The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has called on lawyers in the country to start speaking boldly against various social ills Malawians are currently facing.
MLS President, John Suzi-Banda made the call on Saturday at the society’s annual dinner and dance in Blantyre.
Suzi-Banda said the attacks on persons with albinism, growing nepotism, gender and economic inequalities and environmental degradation among others as some of the ills facing Malawians which need lawyers in the country to speak against.
He also said that time has come for lawyers in the country to start actively participating in issues that are affecting the society as citizens of this country first.
“Before we call ourselves lawyers, we are first and foremost citizens of this great nation, we therefore need to set aside time to consider our contribution to the society in which we live in,” said Suzi-Banda during the event which was under the theme “The Lawyer in Society”.
Suzi-Banda then said salvation of Malawians in so far as institutional progress is concerned largely lies in the hands of the country’s legal profession.
He said though lawyers don’t need to fight dictatorship in a democratic Malawi, the nation is still facing a number of challenges in need of lawyers’ attention.
“Our communities are being ravaged by curable diseases, an overwhelming majority of our compatriots live in dire poverty and spend less than a dollar a day, women are marginalised and girls lack the same opportunities enjoyed by their male counterparts while thousands remain unlawfully detained in our over populated prisons because they cannot afford legal counsel or a bribe,” said Suzi-Banda calling on members of the profession to dedicate some days a month to public service in form of pro bono.
“We need to dedicate a few hours a month, each one of us to apply for a release order of that poor villager serving an unconfirmed sentence,” he said.
And speaking during the event, National Bank of Malawi Chief Executive Officer George Partridge called for professionalism among lawyers in the country.
“The law profession is held in high esteem by the public hence the need for professionalism in your dealings if this respect is to continue,” he said.
He then underscored the importance of an efficient and well capacitated law society to the administration of justice in the country.
To that end, National bank donated K1 million to the Malawi Law Society for capacity building.
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