Maputo — The president of Mozambique's Supreme Court, Adelino Muchanga, revealed on Tuesday that over 50 law officers have been dismissed from the Mozambican public administration for being involved in illegal practices over the last five years.

"It is not a secret for anybody. We have been facing cases of professionals with bad behaviour, we have colleagues whose conduct has deviated from the norms', Machanga said, in the central city of Beira, at the opening of a National Meeting of Law Officers and Court Assistants.

Muchanga stressed the need for a code of conduct to guide law officers in their work.

"The number of officers dismissed has reached a total of 57 in the last five years. The servant of justice must give relevance to ethical values, since they are crucial for the construction of the rule of law, which assures individual and social rights, freedom, security, well-being and equality', he said.

He added that vacancies in the justice sector must be occupied by people with humbleness, empathy, maturity and wisdom.

"When a citizen goes to court, it means he has no other options to solve his problems', Muchanga added. "It means he wants a solution from the court, that's why we must know how to handle the process from the beginning'.

For her part, Teresa Coutinho, President of the Mozambican Association of Law Officers (AMOJ), said "the code of conduct is crucial for the sector. We will start to work on creating a code, taking into account issues of professional ethics.'