News / National
15 lawyers under probe
24 Jul 2017 at 13:06hrs | Views
Fifteen lawyers are under scrutiny for misconduct following applications that were filed with Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ), with one having been deregistered this year.
LSZ president, Misheck Hogwe, who has also been nominated for the Prosecutor-General's post - said they were yet to look into the applications before concluding the fate of the attorneys.
"The applications relate to misconduct in the fraternity and we want people to understand that when lawyers are deregistered we inform members of the public so that they are aware of who they are dealing with. "It is in the public interest. Our profession is about integrity and everyone has to feel safe in the hands of the lawyers," he said.
"Corruption is a difficult cancer that is affecting most sectors in the country and we need to come up with strategies to deal with it," Hogwe added.
He said they were working with Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to improve their fraternity and were embracing criticism made by chief justice Luke Malaba.
Malaba, during a conference held by LSZ in Victoria Falls recently, castigated lawyers who did not thoroughly research cases that they would be defending, saying some presented themselves in court as uninterested observers.
"Why can't you enjoy being a lawyer and why do you take it so casually, yet you're holding onto something that is affecting every facet of the lives of people you represent and act as though you're are laymen," he queried.
"We now have lawyers, who come to court and present themselves as unresponsive observers in body and in mind in their own cases, yet you have been hired to represent someone on a life issue."
During a media engagement recently, Hogwe said: "There is no hostility but collaboration between LSZ and JSC. We embrace such criticism and feel it is important from time to time that stakeholders like the judiciary scrutinise our performance."
"We took the chief justice's remarks as serious as they are and, of course, in any profession they are bound to be some lazy people but we strive to bring the best out of our profession."
LSZ president, Misheck Hogwe, who has also been nominated for the Prosecutor-General's post - said they were yet to look into the applications before concluding the fate of the attorneys.
"The applications relate to misconduct in the fraternity and we want people to understand that when lawyers are deregistered we inform members of the public so that they are aware of who they are dealing with. "It is in the public interest. Our profession is about integrity and everyone has to feel safe in the hands of the lawyers," he said.
"Corruption is a difficult cancer that is affecting most sectors in the country and we need to come up with strategies to deal with it," Hogwe added.
He said they were working with Judicial Services Commission (JSC) to improve their fraternity and were embracing criticism made by chief justice Luke Malaba.
"Why can't you enjoy being a lawyer and why do you take it so casually, yet you're holding onto something that is affecting every facet of the lives of people you represent and act as though you're are laymen," he queried.
"We now have lawyers, who come to court and present themselves as unresponsive observers in body and in mind in their own cases, yet you have been hired to represent someone on a life issue."
During a media engagement recently, Hogwe said: "There is no hostility but collaboration between LSZ and JSC. We embrace such criticism and feel it is important from time to time that stakeholders like the judiciary scrutinise our performance."
"We took the chief justice's remarks as serious as they are and, of course, in any profession they are bound to be some lazy people but we strive to bring the best out of our profession."
Source - dailynews
