【Short Story】"Who is A Just Judge?" by OLEPA #6

The formal procedures of court were done and the cases kicked off. The first case of the day was of a woman who was suing a local radio station for wrong weather prediction. The Truth FM had predicted that on the fateful day, there would be heavy rains and advised the locals to dress heavily and carry their umbrellas not forgetting to put on mud shoes. However, Mrs. Lonney dressed for a rainy day only for the day to turn out to be sunny, intense sun. She became nearly dehydrated due to intense sweating and also became target for ridicules and mocks from the passers-by who laughed off her choice of dressing. The plaintiff said she suffered from mental trauma from the mocks and also felt sick thereafter. Mbaku gave a ruling within himself that, he would have dismissed the case as the woman should have used natural knowledge. It was not a rainy season and the heavy rains were unlikely. On his part, Justice Cohen ruled that the woman would be paid compensation of the hospital bill. The second case was about a man who was being sued by police for over-speeding. The police said that the man was found driving at 360 Mph contrary to highway regulations. They said that later, the man was found to be drunk. The defendant on his plea, blamed the company which allowed the car to have such a high speed meter. The judge handed a sentence of 5 months to the man. Mbaku according to him thought that the police were of fault for allowing the man to drive after drinking.

The other cases were less important for instance. For instance a man who sued a local restaurant for selling him a hamburger with a lenife inside, he said he suffered from fear of eating any dish. The judge fined the restaurant for an attempted food poisoning.

The last case of the day was a more interesting one to Mbaku. Banda Financial Aid for Needy Students were suing a student for forgery. It was alleged that the accursed took the cheque with a list of six beneficiaries including himself. He then forged the cheque to read his name alone and become the love beneficiary. He however defended himself that he did it deliberately to unearth al the dirty tricks in the Financial Aid office. The student accused the office of being biased and bibalic in aid allocation. He testified that he had been a victim of forgery before and after seeking justice from the relevant authorities, he had been dismissed. He chose to forge so that all truth should be known. Justice Cohen handed him a one-year imprisonment for taking law in his hands. Mbaku though for a while. It was indeed a difficult case. He thought that the student was right to sacrifice himself for the betterment of the future. If he were a judge, all the officers in Financial Aid department would be sacked and investigated.

The court session was over and people started moving out while discussing the cases and eventual rulings. Mbaku remained rooted in his seat. He had made contrary rulings to those of Justice Cohen. He was thinking, “Who is a just judge?”