Malawi Law Society (MLS) held its annual general conference (AGM) and conference from Friday to Saturday in Mangochi at Sunbird Nkopola Lodge where they discussed a number of issues and members also reflected on their profession. Our News Analyst FRANK NAMANGALE speaks to MLS president PATRICK MPAKA.
Q: During the AGM, two eminent members of your profession, Senior Counsel (SC) Khrishna Savjani and Modecai Msisha, called upon members of the MLS to stand up and question judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court on certain areas they are not doing right, and in your closing remarks, you took time to commend the two, how motivating were their presentations?
A: We did not take it for granted that we had these two eminent members of our profession here. These are members we respect and from their presentations, you would notice it was a right thing to have them here. These are senior counsel that have remained exemplary throughout their lengthy periods in practice. They are a cream of our profession with no disciplinary issues. Despite whatever they have achieved, they are humble legal practitioners. When we were inviting them here, I separately asked both if they needed me to write them. They said I needed not to bother, but assured me of their availability to make their presentations. This shows their commitment to the profession and we commend them for that.
Q: What is your call to the members of your profession on the issue of commitment and safeguarding the profession?
A: Commitment is very critical. Our seniors have shown us the commitment they attach to the profession and we have to draw a lesson from that. It may not be only lawyers, for a country to achieve its aspirations, it would require orderly and good conduct in all the professions. We have to do what is required to do. The senior counsel Msisha asked us not to throw justice into the wilderness. That is a very important message.
Q: Are there things you think MLS over time has not done them right and you would want to do them differently as president?
A: Members will, no doubt, recall that from January 1 2019, the society has operated under a new legal regime which significantly changed the responsibility of the Malawi Law Society. I told members in my message to them at this AGM that from as far back as 1965, the society was more elitist and focused on protecting lawyers. The 2017 Act shifted the responsibility towards a more public service responsibility. The core objectives of the society now is on developing and maintaining high legal standards of legal practice for the sake of protection of the public interest emerging from the law.
Q: Did the Law Society do enough to guide the nation at that critical moment of the Presidential Election case? And was there anything boiling within your professional body?
A: Yes, pretty much. The Law Society itself, which should have been the anchor of legal wisdom in guiding the nation at that moment, underwent and survived a stress test. For the first time in the history of the Law Society, the membership moved to try and remove the leadership of the society of the time. Although this did not succeed, the fact that members actually made the move was quite significant.
Q: What is the Law Society’s shared vision or take home message?
A: Our shared vision as an institution is in our strategic plan 2021 to 2030. We decided that we must reform the MLS in 2021 and 2022 and set it on a path to a glorious 2030.
Q: What other challenges did you have to overcome to be where you are today?
A: As is always the case, going through transition, there are no doubt, some challenges that need to be faced and indeed overcome as we go through the reform epoch of the Malawi Law Society. While we cannot really choose what happens in our country, we can choose our response. It is gratifying that through our 2021 AGM, we collectively chose to focus our attention on building an MLS that is the most respected legal service professional body. However, the choice of the vision alone cannot be sufficient especially at a time like this when the profession is turning the corner under the new Act under an unstable operating environment given Covid-19, economic woes and political instability.
Q: And what is it the legal profession will have to offer in the situation the nation is in?
A: We as a profession must choose to follow our vision in harmony with timeless and universal principles that underpin the legal profession everywhere.
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