Frederick
Egonda-Ntende has left the office of Chief Justice after his contract was not
renewed. Who will succeed him?
Chief Justice (CJ)
Frederick Egonda-Ntende has vacated his office. He departed on Wednesday, when
the Ugandan judge’s contract ran out. This was announced in a brief email
circulated by the judiciary on Thursday. His chair has been filled by Acting
Chief Justice (ACJ) Durai Karunakaran, who has backed him up in this capacity
over the last five years, but whether this is a permanent fixture remains to be
seen.
As the end of Mr
Egonda-Ntende’s contract loomed closer over the last few weeks, there has been much
speculation about whether it would be extended for another two years or if the
Constitutional Appointments Authority would appoint another Chief Justice.
According to sources in the legal profession, when neither happened, Mr
Egonda-Ntende ended up feeling like was being strung-along, packed his bags,
and left.
Attorneys that TODAY
spoke to seemed surprised by the swiftness of the former Chief Justice’s
departure, and wondered if he would return in some other capacity to preside
over outstanding cases. ACJ Karunakaran stated this is not the case. “He won’t
come back to office,” he confirmed to this newspaper, adding that “he does not
have any cases that cannot be transferred to other judges.”
ACJ Karunakaran said that CJ Egonda-Ntende’s contract expired
on 20 August, and he received a call one day later informing him that he will
assume acting duty two days later. This seems to have happened haphazardly as
Mr Karunakaran confirms that he has not received any official documents
confirming this yet. When asked if the position could become permanent, he said
it is “possible.” “It would be good, I’ve lived and practiced in Seychelles for
the past 32 years and have a lot of experience in this court,” he said. ACJ
Karunakaran is an Indian national.
Former CJ
Egonda-Ntende was sworn to office on 21 August 2009, and presided over its
translocation to Ile du Port, as well as several other notable developments in
the judiciary. Sources expect that his permanent replacement will be announced
over the next few days, and at least one local attorney has confirmed that they
have submitted an application for the vacant post.
Source: Today
