By Duncan Mlanjira
As the dust settles following the Constitutional Court hearing of the disputed May 21 presidential election, former Malawi Director of Public Prosecution Ishmail Wadi has advanced calls for construction of proper High Court in Lilongwe.
“To be honest, it would be timely to make a small but pertinent observation as well as a polite reminder that the buildings in Lilongwe that are being used by the High Court (General Division) were designed to serve as Magistrate Courts in Lilongwe,” writes Wadi on Facebook.
The petitioners had to wait outside during
adjournments
“[The buildings] were to be used as High Court as a temporary measure. Now over 20 years have passed and the initial intended temporary use may have been forgotten.
“It’s high time that the proposal for the construction of the High Court and Supreme Court Buildings in Lilongwe be timely implemented and maybe take advantage of the delay to review the concept, possibly upgrade not just on the basis of intrinsic outlook but also to take care of the needs of the users, like witnesses, lawyers, beverage and snack vendors etc.”
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He goes on to say that he admired the humble and modest conduct of the UTM and MCP leadership at the Court premises during the hearing of the constitutional case and he feels the future building concept should consider more facilities including a waiting lounge, a canteen and maybe rooms that can serve photocopying and typing services.
Even members of the judiciary waited in the sun
He also said the new buildings should also have more Court Rooms, Judges Chambers (to be redesigned so as to be user friendly to Counsel in chamber proceedings) and not forgetting beautiful landscape and gardens to balance the environment and relieve stress.
“Fortunate enough, there is land reserved for the project though at some point it was almost re-allocated to another prospective developer.”
Ishmail Wadi
In response, Dan Ghambi said: “Bwana, it seems you always think ahead of time. No one will read and appreciate this post as they don’t care.
“Just look at Machinga DC Office and Phalombe Hospital in case you need some evidence of mediocrity.”
Yasmin Maoni said: “Counsel, it has been a concern all along. Such a high profioe case and you have the petitioners sitting like they are waiting for chiwaya chips in the village. We need to seriously think about it.”
While journalist Aubrey Mchulu added voice by saying that I n 2009 or thereabouts there was talk of a modern Judiciary Complex in Lilongwe.
Mchulu said the designs and artistic impression of the structure were meant to be at City Centre near Parliament Building.
“The structure keeps popping up during election campaign. We’ll hopefully see it again in the fresh election campaign,” he said.