Saturday, October 5, 2024

ConCourt Judges disrespected and disregarded the judicial principles laid down in Article 118 of the amended constitution

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FODEP Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi
McDonald Chipenzi
The Constitutional Court judges who handled the presidential petition has continued receiving a backlash with the latest condemnation coming in the form of former FODEP Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi who has described their conduct as the greatest embarrassment and an assault to the country’s enviable electoral Justice.

Mr Chipenzi said the judges disrespected and disregarded the judicial principles laid down in Article 118 of the amended constitution which are instructive on how the judiciary must treat the issues of justice in this country.

He said the move by some progressive citizens to lodge a complaint against the judges is justified and that it will promote promoting transparent and accountability in the judiciary and that JCA should deal with the complaint with urgency it deserves.

“The conduct and decision of the Constitutional Court Judges on the presidential petition is one of greatest embarrassment country has suffered in the recent past and further assaulted Zambia’s enviable electoral Justice.

“From the conduct of these judges, it was clear that they disrespected and disregarded the judicial principles laid down in Article 118 of the amended constitution which are instructive on how the judiciary must treat the issues of justice in this country.

“For this reason, some progressive minds and citizens have decided to lodge a complaint against the conduct of these constitutional court judges and the way they managed the entire the presidential petition to the Judicial Complaint Authority, which action is justified and a right step to promoting transparent and accountability in the judiciary,” he said.

He also called on the legislative arm of the government to scrutinize individuals it has ratified to administer justice in the country so that the nation does not suffer the same fate again.

“Ultimately, the buck stops with the National Assembly of Zambia which ratified these judges, who today, have caused so much public ridicule and embarrassment to the judiciary.
The National Assembly must seriously reflect on the behavior of some of the people it has ratified to administer justice in this country so that, in future, due diligence in the scrutinisation process is exercised devoid of partisanship to rid the country off such kind of embarrassment.

“The habit of ratifying people just because the head of state has recommended them for such positions and the use of arrogance of numbers in the National Assembly by sponsoring political parties to ratify such individual, unless stopped, will always cause serious embarrassment to and undermine justice in the country,” he said.

He added “being a final court on constitutional matters, the persons to occupy such positions at the constitutional court and expected to administer and dispense justice must be above partisan and sectional interests in order to dispense justice to all without discrimination or without using procedural technicalities to deny aggrieved parties.”

He has since described the management of the presidential petition by the constitutional court judges was a comedy of the century and which has lowered the integrity of the Judiciary in Zambia.

31 COMMENTS

    • This has nothing to do with being UPND, I voted for Lungu but i think that the judges were upto something, there was no justice.

    • Ba Jere why is it that no one is taking HH to task for having failed to call witnesses from 20th Aug to 2nd Sept? Why should judges bend the law just for a litigant? If onot the 26th of Aug he started calling witnesses to be cross examined don’t you think he would have finished with 21 witnesses by 2nd Sept? HH didn’t go to equity with clean hands

    • @ De’Chilyatad

      This issue does NOT go with either equity or clean hands. You sound like certain SC who whilst bribing fellow “brothers” always says same.
      When it comes to Constitution, even convicted criminals or embezzlers do have same rights like you and me as to the protection of the law.
      What is at stake, its LEGAL PRINCIPLE, not the facts of the case.
      The right to be heard has been ignored by the Justices contrary to the established “stare decisis”.
      Only one question, do the Justices have right to legislate or theirs job is to interpret the law?

  1. Tap their calls, search their bank accounts.

    I wish nothing good for them.

    They stole the vote from legitimate presdeint HH.

    Lungu will not last the whole term – you know why!

    Thanks

    Bb2014

  2. Says a guy called Mr Chipenzi,another useless UPND cadre who cannot disclose the fact that they couldn’t provide any credible evidence for 14 whole days.Go to Hell Chipenzi, we are inaugurating ECL next tuesday and there is nothing HH and GBM will do about it.Even if he dies after 2 years as you damn prophets of doom are wishing,there will be no elections …. it’s going to be Inonge.So HH if you’re sharp as you say you are,better regroup and restrategise ASAP.Not ma press conference yamatuvi day in day out.

  3. You Mushota who are you to say Lungu won’t last the whole term?are you God?Rubbish you,it’s you who won’t last,watch your space,because of the losers you think you can curse the president?????Who are you,and who do you think you are???You cannot curse what God has blessed,Lungu is God chosen…

  4. You have never explained why you were forced out of FODEP. It was reported on this site that “Outgoing FODEP Executive Director has revealed that a group of foreign donors sponsoring the organisation are responsible for this abrupt exist from the NGO” on 24 February 2016.

    You should be the last person to consider yourself a ‘progressive citizen”.

  5. Our judiciary needs total cleansing urgently. The late President Michael C Sata tried to bring in Chikopa from Malawi to cleanse it but the same UPND & Chipenzi blocked him on political & partisan reasons. Today they are crying the loudest for the standards they have accepted, supported & lived with. The same people have opposed / blocked every beneficial move for Zambia e.g. SIM Card registration, Retirement Age, Referendum, Amended Constitution, etc. Even on Referendum, when its benefits are denied to them, UPND & Chipenzi will be the first to cry foul play. Unless this subbotage of blocking new laws, amended laws & modern protocols is curtailed the nation is in trouble.

  6. LUNGOWE learn to think like zambian and a truthful person, there is no justice without being heard, people who kill others are giving chance to be heard, y not HH and UPND. we know some pipo are educated but not learned its stupid to support injustice we all need to stand up and say no to injustice. all those against justice are selfish and very soon the injustice you are celebrating will soon bite you.

  7. SOCIAL LOAFING refers to the concept that people are prone to exert less effort on a task if they are in a group versus when they work alone. The idea of working in groups is typically seen as a way to improve the accomplishment of a task by pooling the skills and talents of the individuals in that group. But, in some groups, there is a tendency on the part of participants to contribute less to the group’s goal than if they were doing the same task themselves.
    GROUP THINK a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (p. 9). Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that de…

  8. GROUP THINK a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment” (p. 9). Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that de -humanize other groups. A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm. Intellectual please learn social psychology or just psychology it will help you in cases such as these…

  9. Thus issue has now become meaningless because the Judiciary seems to want to grandstand on the matter. It is perfectly clear that HH has no cause to petition. We have allowed a fool, to bring the country to a stand. The best way forward is to throw this matter out in its entirety, to injunct HH&Co to prevent them filing any further claims in courts. No Judge should be removed as a result if this nonsense ny the deranged man HH. We have allowed him too much attention which is all he wanted the results were fair and tie in if you compare the MPs won on each party; a clear indication of the winner. This delay has brought the country to a stand and must not be allowed to continue. HH, and the initial lawyers must be slapped with contempt of court, vexatious conduct, and treasonous…

  10. ………../and treasonous attempt to prevent a democraticly elected President to rake his place. Personal litigation naming President, Vice and senior Judiciary is the act of a mad men at work.

  11. Anything coming from this Chpenzi retard of cadre and fired FODEP CEO should be for the gutter, not worth publishing! Just another bitter cardre!

    Back to HH..
    Bane there should be a limit to everything! Even adopting certain charateristics in life, one ought to have a mechanism of choosing what is worth emulating and what isn’t. Bushe mupampamina washani uyu? We Know HH has a lot of cattle, but that’s not to say one should adopt the characteristics of a tick which sicks to the cow’s hide whatever the condition of the cow. HH let GO!! The Presidency has already gone to ECL…try 2021 if the Party will to float a very unsaleable product, that is!

  12. So in zambia criminality and crookedness are also a gift from God

    Nowonder we are a christian nation !

    Ati fipelwa naba yahweh.

  13. In all these issues being raise, I have seen a mixture of people, lawyers from all other tribes supporting HH and UPND but my worry is that I have not seen any TONGA supporting PF…. it gives me a lot of worry. Southerners, please what has gone wrong. All other tribes are supporting UPND and HH, what about you????

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