench that thirst through acts of mob justice,” he said.
President Chakwera expressed concern on a recent act of mob justice in Mzimba where two elderly women were assaulted by a mob for being suspected of witchcraft.
“Mob justice is a crime, and anyone who takes the law into their own hands will find themselves in the hands of the law.”
He, however, noted that this spate of mob justice is an opportunity for Malawi to build the capacity of the judicial system so that it is trusted by all citizens.
“But the cry for justice is also an opportunity. It is an opportunity for us to satisfy that cry by strengthening the justice system’s institutions to the point that the public can trust that if anyone violates the rights of another, justice will be done swiftly, fairly, and transparently,” he said.
The four judicial officers bring to 11 a number of High Court judges the President has appointed and sworn in since he came into office in 2020.