DEJECTED HIGH COURT JUDGE PENS EMOTIONAL NOTE AFTER SHE WAS PASSED OVER FOR ELEVATION

DEJECTED HIGH COURT JUDGE PENS EMOTIONAL NOTE AFTER SHE WAS PASSED OVER FOR ELEVATION



Hon. Lady Justice Bubile Grace Lungu Shonga writes…

Recently, the President of the Republic of Zambia elevated several Judges of the High Court to the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. All of those elevated are my colleagues, and my friends.

I had hoped to be among them. I was not.

I share this because I have mentees and young lawyers who watch how I respond to moments like this, and I owe them honesty. When the announcement came, my heart sank. I congratulated each of my fellow adjudicators with sincerity, and at the same time felt a tightness in my throat. In that quiet moment I questioned my own competence. That is how I went to bed.

This morning, that tightness is gone. I recognize a simple truth: not everyone could be appointed.

The President of the Republic of Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema had to weigh many considerations, including national and regional balance, and only a limited number could be elevated.

Since the announcement, I have received messages and counsel. Some suggested 1 am too visible on social media, which is unconventional for a Judge, and that I should retreat.

Others speculated that it is because I hail from the East – yet two of my colleagues who were elevated are also from the East. Others still sought to provoke me, saying it is because my elder brother, Muhabi Lungu, openly criticizes the President and the current administration. Some pointed to my husband, Abyudi James Shonga SC, having represented the @Electoral Commission of Zambia in the 2016 Presidential Petition, the outcome of which did not favour President Hichilema.

It would be easy to latch onto any one of these narratives. In my heart, I know they are not the reason.

It would be easy to latch onto any one of these narratives. In my heart, I know they are not the reason.

I have known the President long before he assumed the highest office. I interacted with him when he led Coopers & Lybrand Zambia as CEO and mentored my late former husband, Edward Mupeso Jr, MHSRIEP, during his time there.

The President and those who advise him on legal matters know my competence, my independent mind, the pride I take in being a woman of substance, and my commitment to impartial adjudication.

Because I refuse to believe, or even entertain, the suggestion that I am being penalized for my brother’s political views or my husband’s professional engagements, I must conclude that it is simply not yet my time. I respect, without reservation, every single one of the elevations, and the prerogative of the appointing authority.

Nonetheless, I must reconsider my visibility on social media.

Only a fool does not heed wise counsel. I do not yet know what that will look like, but I must take a moment before the throne of God for direction.

I believe and affirm that God’s timing remains best. I remain in service to my country and to the bench.

In the meantime, I thank the IBA for inviting me to participate in the IBA Judges Forum: In defence of justice. Topic: Natural Selection? From where should judges come? Irony or The Lord’s humor.

https://Inkd.in/dFmbtzTj

IBA Judges Forum: In defence of justice | International Bar

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NOTE: Judge B.G Shonga is a Judge of the High Court of Zambia, Serving in the Commercial Division in Lusaka