Thursday, March 28, 2024

LAZ condemns calls to scrap the Constitutional Court

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The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has condemned the editorial opinion that appeared in the Mast Newspaper of March 5th, 2018 calling for the Scrapping of the constitutional Court.

In a statement released to the media yesterday, the Council advised that those who have issues with the Judges regarding their experience and competence to follow the laid down procedure in addressing their concerns.

The council further said that the continued attacks on judges serves to undermine the authority of the judiciary and erode public confidence in the institution.

On 5th March, the Mast Newspaper run an editorial alleging that the Constitutional Court had failed to justify its existence and must be scrapped.

According to the Mast Editorial:

And most of the cases being handled by these inexperienced and incompetent Constitutional Court judges could be better decided by the Supreme Court. For instance, what is constitutional about electoral malpractice? Electoral fraud is not a constitutional issue. What provisions of the Constitution are in question under an election petition?

The inexperience and incompetence of most of the judges of our Constitutional Court is bringing the whole judiciary into serious disrepute. Judges should aim to fairly administer justice in their everyday practices; however, our Constitutional Court judges are actually inhibiting the fair administration of justice through this lack of experience and competence. The experience and competence of our judges is paramount.

Below is the full LAZ statement

51 COMMENTS

  1. Keep the constitutional court but most certainly scrap those ridiculous judges wigs.I’d rather see our judges wear the kumboka ceremony costumes they’re more African.

    • Ludicrous ofcourse scrap it

      It in many people’s eyes didn’t do it’s job when it called upon – why not scrap it ?

      Interesting Mast has been allowed to exist after the fiasco and association with the Post.

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • Competency of con-court is very suspect. Look at how long they’ve taken to clear Nkandu Luo case. They seem to need years to come up with a decision on a simple election petition malpractice case.
      ….and why keep wearing those Victorian era wigs!!!????

    • The problem is Lungu’s interference in operations of Kang-Court. We saw it during embarrassing handling of the petition & their failure to reprimand Lungu for refusing to hand over power to the speaker during the election petition hearing.

      We are seeing it now as Lungu is busy appointing his friends as judges so that they can rule in his favour in the 3rd term eligibility bid case.

      In other words Kang-Court judges are currently abrogating the same constitution it’s supposed to protect & defend for the sake of Lungu.

    • It is not a secret that Judges on the Constitutional Court are not qualified. John Sangwa did an indepth expose that showed that all of them were dealing with matters of conveyance before being appointed to the bench. Palan Mulonda was Ambassador for 5yrs prior .

    • I FULLY SUPPORT THE IDEA OF SCRAPPING THE CONCOURT. IT HAS PROOVED TO BE IRRELEVANT. IT IS NOT SERVING THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS CREATED. EITHER IT IS SCRAPPED OR ALL THE INEPT JUDGES BE REPLACED WITH COMPETENT JUDGES. LAZ IS FULLY AWARE THAT THE CONCOURT IS A FAILED PROJECT. IT IS THEREFORE SURPRISING THAT LAZ SHOULD BE IN THE FOREFRONT TO DEFEND AN INSTITUTION THAT HAS PROVED OF NO VALUE TO THE NATION. WE SHOULD BE PROGRESSIVE.

    • Vima WIG vamu colonial. I swear, these wigs are imported from UK, maybe costing British Pound £1000.

      There are probably 1000 judges in Zambia. Each judge needs 2 wigs every year.

      1000x1000x2=£2000,000 wasted every year to look silly/colonial

    • Just be since LAZ, the CONCOURT has failed to live to its expectations it’s true. Your fellow Lawyers who have worked with current Judges by defending some people may
      testify to this. Indeed, the Supreme Court can handle most or all the cases referred to the ConCourt. And by the way, who are these ConCourt Judges? Where did the President pick them from? Personally, I expected to have such personalities as Judge Timothy Kabalata and the like. People with known history in the judiciary.

    • WETHER WE HAVE IT OR NOT DOES NOT SERVE ANY PURPOSE. SO MANY CASES HAVE BEEN MISHANDLED. CAN YOU SCRAP IT OFF.

    • Ba LAZ naimwe. Why respond to The mast? They have the zero logic that if the Constitutional Court has failed to justify its existence it must be scrapped and you respond to them? The court hasnt failed to justify, the people in it may have but that doesnt mean the court has failed. What the mast is doing is just to provoke response

    • THE LUCIFER’S FILE VERSION 2 SENDS THE EVIL LAZ BICKERING.
      ======================
      This useless body of lawyers gone political nuts has lost its relevance. It is now set to believe a mirror form of the dysfunct Post Newspaper. Leave the constitutional court alone and just fix your petty politics. These bitter lots awe sure. In any case if an individual expresses his or her opinion on the constitution, what’s your own? Shouldn’t we enjoy our freedom of speech and expression anymore? Let the evil paper write what it wants, let it quote anyone it wants but don’t allow it not to pay tax.

  2. This is typical Fred M’membe/cartel modus operandi. In the old constitution where presidents could fire judges, they made sure they hijacked the predident and they could threaten judges. But now the door to state house is locked and shut, they can’t control JCC, so what’s left is trying to use dead media like mast to attack judges. Fred asila, shuwa…

    • @Zambian Citizen, ndipo Fred asila monga nyula. But ine I think this is Freedom of expression, when the MAST criticizes the Executive wing of Government, there is no complaint from LAZ. When the Judiciary is criticized, ati mwaluvyanya.

    • The man is well read and more learned than your entire village and all the seed you’re currently carrying in your nut sack

  3. Kikikikiki….chamu baba Mmembe. Iwe Fred, chiwamila galu kuluma mbuzi ka?
    On a serious note, this started with the throwing out or away of h.h petition in 2016 by ConCourt, after Mmembe had pumped up the confidence of h.h that the election was his and the shock that descended on h.h upon realising that he had been rejected once more, for the fifth time. H.h could not believe that he could lose an election with Mmembe in his pocket, or h.h in what he thought was Mmembe’s safe pocket! The rest is history enjoy it while we wait for 2021.

    • Time is the mother of everything;
      A video in which United Party for National Development(UPND) Kalulushi Candidate Evaristo Mwalilino’s  driver  is revealing how Hakainde Hichilema and Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba’s Kalulushi Constituency  votes where concealed has gone viral after it was aired on Prime TV.
      In the video, Wanna Chiyanga is confessing that his boss Mwalilino was given K21000, K360 000 for 21,966 votes and dropping the election petition respectively.
      He disclosed THAT  President Rupiah Banda, Information Minister Kapamba Mulenga and axed PF Deputy Chairperson for Elections Kelvin Fube Bwalya(KBF) and Mwalilino were heavily involved in the scheme of things.

  4. @1 Mzambia wa Zamani. There’s very little of Africa about Kuomboka ceremony attire. The ceremony is great and I love it but (with due respect) most of the attire starting from the King’s were copied from Scotland/UK.

    Fair response LAZ. Some of these people who attack judiciary are the same ones who run to judiciary for protection when times are unfavorable-very illogical minds.

  5. BA LAZ PLEASE, You know well that it is the president who appointed these guys and they can not disappoint their leader. We have a poor presidance in Zambia where the high ranks are appointed by an individual and instead of the parliament so that they can have separate and independent powers to govern without interference of an individual.
    If you go in every court of law you will find the inscription which says ” IN THE NAME OF THE PRESIDENT” and this only guides us to say the President is above the law.

    • You want to kill lawyers market crestoir sure. However, retired chief justices and judges have been appointed to man this Court Scrapping is no solution. It will be beneficsl to those against one day.Their yapping I’d s manifestation of sower grapes

  6. King Freddie is wrong
    The Constitutional Court should not be scrapped based on the (mis) perception that the incumbents are incompetent. With the background that supporting structural framework had barely been set up when the court was established (Yes the judges also need capable research assistants, independent offices, housing etc), it would be foolhardy to expect a newly set up court to hit the ground running. Criticism of the courts poor rate in dispensing cases is worrisome and justified and this is a matter that LAZ should also be addressing. But calls for scrapping the court are unjustified In my opinion, Where does my President, Peter Sinkamba, stand on this issue?

  7. This so called Constitutional Court is as ridiculous as the wigs the goons who sit on its banch don! To begin with, only two of them are actually qualified to sit on that bench and secondly, they’re all so grossly incompetent because thus far there does not seem to be any improvement in the dispensation of electoral petition cases. It’s a waste of our money, the bench must fall, now! Anyway, how does one expect a court appointed by a lawyer who was unceremoniously removed from the BAR for fraud to be able to do anything?

  8. It should just be scrapped off.its a waste of the tax payer’s money on those corrupt judges who continues receiving brown envelops from Jameson Vodka Chakolwa Kadansa Lunugu…lol

  9. This court is the most useless court ever and trying to side with PF is really compromising it. The ministers who were supposed to have paid back the money have disregard its ruling. This court was created for nothing but give Lungu the presidency, and once it did it has become of no use. They can’t even decide Luo’s case with clear evidence because they don’t want to annoy their master, what about us who pay their salaries. The dammm court is losing its relevance with each passing, and the money wasted on it can be put to good use, we a lot of pressing issues requiring the money wasted on these goons

  10. Those itchy colonial wigs.. How can a people be so brainwashed and still call themselves “learned”. which black has hair like that?

  11. Yes it should be disbanded. Up to now they have not determined whether Edgar Lungu is eligible to stand in 2021 or not. They are too slow. Interpreting the constitution can surely take several months for learned Judges!!Zambia is backward in everything

  12. We don’t the monster called ConCourt, just increase the current bench of the Supreme Court. It’s like the president of the ConCourt is another Chief Justice, it doesn’t make sense. Madam Justice Mambilima has been rendered redundant, what makes her CJ if she’s not deciding Constitutional matters? To just confirm sentences of murderers and aggregated robbers? LAZ is wrong on this one

  13. Just its name should give confidence but awe sure. The court interpreting the highest laws of the land has been nothing short of useless! An extension to the supreme court bench might be “more” useful.

  14. The creature they created is not as friendly as it looked in its infancy. See, babies actually do get to grow teeth and throw punches as they grow up.

  15. Any innovation needs the test to be perfect before it can be appreciated. The habit of condemning anything because it doesn’t favour your candidate is very primitive and retrogressive.

    • But how long should we wait before it declares the illegalities exhibited illegal? 5 years? 10 years?

  16. I have also been questioning the relevance of this court. What value or advantages have we enjoyed compared to the structure of courts we had? One should tell me that before its existence there was this inadequate and after it became into being, it brought this and that advantage. May be then I can believe in its existence otherwise scrap. LAZ, I expect your competent office of course to protect judges from unwarranted attacks but try also to consider what good the current court structure has brought compared to the previous one we had.

  17. My personal opinion
    I do not think the Constitutuinal court has justified its relevance ever since it was formed. It lacks direction and it seems to me there are a few rotten judges who are only there to serve the interests of the appointing authority and not the country.

  18. Judges are not gods who must be worshipped they are human beings capable of mistakes. The concourt is not serving its purpose so far if you ask me? Cases are almost dead once the go there.

  19. On this one i feel the mast was right and LAZ is wrong, thanks to the lacunae dealing with the Con Court the presidential petition has not been heard, thx to lacunae in the constitution court we still have Mwanakatwe and Mr. Nkandu Luo as cabinet ministers/MP’s. Let us scrap off the Con Court and when we have done a better job with the 2016 hastily amended constitution then we can look at having a con court

  20. (Someone please help me understand the below information)
    After Mwanawasa’s death in 2008, presidential elections were held for a candidate to serve the remainder of his five year term. The elections were won by the MMD’s Rupiah Banda

    The 2011 general elections saw the Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Michael Sata elected president with 42% of the vote, whilst the PF became the largest party in the National Assembly, winning 60 seats. After Sata’s death in 2014, another presidential by-election was held in 2015 and won by the PF’s Edgar Lungu, who received 48% of the vote.
    My questions are as follows;
    1. Where/are these Presidential by-elections legal, meaning do we have any law (constitution) that supports such?
    2. What would have happened had the opposition won? Would they have…

  21. Cont….

    2. What would have happened had the opposition won? Would they have accepted to serve the remaining terms of the two late presidents???

    I seek clarification cause of the ongoing debate as to whether President Lungu is eligible to stand in 2022?

  22. I am at pains to figure out the background information that has prompted the two bed-follows – the DNA of the The Mast (i.e. Post Newspaper) and the DNA of the current LAZ Executive to differ. Which members of the Constitutional Court are these Media and Legal institutions addressing their concerns. Wonders will never end.

    • @Mwansa: It’s really buffling. Just the other day, Wynter Kabimba was praising president Lungu, that is really strange. Trouble in the cartel???

  23. Calling for scraping of the Concourt is misplaced and those with issues with certain members of the bench should call for its restructuring or shakeup. Any way every day has its own day.

  24. Give us details of how the con-court has mishandled justice. I am waiting for detailed explanations, not UPND cry baby logic, or PF hard hand tactics.

    • Am sure u are quite ignorant if your consideration is just a un petition. Follow these issues by attending and following many other cases they are handling, and you will discover what the mast said.
      Gross incompetence

  25. These are the same judges that served as supreme and high court judges, I believe there is no special course done to server as a constitutional judge hence it serves no purpose to the public if just a few cases before the same courts should take two years to be resolved, then thy serve no purpose simply a pure money wasting venture and job creation for the puppets of the powers that be.

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