The Price They Pay for Their Independence: Understanding the Persecution of Judges in Africa as Retribution for Their Impartiality

Various recent research studies suggest that most judiciaries in Africa are captured by the ruling elites and they are being weaponised to persecute political opponents through judicial prosecution. However, not much has been researched and written about the victimisation of courageous judicial officers in Africa who insist on performing their judicial functions impartially and in the process are persecuted as a form of retribution for their impartiality. Much of the existing literature analyses and frames the victimisation of judicial officers as ‘attacks against the independence of the judiciary’ in Africa. While the victimisation of judicial officers as punishment for their impartiality constitutes violation of the principle of the independence of the judiciary, this paper argues that certain forms of victimisation must be understood as persecution of judicial officers. The paper discusses case studies which demonstrate a pattern of persecutory measures undertaken against impartial judges, not just to undermine their independence but to punish them by inflicting upon them and their families as much harm and pain as is possible. Characterising these forms of victimisation as ‘attacks against the independence of judges’ does not adequately capture and depict the seriousness of this problem. It is mischaracterisation of the problem, which may affect the way in which solutions for this problem are designed. The paper identifies and discusses trends of this problem of persecution of judges in Africa. It presents these trends in three categories namely: (a) political persecution; (b) selective application of judicial ethics to persecute certain judges; and (c) the targeting of women judges for their impartiality.