Chad’s magistrates’ unions call on the Transitional President and Prime Minister to call two ministers to order, reports said on Wednesday.
The statements made by the Minister of Finance, Tahir Hamid Nguilin, and the Minister of Regional Planning, Mahamat Assileck Halata, on the subject of Justice and magistrates are causing quite a stir. Last week, these two ministers described Justice as a “business” and magistrates as “artisans of false cadastral surveys.”
In a press release issued on July 11, the Syndicat des Magistrats du Tchad (SMT) and the Syndicat Autonome des Magistrats du Tchad (SYAMAT) condemned these remarks. According to the two unions, such remarks, made in flagrante delicto, constitute offences of contempt and discredit against a constituted body of the State. Such offences are provided for and punishable under articles 142 and 144 of the Chadian Penal Code.
However, the magistrates are calling on the President of the Transition, who is the guarantor of justice, and his Prime Minister to call these two ministers to order. However, they do not rule out filing a complaint against these two personalities.
Since June 21, magistrates have been on a nationwide, dry and unlimited strike. They are contesting the proposed reform of the ‘Conseil Superieur de la Magistrature’ (CSM), which they see as a threat to their independence.
CA/ac/fss/abj/APA