The Chikopa tribunal set up to probe judges is today expected to sit and hear preliminary issued raised by Dr Justice Philip Musonda. The Tribunal which is expected to sit in the morning would among other things consider Dr Musonda’s submissions that it had no jurisdiction proceed with the hearing because he had decided to leave office.
But Tribunal secretary Chipili Magayane had in her response advised that her office would sit today to hear the issues raised by Dr Musonda.
Ms Magayane advised Dr Justice Musonda’s lawyers to present issues raised before the Tribunal for consideration and not through the exchange of letters.
Today should have been the official date set by the Tribunal to start receiving evidence in the alleged professional misconduct of Dr Justice Musonda, judges Mutuna and Kajimanga had the two not been granted leave to stay the proceedings by Mr Justice Siavwapa which Mr Malila has since challenged.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Mumba Malila has filed an application asking Ndola high court judge Mwiinde Siavwapa to discharge the leave to commence judicial review granted to judges Nigel Mutuna and Charles Kajimanaga to challenge the legality of the Tribunal about a forty night ago.
The grounds on which Mr Malila has based his arguments to urge Mr Justice Siavwapa to discharge his ruling to grant permission to judges Mutuna and Kajimanga to commence judicial review to challenging the legality of the tribunal could not by press time be accessed because they were yet to be filed before Mr Justice Siavwapa in Ndola.
But according to information gathered, the Lusaka high court yesterday morning had date stamped the application by Mr Malila enroute to Ndola where the trial court was based.
The attorney general is in his application expected to put across arguments asking Mr Justice Siavwapa to review the Supreme Court judgement that established that president Michael Sata was on firm ground when he suspended the judges and set up a tribunal to probe them.
Mr Malila would in the light of the above ask Mr Justice Siavwapa to discharge his ruling in favour of the two judges and allow for the Tribunal to continue.
Stop wasting money on this nonsense. People are roaming the streets with no jobs while you engage yourselves in this endless bickering which don’t benefit anyone but PF’s ego and pockets
we are tired hearing about this useless tribunal, just get the K14bn and ask that guy who is supposed to head the same to go Malawi immediately twapapata sana
The educated in the judiciary vs the danda heads at state house and the executive, malila continues to cry.
This is what happens when the educated succumb to ignorance, in short JETTISONING their LOGICAL & RATIONAL THINKING for FERVOR from LEADERS whose capacity for abstract thinking & applying the same to today’s complex world, is abysmal, for today’s world demands more than just “hunter gatherer” instincts!!! We should be ashamed of some of the characters that have come out of UNZA. The purpose of that institution is to produce characters of Independent & Abstract Thought of which such individuals should be proud of!!!!
Can someone help understand one thing, how many Tribunals are there? I thought there was one Tribunal that was appointed to look into issues relating to three judges. If my assumption is correct, then how can the Tribunal be sitting now when there is a stay granted by the High Court. From my understanding of the law, when there is a stay the Tribunal ought not to sit but it is surprising that the Tribunal is going ahead to sit. This clearly against the law, the sitting is illegal. I am surprised further that the lawyers have not raised this concern and even going further to apply to the High Court to restrain this kind of action.
@ 4 Mbaya: Indeed there is only one tribunal this time for Musonda only who has not challenged the setting of the tribunal but opted to retire instead. The other two judges are not party to it until their High Court case is dispossed of. I hope this helps you to understand.
I lived in Zambia for a while and it pains me to see that a President can import a lawyer that first and foremost sat for one year literary doing nothing while living comfortably in luxury chewing tax payers money and Zambians are just watching. Are Zambians really that docile?