Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE Principal Judge, Mr Mustapher Siyani, has called on all judicial officers across the country to work hard and with integrity in order to build an independent and credible Judiciary for Tanzanians.
Judge Siyani made such an appeal recently at a brief handover ceremony of office conducted at the Integrated Justice Center in Dodoma by his predecessor, Judge Dr Eliezer Mbuki Feleshi.
“This issue of integrity will be fully managed. There are many things that need to be done so that people can have confidence in the Judiciary and the decisions we make should not be doubtful, “he said, stressing that in order to build a credible Judiciary must be free while all staff work with integrity.
Judge Siyani added, “Whether you have taken an oath or not. As long as you’re a judicial officer, each of us must be faithful. The Chief Court Administrator knows even before this appointment. We will not be lenient on this issue because we believe our vision will be achieved if all officers are honest. ”
The principal judge thanked his predecessor for the great work done. However, he noted that there was some more work, which needed to be done to ensure that they build a judiciary that not only fulfills its vision, but is credible to Tanzanians.
Speaking on the question of hearing cases, Judge Siyani urged every employee in his position to work hard to fulfill the dream that the judiciary has set for itself. He noted that there were approximately 8,000 cases that have matured, that is, they have exceeded the time limit set by the judiciary of being heard.
The Chief Registrar and Registrar of the High Court are here, this is an area that we have to work on. We must set a certain time and I do not expect after that to have a backlog. This is possible because in the past we had a lot of cases. Statistics show we are heading in the right direction,” he said.
On part of the High Court, Dodoma Zone, where he was working as Judge in Charge before his appointment, the Principal Judge expressed his happiness as he was leaving the Zone with a good statistics of cases that have been determined.
According to Judge Siyani, when he arrived to serve at the Zone there were an average of 1,200 cases, but until he handed over the office to the Acting Judge in- Charge George Masaju, there were 835 cases. He pointed out that the number of cases disposed of was increasing compared with the cases admitted.
Judge Siyani promised to maintain the same pace as his predecessor, Dr Feleshi was and that the good of hard work done would be preserved.
Thus, he thanked the judicial officers of the High Court, Dodoma Zone, for the cooperation they had extended to him, which was probably what made him look fit for the new position.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Court Administrator, Prof. Elisante Ole Gabriel, said that he would work hand in hand with the new principal judge to strengthen servants’ interests and keep the proximity of judicial and non-judicial functions with the sole aim of accelerating the delivery of justice to the people.
He also asked him to continue to develop a strong code of conduct for all employees of the Judiciary of Tanzania. “I would like to make it clear that I have zero tolerance for carelessness. I would like the instructions given to us by the president of managing ethics are implemented,” he said.
For his part, the Chief Registrar, Mr Wilbert Chuma, also pledged to provide adequate co-operation to the principal judge since being the chief administrator of conduct of cases will be with him hand in hand to ensure that all courts carry out their primary role of administering justice in the public interest.
Judge Siyani arrived at his office yesterday at the High Court in Dar es Salaam and was received by senior staff of the Court, including the Acting Principal Judge John Mgeta.
Other officials present were Judge in Charge of the High Court, Dar es Salaam Zone Amir Mruma, Judge Ilvin Mugeta, Judge Zahra Maruma, Judge Leila Mgonya and Judge Said Kalunde.
Others were Wilbert Chuma, Registrar of the High Court Sharmillah Sarwatt and Senior Deputy Registrar, Dar es Salaam Zone, Charles Magesa.
Speaking at the brief ceremony, Judge Siyani thanked them all for the reception which he did not expect and noted that what he saw signified a good concept of cooperation in carrying out the responsibilities ahead of them.
He said that if they succeed in implementing the judiciary’s vision they have set for themselves, they would all be successful, thus he asked the Judges, Registrars and judicial officers of all cadres to cooperate with each other and continue to work hard.
