3 September 2008
THE legal fraternity has described the late President Mwanawasa as a gallant legal practitioner and a distinguished leader who immensely contributed to the development of the country.
Chief Justice Ernest Sakala said in Lusaka yesterday during the joint Supreme and High Court valedictory session for the late president that Dr Mwanawasa was an articulate lawyer who always went to court well prepared.
"He was committed to the cause of justice and was a stickler to professional etiquette. He was truly an officer of the court and a paradigm of excellence," he said.
Justice Sakala said as a lawyer the late president was loyal to his clients and never sacrificed the cause of justice because to him the ends of justice weighed more than anything else.
He said Dr Mwanawasa's practice earned him admiration from fellow lawyers because of his successes in litigation that were devoid of distrust, hatred and was in accordance with the law.
"He has left a legacy that as a lawyer whatever office you hold, the tenets of the legal profession, the ideals of justice and the rule of law should never be sacrificed," he said.
He said the legal fraternity cherished the fact that the late president was a defender of the independence and autonomy of the judiciary and personally ensured that it was delinked from the executive in 2007.
He said President Mwanasasa as a politician was committed to justice and the rule of law, which he exhibited throughout his tenure as president and that he changed the adage that politics was a dirty game.
He said that Dr Mwanawasa demonstrated that it was possible to hold political office without being polluted and that he conducted himself with dignity and honour.
Attorney General, Mumba Malila said President Mwanawasa belonged to a group of lawyers who practised according to the law and that to him clients were paramount.
Mr Malila described Dr Mwanawasa as a person who believed in team work, never egoistic and hence contributed to the development of law in Zambia and that would be measured by his truthfulness and popularised injunctions.
He said Dr Mwanawasa was highly disciplined and through his professionalism he produced good lawyers from those that he worked with at his law firm.
Mr Malila said the late president never took anything for granted as he always stuck to the truth making unpopular decisions among those who did not believe in the truth.
Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president, Elijah Banda said President Mwanawasa's death not only shocked the Zambian legal profession but South African Development Community Lawyers Association (SADCLA).
Mr Banda said by ascending to the presidency, Dr Mwanawasa was one of the members who had brought the highest honour and accolades to the legal profession.
He said his personal contribution to litigation and law development was phenomenal as the Law Reports of Zambia had shown.
Veteran lawyer, Julius Sakala who said that he knew President Mwanawasa in 1969 in Ndola urged LAZ to set up a Levy Mwanawasa Education Trust so that it could assist young lawyers.
He described the late president as a fearless fighter for the rule of law and good governance to an extent that he once resigned as vice-president when things did not appear to be what he believed in.
Another senior lawyer, Steven Malama who was also a close associate of Dr Mwanawasa said that the late president was a strong believer in procedural law, which was a legacy for lawyers to emulate.
He said lawyers should be like Dr Mwanawasa by using their knowledge to fight injustice and that they should avoid being extortionists.
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