Lawyers key in fighting corruption

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Mongezi Mtati

It is not often that a room full of lawyers being briefed on accountability and corruption in their profession respond with broad smiles and rousing applause.

But that was the case yesterday, 18 August 2016, when Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng spoke to about 250 legal practitioners at the 17th SADC Lawyers' Association conference in Cape Town.

Mogoeng was his straightforward and unapologetic self as he reminded SADC lawyers of their roles in rooting out corruption in governments and the private sector - essential if the region were to survive and attract more investment.

"We need to stamp out corruption and anything that brings the profession into disrepute," he said.

Lawyers, he said, had the ability to root out corruption. However, some of them allow themselves "to become part of the corrupt system".

Responding to Mogoeng's appeal to lawyers to call for an effective SADC tribunal, Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Irene Petras said the issue had been occupying the attention of SADC lawyers for some time and acknowledged that more needed to be done.

"It's disappointing that the SADC tribunal is not functioning at the moment and that its human rights mandate has been reduced," said Petras.

Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge