Judge Titus Mlangeni appears to be drunk with judicial power, on Thursday he imposed a harsh sentence on the President of the Law Society of Eswatini(LSE) Mangaliso Magagula for contempt of court.
In my previous article, I condemned lawyer Mangaliso Magagula for disrespecting Judges and urged him to respect the courts when representing clients but, in as much as I strongly believed the lawyer must be corrected and be reminded of his judicial code of conduct as the officer of the court, Judge Mlangeni has crossed line.
The courts should not be used to fight personal or capitalists battles, Judge Mlangeni acted in a bias manner and/or demonstrated inclination throughout the Galp Eswatini-Ncamanse Investments case.
Indeed, no sane Judge could impose a custodial sentence on a lawyer merely for drafting court papers on behalf of his client and, one wonders how Judge Mlangeni concluded that, the statements used as the basis of contempt of court charges were the views of the lawyer as Mangaliso Magagula was representing his client.
In this regard, Judge Mlangeni acted like a man who shot and killed a child merely for stealing sweets and by so doing, “he thinks he is protecting the integrity of the court” and he expects us to view that as justice.
The child might be wrong to steal the sweets but, that does not mean the kid must killed merely for stealing sweets, Judge Mlangeni has taken a position to deal and destroy lawyer Mangaliso Magagula and he must be stopped
Contempt of court refers to actions that disrupt or undermine the authority of the court, administration, or proceedings and this might include disobeying court orders, being disrespectful to Judges, disrupting courtroom proceedings and/or acting in a manner that undermines or defeats the ends of justice.
This article is critical of Judge Mlangeni but it does not amount to deliberate contempt of court, it is line with the role of the media to hold those in power accountable, Judges are not ‘gods’ and they are not immune to criticism.
But a power drunk Judge like Titus Mlangeni with an alterior motive, could easily manipulate this article and conclude that it amounts to contempt of court, this is exactly what happened to lawyer Mangaliso Magagula who has been jailed subsequent to contempt of court proceedings emerging from a mere opinion of a Judge.
Indeed, in this case, we saw Judge Titus Mlangeni launching contempt of court proceedings based on his mere legal opinion suggesting that, by labelling to court proceedings “a secret meeting”, lawyer Mangaliso Magagula was in contempt of court.
It is important for Judge Titus Mlangeni to understand that, it was his legal opinion to conclude that, labelling court proceeding “a secret meeting” amounts to contempt of court, there’s no specific law criminalizing such.
In my view, Judge Mlangeni could have opted for a suspended sentence as a warning or a deterrence measure not to jail a lawyer merely for drafting court papers on behalf of his client.
But even if he delivered a suspended sentence, it would have been advisable for Magagula to appeal so that, the Judge or those acting on his behalf could give clarity how “referring to court proceedings a secret meeting” amounts to court of court particularly because, those proceedings were indeed a secret meeting.
As a Judge you can’t preside over a case and deliver rulings in the absence of the defendant and then expect the lawyer to clap hands or applaud you.
It is the duty of all Judges and by extension, all judicial officers to behave in a manner that does not undermine the authority of the court not to subject litigants to injustice and then, abuse judicial power to evade accountability.
President of the Law Society Titus Mlangeni as he then was, collaborated with other lawyers and, was at the forefront during the ousting the then Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi who was persecuting the Nation Magazine editor Bheki Makhubu, lawyers and highly regarded Judge Thomas Masuku.
Now we are seeing the current President of the Law Society being jailed merely for drafting court papers in a manner that did not go down well with Judge Titus Mlangeni, the Honorable Judge is now behaving exactly like Ramodibedi.
But the court is not a bedroom where Judges are romanced by their wives or girlfriends and Judges have absolutely no authority to dictate to lawyers how they must draft court papers.
Lawyers must be allowed to draft court papers in a manner that will communicate the true picture and position of their clients in that particular case, they should not be distracted by thoughts how a particular Judge will react.
Previously, I disagreed with lawyer Mangaliso Magagula after noticing that his clients including Eswatini Med, were systematically defying court orders but on this particular case, I fully support the lawyer, Judge Mlangeni is off-side and clearly abusing judicial power.
It is important for the Honorable Judge to understand that, we don’t want to read ‘anger’ in judgements but we want justice.
What is Judge Mlangeni hiding in his conscience in the Galp Eswatini matter that triggered anger by the mere labelling of court proceedings “a secret meeting?”.
Judge Mlangeni must know that even the one hundred thousand Rands(R100,000.00) and twenty(20) days in jail is completely unreasonable, this matter is not about contempt of court, we will soon find out why the President of the Law Society is persecuted by the Honorable Judge.
Lawyer Mangaliso Magagula.