People in the Northern Region will have to wait a bit longer to access justice as deployment of Justice Nyakwawa Usiwausiwa as judge at Mzuzu Registry of the High Court is facing logistical hitches.
While acknowledging the problem, Judiciary Spokesperson, Mlenga Mvula, blamed the situation on logistical issues the third arm of government is facing.
“We are facing some logistical issues which have to be resolved before the judge travels to Mzuzu and starts discharging duties. Once the issues have been resolved, the judge will be in Mzuzu,” Mvula said without explaining the logistical issues being faced.
Following his appointment as High Court Judge, Usiwausiwa was assigned to work at the Mzuzu High Court alongside Justice Dorothy de Gabrielle in December.
The two were to replace Justice Dingiswayo Madise who for a long time has been steering the registry in Mzuzu and has now been redeployed to Blantyre registry.
Only de Gabrielle has reported for work and is serving a population of close to two million people in the region.
Apart from handling cases that are reported directly to the court, judges at the Mzuzu High Court are also responsible for the certification of judgements from magistrate’s courts located in the six districts that make up the region.
Malawi Law Society President Khumbo Soko said they have been engaging the judiciary on the matter.
“Lawyers under the society’s chapter in the North complained to us and we have been engaging the judiciary on the matter. Mzuzu is growing and there is need for an additional judge,” Soko said.
Just like Justice Usiwausiwa, Justice Madise has also not reported for duty at Blantyre registry.
“The greatest loser in this whole issue is the general public. We are hoping to resolve all these issues soon so that the judges should start discharging duties for the betterment of the citizens in terms of access to justice,” Mvula said.
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