Friday, March 29, 2024

President Lungu dissolves moribund Justice Chikopa tribunal, reinstates Justices Mutuna, Kajimanga

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President Edgar Lungu with First Lady Esther Lungu arrives at Hong Qiao State Guest House in Shanghai, China on March 26,2015. The President is in China on a State Visit and will also address the BOAO forum slated for March 26 to 29,2015 in Hainan Province of China -Pictures by THOMAS NSAMA
President Edgar Lungu with First Lady Esther Lungu arrives at Hong Qiao State Guest House in Shanghai, China on March 26,2015. The President is in China on a State Visit and will also address the BOAO forum slated for March 26 to 29,2015 in Hainan Province of China -Pictures by THOMAS NSAMA

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has dissolved the moriEdgar Lungu has dissolved the moribund Justice Chikopa-led Tribunal and lifted the suspension of the two judges it was tasked to probe for alleged misconduct.

The Tribunal was set up in April 2012 by President Michael Sata following the complaint by Post Newspaper proprietor Fred Mmembe and Mutembo Nchito when they alleged that Judges Nigel Mutuna, Judge Charles Kajimanga and Supreme Court Justice, Philip Musonda, misconducted themselves over the handling of the Zambian Airways court case (where they are shareholders).

In statement released by Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda, President Lungu dissolved the tribunal following a Consent Judgement entered into by the Attorney General and the Judges.

President Edgar Lungu has since revoked the suspensions and reinstated the Judges and has allowed them to work as puisine judges of the High Court.

The Tribunal failed to sit when it was frustrated by numerous court applications and injunctions.

And Chief Justice Ireen Mambilima has appointed Judge Charles Kajimanga as Judge-in-Charge.

In a letter to the Chief Justice, the Hon. Ireen Mambilima, President Lungu stated that following the report he has received from the Solicitor-General to the effect that by consent, the ruling of Mr Justice Mwinde Siavwapa ordering the reinstatement of Justices Charles Kajimanga and Nigel Mutuna has been reversed, he has decided to dissolve the Tribunal and forthwith lift the two judges’ suspension.

The dissolution of the tribunal brings to an end the protracted acrimony and legal challenge within the judiciary that rendered the Chikopa-led Tribunal moribund and thereby costing the country huge sums of money yet the tribunal was non-functional.
The President has since directed the Secretary to the Cabinet to administratively bring closure to this matter promptly.

Meanwhile President Lungu has also formally lifted the suspension of Justices Timothy Katenekwa and E. Sunkutu following their respective clearance by tribunals that were appointed to probe cases of alleged incompetence.

36 COMMENTS

    • Reversing all decisions Sata made…what a way to carry the late Cobra’s legacy! Edgar has completely departed from Sata’s policies and has now embarked on Rupiah’s, such as endless glob-trotting. We had Vasco Da Banda, now we have Vodgar Da Gamma!

    • So it is so clear that Edgar was in disagreement with Sata in almost anything.
      Why don’t even dissolve the Sata & Kaseba’s marriage and reinstate Mulenga Sata’s mother?

    • Sata’s decisions were not his but that of the cartel. EL is making his own decisions. HH has never and will never make any decision on behalf of the people of Zambia

    • Typical PF, totally clueless.I will not be surprised in the 3 Airports are re-named. Chipantepante! Tribunal, no tribunal. Increase mine taxes, reduce mine taxes. In PF, the don’t know if they are going forward or backward. Lord have mercy

    • FORMER PF Bwana Mukubwa Constituency officials say recent happenings in the PF following Michael Sata’s death indicate that the party is in self-destruct mode. It is not only PF. Zambia itself is in self destructive mode, thanks to PF and ultimately thanks to Fred Mmembe who said Sata was the saviour we needed. From now on, Zambia will never be the same and will never be a real normal democracy. It is the rule of the jungle onwards.

    • Well, well well! So much for no vision. Looks look HEEL is his own man after all and knows exactly what he’s got to do.

    • Carrying a vision doesn’t mean adopting every decision made. Let’s just be real and not oppose everything. That tribunal is the one we all cried about, a foreign judge who stayed in this country at our cost and did nothing. Let alone, the motive was all a fix by Mutembo and company; if you remember the Mathew Mohan case and the scandal of buying the judicial system. They wanted to silence all threats. On this one, bravo and to hell with Sata’s pact with his mates

  1. That is my president right there,the man we all need to rally behind,he is the key to all our economic problems.he is indeed the chosen1

    • Sata was perfect in everything, and following an imperfect legacy, sometimes means righting a few wrongs made. I see nothing wrong in dissolving a tribunal that yield no results.
      I know most of you, jst want to find fault in everything…or rather want to politicize everything EL does. We all knew that Judge Chikopa and his tribunal was a sheer waste of money…and people spoke against it. Whats so wrong in reversing something that needed reversing so long ago????
      Or maybe its wrong because its been done by EL???

  2. Just wondering what the tribunal had achieved over this long period. could we have a report on the same? or we need to form another tribunal to look into the findings of the chikopa led tribunal?

    • I see where you are coming from Grace but I think its best to leave it we don’t have the money for a tribunal for another tribunal. “someone” made a costly mistake we shouldn’t add another wrong trying to make it right. Sometimes in life we must count our losses and walk on. At least that hemorrhage has been stopped. The other benefit is Chikopo’s family will get to see him more often (they lived happily ever after) so it is kind of a ka happy ending….

  3. I’m sure the Bwinjimfumu cartel is shivering now. There is a time for everything ……….a time to borrow and a time to pay back. I’m sure Bwinjimfumu knows what time it is.

    • Ha ha ha, I like the way you ended your sentence ati I am sure they know what time it is….for real. Enough with that group

  4. I don’t think this is about reversing Sata’s decisions per se but about EL’s war with the Mmembe cartel who hates him and who controlled Sata.

  5. Can someone explain why (and how) the cartel controlled Sata?

    If this assertion has merit, then why did Sata fire Kabimba.

    Its clear that Mmembe and Nchito have been running Zambia for a while now. What is not clear is how Lungu can overthrow them.

    • By the time Sata realised that the Cartel was up no good, he was already booked for Embassy Park. Same happened to Levy.

  6. It was a given, isn’t it, especially after the tribunal failed to take off, yet we fattened one emanciated Malawian lawyer for Sata’s pay back. Shame, the things happenning in PF govt!

    • Mphendula Kayaula: You nearly cracked my ribs laughing!! How can that happen even if you feed Chikopo with GMOs!!

    • @Mphendula Kayaula that is a good one! I can imagine the guy had nothing to do apart from go downstairs from his room to the Pamodzi Hotel bar and restaurant!!! Free pay can cause obesity actually

  7. The cartel used MCS to fix the judges, now ECL will use the judges to fix the cartel & herein lie the problem.
    A competent & independent judicial commission should be handling these issues & not the president full stop.

  8. We all complained about the tribunal and called upon Judge Chikopa to go back to Malawi. ECL has done a commendable job to dissolve the tribunal. I hope that ADB can now recover our K14 million with interest that is owed by the Cartel. Membe should also meet his ZRA obligations so that it helps in repaying the loan that Zambia owes the PTA which his Post newspaper has been singing about.

  9. Again, more evidence of our very able President. Able to cut through stalemate and clear the way for a Clean Gov’t.

    More nails in the coffins for Mmembe and Nchito. The shame and utter injustice caused to the lives of these Judges should be compensated by Damages levied against the infamous duo. If we take away some of their wealth to pay for their deeds we’ll also prevent them from affording aggravated applications to courts in an effort to escape Justice.

    Well done Sir, Your Excellency.

  10. Now The high court have their fellows returned they shall back the President and Zambia 100 fold. Any miscreants of justice and fiends shall quiver. Zambia 10 – bandits 0.

    Viva President Nawakwi, I mean President E.C Lungu.

  11. ECL is busy working. May he keep up the good work. Let those judges now help to get rid of the cartel. The cartel please if you have ears may you ran away to unknown destination because you, the cartel led by Fred Mumembe you have brought untold suffering.

  12. This was Sata’s true legacy.The guy was a colossal misfit as head of state.I do not like Edgar Lungu but I have to say he is an improvement on his predecessor.All that waste of public finances for nothing and they still want to build his retirement palace!The loonies are definitely in charge of the asylum in Zambia.

  13. Sata was just too corrupt. I never liked Lingu but so far I am impressed with some of his work.this is the way human beings should interact.sata was just a bully who forced his way and only his way at the expense of the nation and the law. He was a liability to the nation. We now have to suffer paying off debtsherecklessly incurred in his short rule. Irresponsible !

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