The issue of judicial capture has come under the spotlight once again, in South Africa as well as the rest of the African continent.
This comes after the Africa Judicial Independence Fund (AJIF) reported that there was widespread political interference and corruption in the continent’s justice system.
Speaking on Newzroom Afrika, the fund’s manager, Saeed Salahudeen, said the fund’s report had found evidence of corruption and interference through their in-depth assessment which focused on 11 priority countries – Angola, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia and South Africa – which displayed high levels of political interference with the justice system.
The judicial fund, as an independent body, used some of its resources to study the patterns of free and fair justice in Africa.
“The Africa Judicial Independence Fund is an initiative of the Afrobarometer borne out of the pressing need to address the numerous and complex challenges facing judicial systems in Africa.
“We have been conducting surveys across the continent and have come to the realisation that our survey results continue to point to citizens’ lack of confidence in the judiciary, and that was the background to the initiation of the independent fund,” he said.
Salahudeen said the fund was set up to investigate and report on some of the key findings through their regular studies.
“The fund set out to report existing and ongoing efforts on the African continent to effect judicial independence and to help situate the fund for the most impactful interventions.
“The Afrobarometer secretariat commissioned a large-scale study to understand current state of judicial independence in Africa so as to provide the most impactful interventions.”
According to Salahudeen, the in-depth assessment focusing on the 11 priority countries found that judicial independence in Africa was under severe strain as many countries grappled with challenges that threatened the sector’s integrity.
Among the issues mentioned in the AJIF report are political interference and corruption.
When it comes to South Africa’s performance in the study, Salahudeen said the country had a fairly solid judiciary.
“In terms of South Africa, it is ranked high among its peers. We have evaluated, for instance, the appointment system. The system is such that if you look at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) made up of about 23 members, the processes to appointing judges to the superior court in South Africa is not vested in the executive. You realise that the arms of government and individuals are all involved and ... all of these people, collectively, are engaged in the process. So, the appointment process is very robust,” he said.
The AJIF was launched as an initiative marking a significant milestone in the collective effort to uphold and strengthen judicial independence in Africa.
Last week, the JSC published a list of seven candidates to be interviewed for the position of judge president of the Western Cape High Court, a position held previously by Dr John Hlophe.
The vacancy was created after the National Assembly voted in favour of a motion to impeach Hlophe in February. Hlophe has since joined the Umkhonto weSizwe Party as its leader in Parliament as well as a member of the JSC.
The Star