Outgoing Chief Justice Twomey makes five calls for action
The Seychelles judiciary was treated to Mathilda Twomey’s usual no nonsense and direct approach to her work, during her last address made at the ceremonial seating on Thursday afternoon. Rampant patriarchy, the sexism and the questionable work ethics of certain individuals in that arm of government was brought to the fore, when she made five last calls of action before finally relin-quishing her position as chief of justice. Dr. Twomey asked those in the judiciary to stop turning a blind eye to unethical practices amongst the ranks, she pleaded with them to be courageous and upfront, to do away with sexism, patriarchy and to stand by their principles. She urged them to use the courts to fight human rights abuse.
Over the years, Dr. Twomey had made no excuses of the fact that she is a person who has principles that she is ready to stand for. In fact, she reminded the politicians, diplomats and other lawyers present of how as a constitutional lawyer she had been called ‘en pti fanm araze’ (an angry little woman)! Forward 27 years after the initial contact, members of the public had with her after her performance during the drafting of the constitution, she points out that the sexism and patriarchy that existed then was still alive and well.
While relaying her experiences in the judiciary, little was Dr. Twomey to know that the very next day certain media houses would label her speech as being at times ‘venomous’ in their publications – cementing the point she had made of the disparities between men and women in position, not only in the judiciary but the country as a whole.
To most, courts are generally places that people only have to visit when they are in some sort of legal trouble. A perception Dr. Twomey said was one of the many weaknesses that needed address-ing in the near future. As current practices stand, it is very rare that the courts are used to address human rights violations – which must be noted does not only include foreign workers, but people with mental illnesses and other vulnerable groups in society. Upon listening to Dr. Twomey who expressed her eagerness to continue lending a helping hand through her role as a justice of the Court of Appeal as well as an educator, one is left with the feeling that despite making huge strides to improve the judicial system, there is still much that needs to be done. One of them is ridding the system of bad apples who take a client’s compensation money – funds that the aggrieved family have been waiting for since 2015!
While leaving office, Seychelles first ever Seychellois Chief Justice told the heart rending story of how a woman on Praslin was involved in an SPTC bus accident, took the company to court and won her case; BUT to date the family is yet to receive a penny from their lawyer whom they trusted de-spite SPTC having already paid out the sum. She also explained that when trying to take the lawyer in question to task, she was not only met with resistance, but politics was also used as a tool to stop her from getting justice for that said family. It is therefore very surprising that having seen, heard and lived through the many deficiencies of the system she served well for five years, Dr. Twomey still speaks of hope and her wish that Seychelles Judiciary improves in the future.
