IN OUR editorial opinion yesterday, we expressed profound confidence in the new Chief Justice Dr Mumba Malila following the approach he has taken in resolving the challenges that are facing the Judiciary in Zambia today. We commended the Chief Justice for guiding judges to be open to criticism and to avoid the temptation of abusing the contempt of court provision. We observed that the Judiciary in Zambia has not been tolerant to criticism, and has been harsh in meting out punishment for offenders, something which we said needed to be stopped. In his address at the Lucy Sichone Memorial lecture last week, Chief Justice Malila also made reference to the jailing of Derrick Sinjela, the Rainbow Newspaper Editor-in-Chief and his co-accused, Human Rights defender Gregory Chifire. He cited that incident as an example of when the judiciary, the Supreme Court in particular, acted hastily. Indeed, the jailing of Derrick Sinjela was a sad development, not only for the media, but the legal fraternity as well as it was a clear case of abuse of authority. The judges who felt personally insulted by Editor Sinjela appeared to have used their powerful positions in the Judiciary to punish an individual for offending them. It was a case of putting the role of complainant, judge, jury and executioner in the same hands. One of the principles we know that govern the way courts operate is that no one should be a judge in his or her own case. If you are the aggrieved person, there is no way you can be expected to be fair when judging your aggressor. Anyone who observed proceedings that resulted in the imprisonment of Editor Sinjela would agree.......