WE thank you colleagues for your response to Postgraduate programme, you will hear from us soon. Just could be wondering how a blind person can work as a judge? Often in my work as a disability rights activist, I face such questions when I raise the issue as to why visually impaired lawyers and advocates and fresh law graduates are not being considered for the post of judges.
Is it a systemic apartheid or the apathy of the appointing authorities that they do not find blind to be competent to perform the functions of a judge?
Is there any legal or policy level impediment?
Mind you, there is no impediment in appointment of a blind person as a judge or magistrate or chief justice because, firstly, the post has been identified by many governments in Africa, secondly, there is a reservation to the posts for the blind person too! Then why is it that it is only in South Africa where we had a deputy chief justice who was a blind person despite having a provision in Persons with Disabilities convention on Equalisation of Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full participation.
There is an urgent need for Government to speed up the process of real and practical domestication of the United Nation Convention on the rights of the Disabled and align national laws to the convention more especially that most countries in Africa have signed the convention and partially domesticate.
Any role models
It is important for young visually impaired friends to encourage themselves and look at Shri Sadhan Gupta, an Advocate General in Kolkata who remained Advocate General, though blind, disability did not deter him from performing his important and sensitive job effectively nor did the Government think that he was not competent to perform! There have been several role models world over- to name just a few; Dr Hans Eugene Schulze from Germany who has since retired from judiciary and recently Justice Zakeria Mohammed Zak Yacoob from South Africa who became judge of the Constitutional Court of South
Africa despite his blindness.
Why not blind as Judges.
One of the reasons why we have not seen many blind friends as judges is that the education system in Africa is because of not being disability friendly but that governments have not provided laws to compel institutions of learning reserve 10 per cent of yearly admission to disabled people in general.
Disabled people must have special entry requirement with full Government sponsorship for those doing law related courses. It is time people looked at abilities and not disability and support disabled people who wish to become lawyers and eventually appointed to the bench!
Secondly, the poor quality of education and lack of support in early and higher education is mostly responsible for not seeing many blind candidates wishing to take up law courses and then attend advanced law training for them to practice as Lawyers.
Isn’t it amazing that in the 21st century, we see disabled children learning behind schools in the so called special classes, I personally wonder what is special about this direct exclusion of our children from the main stream education system and learn in levels instead of grades?
Remember that most of the role models in this call said that they were supported firstly by families and secondly by communities. My prayer is that for any community to produce the next judge, concerted efforts by all is need and let us be disabilities’ activist within families and communities.
According John 9 verse 1, as Jesus went along, He saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
In other words, Jesus Christ worked on society mind and perception about visually impaired that despite the situation they were equal citizens with rights to become anything and anyone in this great continent they call Africa can create a society and have more Blind lawyers.
When we carefully look at the words of Jesus Christ which for me is a greatest assurance to Blind colleagues and parents with visually impaired Children today that blindness is not a limitation to success but a challenge which can be addressed by Blind people themselves with support from families and society in which they live.
Can I preach today I feel like preaching the all day but let me just encourage you that for works of God to be seen in a Blind person, our society must first accept them and support individual Blind Child or adult by identifying opportunities and concentrate on abilities, in my view a blind lawyers will be well placed to advocate for their rights juts like a deaf lawyer can perfectly address issues affecting them.
Yes, we have visually impaired and Deaf as teachers and lecturers but we can do it better than that. As a Disability rights expert I know we can do it and with my personal interaction with Blind friends around the world, I think time has come for Africa to educate and support persons with disabilities knowing that blindness is not a curse but a purpose that the Glory of God can be seen in a Blind person.
For me I know that soon will have a Blind Lawyer in Zambia and later a Blind judge of the High court and we can also be encouraged by my Blind friends who are Lawyers from America, Ethiopia and Republic of South Africa, I said earlier. I should confirm here that I have learnt a lot from their determination.
As I said last year, that I have been encouraged to know that in developed countries which has trained Visually Impaired lawyers, Blind people are being considered for the post of Judges which is a clear indication of inclusive development and sustainable rehabilitation of the Blind people  and when this
is done, Zambia will change the perception.
I am praying that this systemic change of thinking shall be supported by all Zambians including organisation of and for the disabled because by appointing them as Judges in other countries now confirms that they are competent to perform the functions of a Judge and this has allowed smooth implementation of mainstreaming of Disability across the world.
In America, Dr Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind a biggest movement of the Blind in that country was born blind and holds PhD in Jurisprudence Indiana School of Law Dr Maurer after years of practice in Government he decided to go into private practice in Baltimore, Maryland in 1981 where he specialised in civil litigation and property matters.
But increasingly, he concentrated on representing blind individuals and groups in the courts. He has now become one of the most experienced and knowledgeable Attorneys in the country regarding the laws, precedents, and administrative rulings concerning civil rights and discrimination against the blind.
He is a member of the Bar in Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Maryland and a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States and as a lawyer, Dr Maurer has always been active in civic and political affairs, having run for the state legislature from Baltimore.
On one part, I feel it is a failure of most systems in Africa which has made no efforts to sensitize the larger population about the abilities of the Visually
Impaired in this era of technology and the power of screen reading software that has largely reduced the functional impact of visual disability among the trained blind friends.
Government should develop deliberate policy for Public Service commission and Judiciary Service Commissioner to provide specific scholarships for blind students accepted to do Bachelors of Laws in Public and Private Universities to encourage parent with Blind and deaf Children to take their Children to Law schools.
Let me conclude by saying that persons with disabilities can do a lot if we support them first and secondly, we accept them as part of the community and thank you for your comments and suggestions and stories contact us on CDDRLP Zambia Office Cha Cha Cha Road within Leeds Building P.O. BOX 34490 Lusaka, Zambia E-mail: zambia@cddrlp.net Tell: +260211-238160 Mobile: +260966036931+260966036931 or use our South African Address.
CDDRLP Project Office, P.O. BOX 1981 New Castle, 2940 South Africa
Tell: +27343127894+27343127894
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E-mail:cm@cddrlp.net Website:   www.cddrlp.net
The author is Africa Disability policy Analyst for SADC and Inclusive Development Advisor for Centre for Disability Development Research, Law and Policy, Johannesburg