Africa-Press – Zambia. Security of Tenure is a constitutional or legal guarantee that an office-holder cannot be removed from office except in exceptional and specified circumstances. The premise behind in guaranteeing security of tenure is to reinforce the judiciary’s role as an independent branch of Government.
This promotes both internal and external judicial independence by limiting interference either the Executive or the chief judicial officer to determine the conditions or terms of appointment or removal of judicial officers. In a period of two weeks, President Hakainde Hichilema has removed two judges from the bench.
Many are asking how possible or easy it has become under President Hichilema to remove Judges, without a tribunal, that are well-known to enjoy Security of Tenure and their offices are deemed insulated from these political machinations.
Sadly, and for whatever reason, in the 2016 Constitution, the Security of Tenure was diluted by the introduction of a clause that provides for the easy removal of a Judge by a mere complaint to or investigations by the Judicial Complaints Commission and without need or cause for a Tribunal!
Article 144; “the removal of a Judge may be initiated by the Judicial Complaints Commission or by a complaint made to the Judicial Complaints Commission or grounds based on Article 143”.
As seen above,this law will be abused by Presidents that can target judges they deem unfriendly or unfavourable to their Administration. This is so especially that the Judicial Complaints Commission is now directly under the administration of State House.
Gazette Notice No. 1123 of 2021 formally put the ACC, the newly created Anti Financial and Economics Crimes Commission, Office of the Public Protector and Judicial Complaints Commission under State House among other institutions that fall directly under the Office of President. This is the death of Security of Tenure for the Judiciary as we know it!
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