Judge Chitabo said there was no merit in their application and that their conduct and that of their counsel had shown contumelious disregard for the rules and practice.
He has taken strong exception to the conduct of UPND cadres who invaded and caused mayhem at the High Court, stating that it was an act of serious impunity as it disregarded his prior admonition against the party bringing cadres to the Court.
Judge Chitabo has also blasted HH and GBM for writing a letter to him directly instead of allowing their counsel to do so.
He stated this when delivering his ruling in an application in which the Attorney General filed a notice to raise preliminary issues on whether the Honourable Court could interpret otherwise than in accordance with the interpretation of the Constitutional Court in respect to the time frame within which the Presidential Election petition may be heard and inquire into a question of fair hearing when the Presidential Election was never heard on account of the negligence and inertia of the petitioners.
“There is no record that the petitioners (HH and GBM) have applied for leave to act for the Petitioners as required by Practice Direction to pave way for the Petitioners to act in person. Once a litigant has engaged counsel, then it is counsel who should engage the Court to taking out necessary applications as the case might be,” he said.
The Judge who has now set 26th January, 2017 in chambers for setting of the date for hearing of the motion to raise preliminary issues explained that on 12th December, 2016, he had written to the Attorney General and Counsel to the petitioners that the proceedings would be a strictly a chamber matter.
“I had made it clear that only the learned Counsel and Attorney would have admittance to the chamber.
“When cadres of the petitioners desired to go in the court room which could only accommodate a limited number of people,” he said.
It was in public domain and the Judge took judicial notice that the mayhem that ensued during and after the proceedings in the afternoon of 15th December, 2016 “the situation was so chaotic, public and private property was damaged. The situation was so chaotic that some party cadres presumably trying to escape from the police who were trying to control and manage the apparently irate funs were seen running in the Judges corridors abutting their Chambers. The members of staff and indeed the Judges were subjected to the indignity of having to lock themselves in the chambers lest a calamity occurs and a stray cadres run amok and vent their anger on them”.
“It is obvious that either the parties had decided to disobey with impunity directing that members of the public were not to attend the chamber hearing or the Petitioners could not control or manage their supporters or cadres,” he said.
Judge Chitabo said he did not have to wait until a calamity occurred.
“It was for those reasons that I directed that the Ruling that was scheduled for 20th December, 2016 was postponed to a date to be notified and that the Ruling would be posted to the respective parties of the Attorney once it was ready,” Judge Chitabo said.
He recounted that the scores of enraged cadres and supporters was extremely intimidatory and “I would be forgiven to apprehend that if the matter was to be heard or Ruling delivered on the return date history might repeat itself”.
Expecting any other ruling for HH and GBM is not only wishful thinking but against the rules of natural justice. This case is a still born from inception.
will soon know the truth……wait its just the matter of time.
even Obama forged his birth certificate.
What do you expect from a judge who acts on his emotions rather that based on the law, Zambia a christian nation my foot, All institutions are corrupt and the people have gone to sleep because they are fulled into believing their leaders are Christians who are busy making themselves rich while they stave to death.
The term deja vu does not exist for nothing…
Chitabo will soon eat his faeces. God is great out there. May the Gods unleash more suffering for chitabo.
I will launch a campaign to prevent him from travelling abroad as he has proved that he most corrupt judge in Zambia.
UPND lawyers should now launch a counter to demand that another judge who is neutral preside over the matter not this corrupt guy vying to chief justice or they will take matter to an international court of justice.
Lusaka Times at it again. Should read: AG granted application for ruling. It’s the AGs app not the other way round. Too partisan.
They have everything but they will lose everything very soon.
More lecture material for comparative reference! Thanks @ Vizungu.
This is the beginning of the end, if Zambian courts will fail, this issue will take flight in foreign aids.
failed courts so shamefull
The Judge is simply saying HH & GBM are f00ls and he will only hear preliminary issues. UP and DWON cadres should respect their ass.es instead of insulting the Judge when he is just saying the truth. Let those jailed thug cadres who damaged private and public property rot in jail
The Application by the AG was that the High Court has no Right to hear the Petition and now this disgraced Judge is setting 26th January 2017 to deal with Preliminary Issues. What is the Point? Does Justice Chitabo have the Right to hear the Petitioners or not? This PF Judge should just recuse himself from this case. Chitabo has failed to handle this case without fear, favour and prejudice. Chitabo as a PF Cadre is conflicted and should allow another High Court Judge to handle this Petition.Period.
WHAT A JOKE!!! STALLED JUSTICE IS NO JUST AT ALL. JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED!!!
This is exactly what HH has been saying abou Chitabo. I now believe
Justice Chitabo is confusing the Public. What was the PF Application and what is his Judgment? In their Application to the the PF thru the AG alleged that the High Court has No jurisdiction to hear the Petitioners. Does Chitabo admit that he has the Right and the Power to hear the Petitioners or not?What is the purpose of setting 26th January 2017 as the date for hearing Preliminary Issues? These issues are about what if conflicted Chitabo cannot hear the Petitioners.? Does HH and GBM have Rights to be heard over their Presidential Petetion or not? Chitabo should address this issue instead of beating about the bush. Chitabo has no capacity to hear the Petitioners without fear,favour and bias. Disgraced Chitabo is not a man of Justice so he should recuse himself from this case. Chitabo…
If its against HH&GBM, then the justice/ruling isn’t fair. The judge is a pf cadre but it’s vice versa, then justice is right and the judge isn’t upnd cadre , follows laws of the land.
If you are as sharp as I am you will see that the PF through the AG and the courts are now dragging this case slowly slowly till 2021 will come and we shall be talking of voting again. I know natural justice demands that all cases are first exhausted in the land’s jurisdiction courts before proceeding to the ICJ, but then whose the AG and the Judges representing here? You guessed it PF and Lungu.
I don’t know what HH and GBM want to say now which they couldn’t say in the 14days that is provided to hear such a case. This is the danger that the infiltration of the system causes. Informers on his payroll cheated him that he won the election, and because that’s wanted he wanted to hear, he religiously believes them. Canisius punched holes in his claims, SHAME!
The Judge is simply saying HH & GBM are f00ls and he will only hear preliminary issues. UP and DWON cadres should respect their ass.es instead of insulting the Judge when he is just saying the truth. Let those jailed thug cadres who damaged private and public property rot in jail
Have said this and will continue saying it..that the earlier gbm and hh realise they are fighting a losing battle the better. The petition case ended the day Lungu was inaugurated…! Plz prepare for 2021. Is it true that too much much can turn a wise person a f00l…? Hh plz don’t follow gbm kaponya behaviour. U are a gentleman..!
What about the PF cadres who surrounded the court during the UPND petition? Eyes can only see UPND cadres. The Judiciary in Zambia is rotten let’s forget about them they are all Lungu’s Kaponyas. Ati Judge Chitabo they are court clerks.
Ba UPND, you have lost the case pure and simple through the courts of law. So, please, shut up and go to sleep.Nothing will change the court’s ruling. Just prepare for for 2021.
Did the PF cadres cause mayhem and had running battles with the police, running into court offices, etc?
What did they do @Mateo? Where they running around breaking private and public property?
The loss “Masonic”
Ba UPND, you have lost the case pure and simple through the courts of law. So, please, shut up and go to sleep.Nothing will change the court’s ruling. Just prepare for for 2021.
Comment:pplease leave HH alone let him rule just for five years and you will see things changing developing judge chitabo just accept that pf banaba and leave HH for better Zambia.
Gbm is confusing HH with his forged diploma.
Chairman Mao loses again
Comment:I think it’s high time we accept Lungu as for now,since it seems nothing will change until 2021. We have to concentrate on developing ourselves & redeem our dying country. Am UPND but I feel nothing good will come out of of Judges.
HH and GBM are crowns
Clowns indeed….thery just want to prove their relevance to their deciples.
HH & GBM won the election. These judges together with essay chulu and Priscilla Isaacs were just paid huge sums of money to behave the way they did.
was it a cheque or cash? you seem to know more than what ECL and Priscilla Isaacs know. did you all know that its sounds funny to tell a person that did not vote for XX that YYYY PARTY won the election. That’s what bloggers do in most cases. If I voted for ECL/HH, it does not mean the whole country did, even if we were 400 that voted 4 him. its like telling some1 who missed an exam that you saw his results and he got a distinction. they would not just laugh at you but start looking for an ambulance and forward you to Chainama.
23.1 If one has evidence that ECL paid Esau to declare him winner, kindly advise them to see the Judicial Complaints Committee accompanied by a newspaper such as the Mast.
This discredited and disgraced Judge is a total waste of Time and Money. Chitabo has shown that he cannot deal with this Petition and deliver justice without fear,favour and prejudice. Conflicted Chitabo should simply Rule whether or not he can hear the Petition in terms of the Bill of Rights administered by the Court. Chibalo should refer to a clause in the Bill of Rights which says Time Expiry is more important than the delivery of Justice. He should just Rule that for same Reasons that Concourt gave he cannot hear the Petition and let the Petitioners seek justice Internationally. Chitabo is buying time for the Respondents and the Petitioners thru Counsel should insist that Chitabo should recuse himself from this Case and allow a Neutral Judge to answer and hear the Petitioners. Biased…
The problem with most of the political party leaders is that they are too weak to control or handle their cadres. I wonders how they can control the nation if they fail to handle just few cadres. This is the reason we find tyrannic leaders in many countries who use people to resolve their personal egos. Let the political leaders manager few people in their political parties and this will help them manage the nation. For some to have violent cadres is a sign that people love them, but truly this just weakness indication in leadership.
The same people who commemorated Zambia as a Christian nation are again at it. Chitabo watch out because you are not the final say. God is the final say, all powerful and true judge. Very soon poor Zambians who have been deceived on many issues will know the truth. Remember Hernan and Mordechai in the bible? If we declare the same God as the God of Zambia, then watch out. He is no fool but mighty.
@4 Mundia, law is not for those who are not ready to read. Read Justice Chitabo’s ruling and then come back to blog sensibly. Just to save you some reading, on 26 January the preliminary issue to be heard is the same application by the AG that you refer to. What GBM and his running mate HH lost yesterday is their challenge to stop the hearing of this preliminary issue.
But I tell you for free, whether the Judge is Chitabo, or any other including international judges, GBM and his running mate are wasting their money fighting a dead cause. The only reason why GBM and hisvrunning mate are still in court and will continue to be as long as they have money to hire lawyers is that the courts cannot refuse to hear anything that is brought before them. But of course the courts will sooner or…
Contd…
But of course the courts will sooner or later have enough grounds to declare them vexatious litigants and shut the matter in their faces PERIOD.
By the way have GBM and HH asked for the preliminary bill from their lawyers so far? You better advise them to do so, because for such high profile cases when the bill comes at the end it can be as high as their net worth combined. They should not misinterpret lawyers retainer fees as the bill. I say so because many businessmen actually do not understand these things. GBM and HH can be bankrupted by legal fees overnight, these lawyers don’t come cheap!. And these two will not have money to sue their lawyers, it can be nasty out there, HH should not think that the lawyers love him or believe in his cause. Mark my word for reference and…
GBM is used to harrassing his workers and thinks he can the same to the lawyers. He’ll get a shock greater than Zesco power.
This matter is very simple and straight forward:1.The Judge should answer the question: Do the Petitioners have a Constitutional Right to be heard or not? If they do then Can the Judge hear them and when? 2. The judge should rule whether or not he does not want to hear the Petitioners on the basis of a Time Expiry Technicality. Concourt refused to hear the Petition on the basis that the 14days had expired. Does Chitabo want to use the same technicality to deny the Petitioners Justice?Instead of using Time Wasting Tactics Chitabo should Rule on these two legal principles rather than calling for useless Hearings on Preliminary Issues. Chitabo knows that the delivery of Justice is far more important than Time Expiry. Courts should avoid using Time Technicalities to deny Justice.
Chitabo…
Their Consititution Right to be heard expired after the legal 14 days of Concort process.
@29 Ngozi, unfortunately for you, the wheels of justice do not turn that way. If the wheels say 14 days it is 14 days and not 21 days. I fail to understand why you and GBM and his running mate rushed to respect the 7 days in which to file the presidential petition and yet from the same law and the same paragraph of the law you can’t accept the 14 days time limit. Since the petitioners were not ready with their case and were still gathering evidence, why didn’t they challenge the law in the first instance and demand 15 days or even 60 days or more to adequately prepare their case? Clearly GBM and his r.m. recognised both the time limits of 7 days and 14 days otherwise they would refused to comply with the 7 days lodging period and they would not be in the hooeless time and money wasting…
Contd…
Clearly GBM and his r.m. recognised both the time limits of 7 days and 14 days otherwise they would have refused to comply with the 7 days lodging period and they would not be in the hopeless time and money wasting situation that they are in. It is the same kind of reasoning which makes GBM and his r.m. to commence a case before the court, present their case and sit through the hearing, and when judgement is not delivered in their favour the judge becomes a bemba monkey. Why didn’t you reject the judge or the whole court including Concourt in the first place and go to Internatiobal Court of Justice or the ICC or AU? Or simply demand that want HH’s uncle or a judge with an appropriate name? But it will not help you anyway, law is law unless that judge’s name will be “Prof”…
Contd…
But it will not help you anyway, law is law unless that judge’s name will be “Prof” Hansungule.
That is why I call you guys UPNDonkeys or the hybrid slower thinking version UPNsnail-Donkeys.
30/31 Terrible, so why did the ConCourt unanimously decide to hear the petitioners Monday/Tuesday and Respondents Wed/Thursday before the three bastards Mungeni, Sitali and Ka Mulonda (Security Guard) did an about turn? Like your name, your head is terrible!!!
Is this difficult to comprehend? Did you want them to break the law by going beyond 14days. PF were going to appeal against this and by now there would be no government. Even in clubs Upnd members hoping for the impossible …that the petition will be heard ..how sad. In future political parties must prepare evidence of election breaches so that the process can be completed within 14days not piece meal here and there.
Come on guys, which universities did you go to? It is evident that our economy is growing at a more declining rate, it is evident that our expenditure is more than our income, corruption has become more rampant than ever before, if you’re are still talking Pf the question is where do you work? Do you still spend the way you use spend? It does not require you be an economist for you to see the changes in our economy and living standards,