Judiciary deploys visiting judge to Mzuzu

The Judiciary has fast-tracked deployment of a visiting judge at its High Court Mzuzu district registry to clear a backlog of cases caused by the presence of a single judge in the Northern Region.

The development also comes three weeks after The Nation reported that having a single judge in the Northern Region was paralysing justice delivery in the area.

The Judiciary has assigned Lilongwe-based High Court judge Charles Mkandawire as the first visiting judge who is expected to start handling cases at the Mzuzu registry this Wednesday.

Initially, the arrangement was to have visiting judges start work by end of June after the Judiciary finalises compiling cases that need the judges’ attention.

However, The Nation established that Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda opted to speed up the process so that people in the Northern Region access justice on time.

Both Judiciary spokesperson MlengaMvula and Malawi Law Society (MLS) Mzuzu Chapter president Victor Gondwe confirmed yesterday the coming in of Mkandawire who was expected to arrive in Mzuzu on June 15.

Mvula said the Chief Justice was concerned about the situation the Northern Region was in last week and cries of delay in delivery of justice in the region.

He said each time Madise leaves Mzuzu or attends to other duties delivery of justice is affected.

Three weeks ago, the MLS Mzuzu Chapter petitioned the Judiciary demanding an extra judge to expedite justice delivery in the region.