Minister of Justice, Ronald Shamukuni, has declined to comment on allegations that the Office of the President and the Chief Justice recently tried to influence the outcome of a case involving MP for Lobatse, Dr Thapelo Matsheka, surrounding the death of a minor in Lobatse.
“This matter, as you know is before the courts and I will not comment until it has been finalized,” he told MP for Okavango Kenny Kapinga on Monday.
Kapinga had wanted him to state if he is satisfied with the recruitment and appointment of judges; whether he would not consider public interviews for judgeship candidates; and whether he is not worried about allegations of judicial interference from the Chief Justice and politicians.
Lobatse High Court Judge Gaolapelwe Ketlogetswe has launched a legal battle challenging among others, the constitutionality of the composition of the JSC, and that Rannowane’s complaint to JSC, which he chairs, should be set aside.
This came after Chief Justice, Terrence Rannowane, reported him to President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi for breaching the JSC code of conduct by making public statements accusing him and Minister of State President Kabo Morwaeng of trying to force him to keep Matsheka in prison for prolonged period of time early August.
Morwaeng and Rannowane have denied the allegations, with the latter saying the conversations he had with Ketlogetswe were work related and never meant to interfere with his work.
Rannowane has requested the JSC to commence disciplinary proceedings against Ketlogetswe, something that gave birth to his legal battle to stop the proceedings until the legality of JSC Regulations have been tested in court.
The case is scheduled for January 4th.
Meanwhile, Shamukuni said he was satisfied with the status quo and the Constitutional prescription on how the JSC is selected and how judges are recruited and appointed to serve in the bench.
“The Judicial Service Commission is empowered by Section 103, Sub Section 5 of the Constitution to regulate its own procedure and this procedure is adapted from time to time to enhance its effectiveness. All judges serving in the Judiciary have been interviewed by the Commission and in recent years the JSC has introduced new procedures to enhance its own procedures, introduced background checks and competency among others,” he said.
On whether he would not consider practices in other countries where interviews for candidate judges are held in public, he said foreign practices should be left to those countries and that the local processes are working well for the country.
