By Isaac Salima:
Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda Wednesday led a memorial court sitting in Blantyre in honour of deceased members of the bench and bar and commended their contribution to the advancement of the legal profession in the country.
Malawi Supreme Court judges, lawyers and family members of the deceased convened the sitting to remember six magistrates, a judge and eleven lawyers who have died between 2022 and 2025.
Among the deceased were Raphael Kasambara and Ngeyi Kanyongolo who died in 2024.
Mzikamanda said the departed left a legacy worth celebrating and learning from.
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“These people knew that they had to advance the cause of the rule of law, democracy, our Constitution and the independence of the Judiciary.
“These proceedings are a celebration of the exceptional lives of our departed colleagues in the legal profession. It is right and proper to pay homage to our beloved professionals after they have passed on, having rendered exceptional service,” he said.
Mzikamanda called on practising legal professionals to learn from the deceased.
“They are sons and daughters of the soil to be celebrated and honoured. It is very difficult to enumerate all their contributions and they are legal icons worth emulating,” he said.
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Malawi Law Society president Davis Njobvu said each of the deceased was a builder of the profession.
“They put the brick on the cathedral of our legal system. They added to the respect and honour of the law. We honour their memory with love. We take a moment to reflect and learn from a profession well served. Each one of these colleagues went on to become a contributor to the growth of the legal profession that we have today,” Njobvu said.
Attorney General Frank Mbeta described the day as special for the profession.
“It is incumbent upon us, the living, to honour them and their selflessness in the discharge of their duties,” he said.
The last memorial sitting was held in August 2023.
