Thursday, March 28, 2024

PF asks Concourt to allow Ministers not to pay back the money

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Party Secretary General Davies Mwila
Party Secretary General Davies Mwila

Ruling PF Secretary General Davies Mwila has made an application to the Constitutional Court to have it set aside or reverse its ruling that Ministers who over stayed in office after Parliament was dissolved in 2016 should pay back the money.

On 8th August, 2016 the Constitutional Court declared that the Ministers had occupied their positions illegally after Parliament was dissolved and ordered them to pay back the money and vacate their positions immediately.

The Patriotic Front’s application follows a judgment by the Constitutional Court on 17th November, 2017 that 64 ministers who stayed on in office after the dissolution of Parliament in 2016 must pay back the money they received during the period they illegally occupied their positions.

But Mr. Mwila in his application contended that the decision by the court was improper, oppressive, unjust and contradicts the national values of human dignity and equality.

He said Mr. Bonaventure Mutale who is representing the respondents has advised him that being the court of first and final instance, it is incumbent upon the judges of the court to reverse the injustice.

The PF Secretary General argued that the state benefited from the services that the respondents had rendered when they remained in office after the dissolution of Parliament.

This is contained in a Notice of motion to set aside or reverse parts of the Judgment of 8th of August 2016 that has been filed in the Constitutional Court.

In this matter, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and the opposition UPND had sued then Justice Minister Ngosa Simbyakula and 63 others for illegally staying in the government after Parliament was dissolved.

The ruling delivered by Constitutional Court Judge Margaret Munalula representing the 5 Judges had dismissed Attorney General Likando Kalaluka’s application in which he had wanted the court to revisit it’s ruling that the former Ministers must pay back the money they obtained during the time they were found to have occupied their offices illegally, saying it was against the public interest that he was seeking to represent the Ministers.

77 COMMENTS

  1. I am lost for words…really i cannot understand this level of thinking from PF. In which planet do they live?

    • The imminent impeachment motion has started to hit Lungu and PF, they are now confused and don’t know what to do. Te apa…you thought it was a joke when HH and UPND told you that they will go ahead and present it to Parliament.

    • And we wonder why there is an impeachment motion in Parliament today. Could it be because of such wanton disregard for the constitution? #JustAskingforAFriend

    • This is nonsense…I think its time for revolution in Zambia. Baya sana ba pompwe aba. This is stealing in broad daylight. Come on guys lets get rid of Lungu and his govt before its too late

    • Davies Mwila is right.

      In all fairness the ruling part never left presiding of this county.

      Like all of you I think the better solution is to dissmiss the judges who ruled that the ministers pay back the money.

      Talk of daring the president.

      Concourt judges must go.

      Simple as that really isn’t it !

      I hold a PhD

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • Last time I checked, ConCourt’s decisions are final per the new republican constitution. We are a nation of laws and therefore Ministers who were misled by the President have to pay back.

      They can then ask the President to reimburse them because they were operating under his authority. This is nonsense and it shouldn’t even be a PF party functionary to request for a reversal.

      It is a national duty of those who serve to be seen as clean stewards of the people’s treasury.

      Come on guys, bite the bullet and pay back … Zambia Is Greater Than Any Single One Of Us ~ B R Mumba, Sr

    • Is this a legal argument or it’s just now using their PF way of force.
      This argument doesn’t seem to be based on any legal foundation. If I hire myself illegally to work for ZNBC will I require ZNBC to pay me?

    • Ati being the court of first and final instance, it is incumbent upon the judges of the court to reverse the injustice.
      Is this the PF’s argument mwebantu? What a bankrupt argument! It makes no sense.
      Just Because you are the highest court you must reverse the earlier decision?

    • These people are not human beings; they have NO love for the country and its people…..the law is the law! I think they think Zambia is a Kantemba!

    • Iph, how come you are lost? Davies Mwila is secretary general in Koswe Mumpoto Family. Davies Mwila has no consciousness to even address the media only to talk about trash and stupid things. PF needs to be shown front door. The thieving Ministers have delibaerately chosen to speak through a weaker soul in poor Davies Mwila that they are not ready to pay back what they stole after being misled by the learned lawyer Edgar Lungu and republican president who swore to defend constitution not stealing.

    • It’s a circus! What business has a political party to do in an issue which is supposed to be solely the responsibility of a government’s attorney general? The pf fool of a so-called secretary general. What crap! And these are our leaders?! Lord have mercy. Twachula mu Zambia.

    • Don’t go any further. Just look at his face; blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, blank, ad infinitum….

    • @B R Mumba, Sr for the first time you have made sense! I completely agree with you and this lack of constitutionalism makes our country go round and round in a vicious circle! Once we learn how to follow the law, even the most corrupt will not be able to play the trade. Even a PF party stewart will not be able to talk on behalf of government!

    • They want to clean up the constitutional breaches commuted by the President before admitting the impeachment motion in parliament. Then there will be no breach!! Get the puzzle?

    • If we are serious as a Country, not even the filing of such stupid documents should be allowed at the registry. When the ruling is final, there is no other recourse left but compliance. Stupid *****s.

  2. These are some of the matters that call for the fine tuning of the Constitution. If there was no cabinet when parley was dissolved, it means there was no speaker as well. To whom was Edgar going to handover power when there was no speaker? It also defeats the principal of separation of power. It further increases the powers of the President because he presides over the nation for 90 days without consulting anyone. This is what will cause Hichilema’s petition to fail

    • Now they’re appealing to the same court that made the ruling so that the same court should rule against its own ruling. Baffling developments or is it waffling! We the people must now request for deployment of bailiffs to grab these Ministers’ properties since they have failed to comply with court order. Them are so quick to send bailiffs to poor citizens over small amounts owing. We must all be equal before the law. Government of the day can’t be supporting lawlessness!

    • @2
      That is the point i made on the other blog. If parley was dissolved indeed there was no speaker to whom ecl should have handed over the state powers after stepping down. No wonder ecl told the ministers to continue in office until next govt is voted in. The interpretation of ecl constitution makes a lot of sense here because this is what the law dictates. Stepping down and handing over of state powers comes into effect on the second ballot which is a rerun of elections. Clowns will always be clowns for sure.

    • The motion has ready failed coz they themselves dont recognise the ECL as President so whom are they going to impeach when the dont recognise him as a PRESIDENT,Dull chapps in UPND

    • Keep abrogating the law PF and the same law you are breaking with impunity is going to visit you soon. The concourt did not validate Lungu’s presidency, the petition was not decided and it is still an ongoing case since you guys decided to abuse one clause in the case and ignored many others. Those judges are smart they never fully decided on your behalf, instead the used a technicality which can come back to haunt ECL.

    • Silly argument how has it always happened?? Parliament was still dissolved regardless. The speaker is never dissolved together with parliament … I just cannot believe your logic and reasoning

    • Ba Ayatollah,
      Sir it appears you have not read the Constitution or are unfamiliar with Parliamentary matters or both. The Speaker does not vacate his seat until the new Parliament has been elected. He maintains his Seat until the first sitting of the new Parliament when its first function is to elect a new Speaker.
      But the issue is why you are connecting the issue of the Speaker to the issue of Ministers paying back the money they received illegally. It must be made clear that there is the matter of interest accruing while they delay to pay back the money. If another government gets elected without them having paid back the money, they will be charged with theft by servant and may have to serve three years with hard labour in prison. In is in their interest that they pay back without…

  3. Kambwili should be the first to repay. At some point I thought Harry Kalaba had offered to pay back. Clearly, there is no intention to pay back. Dont be surprised if a ‘compromise’ is reached this time around. Kaili the Concourt already has a precedent of reversing it’s own decisions.

  4. Don’t condemn pf, blame the clowns masquerading as judges at concourt.They kept on reversing and reversing their own earlier rulings, so every moron now wants try their luck in case those clowns do what they know best; REVERSE THEIR OWN RULING

    • They were not appointed by the president. The president nominated their names subject for parliament approval. Alm the mps including the bantustans voted yes because they were looking at tribal names than credibility. Stop cheating your fellow zealots under5s that these judges were appointed by the president because that’s not true.

  5. Truly unforgivable pay it back. This is the kind of waste ,theft and abuse that is swelling Zambia’s public debt …now estimated at US $13bn.

  6. Don’t blame the PF over this matter. The problem is the constitution Judges who are either politically or tribal inclined. They have been a nonsense in the eyes of many Zambians. The best should have been to remove these judges. I will not be surprised to hear that the judgement is reversed because of their high level of incompetence

    • WHO BULLIED WORST CONSTITUTION THRU PARLIAMENT?
      WHO ASSENTED THE CONSTITUTION?
      WHO APPOINTED THIS JUSTICES?
      WHO TOLD MINISTERS TO STAY IN THE OFFICE?
      Who you want to blame for CRIMINAL !MBECILITY, UPND or “anointed”, “vise”, “visionary” and Endemically Corrupt Leader of Plunderers Federation?

  7. How retarded that such BuLL SHlT is coming from our party. How thick is this dull ape Mwila?
    Something wrong with his brain. How can the Con Court act on such a retarded request?

    Blame it on our Lawyer President who misled the greedy, gullible Ministers. The leadership is less inspiring these days. Mwila must vacate his office pronto!

    These ministers will use this Salary debt against our President when the Impeachment motion comes up. Be careful.

    Mr President, tame our cadres like Mwila before we voters lose confidence in the party.

    • WHO BULLIED WORST CONSTITUTION THRU PARLIAMENT?
      WHO ASSENTED THE CONSTITUTION?
      WHO APPOINTED THIS JUSTICES?
      WHO TOLD MINISTERS TO STAY IN THE OFFICE?
      Who you want to blame for CRIMINAL !MBECILITY, UPND or “anointed”, “vise”, “visionary” and Endemically Corrupt Leader of Plunderers Federation?

    • I agree with you Kudos, our party is no longer what it used to be because our president is weak and full of lapses in His judgement of state matters. I really wonder where this man grew up but he needs to MANUP before it is too late! How can you allow every Jim and jack throw mud at you and you are just quiet!

    • You clowns ecl was very right by telling ministers to continue in office. The fkup was made by concourt who ruled in public interest not according to what the constitution says. Do just sheet without thinking. Refer to my 2.2 above.

  8. The PF should also ask the Concourt to hear the UPND Presidential petition they had thrown out after the 2016 general elections after the 14 days had elapsed. Just pay back the money you got illegally and retain the little integrity you have been left with. This matter will haunt you no matter how long it takes.Umulandu taubola.

  9. This is a proper case for impeachment, have they cooked up something with these con court judges so that they reverse and eventually the impeachment motion falls through? The court ruled that the President mislead his ministers and earned emoluments illegally. Do you need to be a rocket scientist to fathom that something is amiss here? And the grounds given here are preposterous to say the least. If these con court judges are serious they should throw this application with the contempt it deserves. In fact they should not only pay but also vacate their positions forthwith and be tried for embezzlement of public funds. Nonsense.

  10. If only our leaders were in Politics to selflessly serve the Zambian people paying back the money wouldn’t be an issue. If they illegally occupied their ministerial offices then they should not raise any defence by saying they offered a service to the Zambian people.
    The problem we seem to have is that the government of the day is preoccupied with fighting its critics and any opposing views at the expense of developing this nation Zambia.

  11. You obtain money illegally and you complain that it is “improper, oppressive, unjust and contradicts the national values of human dignity and equality” when asked to pay it back… oh Zambia…my Zambia

    • Brown envelop epapela ukutontonkanya kwakwa Davies Mwila forgive the man he is not only illitrate but also dull.

  12. @13 GRAGY. Those leaders are long gone. The last ones surviving are the likes of KK. The alternatives to the current government are Kambwili, now Mmembe, GBM & Co. Deal with that. It is a sorry situation if you asked me.

  13. Mwila in his application contended that , ‘the decision by the court was improper, oppressive, unjust and contradicts the national values of human dignity and equality.’
    These thieves should wear the hat of an ordinary man and think of the people in Lundazi Emusa Village that have never had a toilet and tap water and will never have a chance of enjoying such because Davis Mwila overstayed in government and got paid trolley load of cash and allowances he wasn’t supposed to get. Why should the highest court in the land overturn its decision anyway?

  14. The Court made a decision requiring the Ministers to pay back. The Attorney General applied to the Court for it to revisit its decision and the Court refused. Now the PF is asking the same Court to consider the same application that was made by the Attorney General and that was already refused?
    I don’t understand.
    Surely, there must be an end to litigation, and this end only comes when parties respect the decision of the Court.

  15. I hereby appeal for interest to be added to the amount that must be repaid! The overstaying ministers have had personal use of public money for almost two years now. A 25-30% interest, what is that they now owe to the Zambian people?

    The party should pay back too! PF Secretary General Davies Mwila claims “the state benefited from the services that the respondents had rendered when they remained in office” but is the PF that benefited most since all the “ministers” were doing was running around in GRZ vehicles campaigning.

    • I support you 100 percent on this, the PF ministers must pay back with interest and they should be held in contempt of the court s ruling. By the way, in what capacity is Davis Mwila speaking? i thought he is with the party and does not hold any government position.

  16. For once I agree with #Mr Kudos; even when I know that Mwila is acting on Lungu’s instruction; this is another reason Lungu should be impeached;

  17. If others appeal then they call it abuse if court, but for PF it is normal to abuse the court. So the CC is oppressive? Who appointed these oppressive judges?

  18. If this ruling will be overturned then we will demand that the petition ruling be overturned as well. Its a classic example of George owell’s animal farm. Posterity will surely judge those presiding over these issues harshly. Is this the kind of legacy that we want to leave for our future generations? Remember our forefathers fought for independence so that we can rule ourselves with dignity and sincerity. Alas what we are seeing today is a disgrace of evil proportions, why are we so arrogant that we have even stopped to respect our institutions that govern us. Parliament is a rubber stamp and now this con court has been turned into a circus.

  19. Don’t blame PF or the concort….it is lungu the leader who is a corrupt thief….the man is supposed to be a lawyer yet there is GRZ delibratly operating in Gray areas of the law ……it is true when they told us that in his private life as a lawyer, lungu represented mostly crooks and criminals like fawaz the Lebanese criminal, advising them how to dodge the law. It is true.

    He himself lungu is a fraud convict…

  20. This is the problem with PF they think we have no constitution …..that’s why we have to impeach…
    how can davies say something like that…….parliament was dissolved so nobody should have claimed a ministerial position….so the president asked his friends to loot state resources period…….

  21. The Concourt has got Tribal problems. When this click decide one wrong thing, the other click has to come and reverse to make it correct. To say the least the decision for Ministers to pay back was a wrong judgment. If you allow the Concourt to go on this way they will fire the President who was elected by majority Zambians. read them between the lips.

  22. Ayatollah – Please twapapata don’t expose your ignorance. I’m so ashamed that you could write like that. You are even calling that nonse a point. “This is the point I made on the other blog” kikikiki. The constitution is very clear on that. Once parliament is dissolved except for the Speaker and his Deputy shall remain in office until the next parliament is formed.

    • Suit your self but that’s the implication. When parley is dissolved the speaker stands dissolved as well, he can only be recalled if there’s a declaration of war. The speaker isn’t a member of the executive so he can’t assume the Presidency. The first business of a reconvened parley is to elect a speaker. Other provisions also say a president can only handover power to another president elect. So don’t read articles in isolation. Wait until Hichilema’s petition fails

  23. Reminds me of a supervisor I had who, whenever he lost a grievance, would start hacking away at technicalities, and whining and whingeing until something consequential just shut him up. Unfortunately in Zed the consequence is likely to be undue pressure on the judges to act outside of what is already a de facto settled matter. Awe mwe.

  24. What a joke of a country!! The legislature is arm twisting the judiciary to have their way at the expense of the law of the land! This a clear reflection of the quality of leadership of the country; mediocre and without regard for the legal institution of the land. The people of Zambia should never have allowed an opportunity for this pack of thieves to lead this country. Anything to avoid paying back ill – gotten public funds, these clowns ougt to ashamed of themselves.

  25. Any Judge who will agree to this should be sued in the next government and be locked up. It is a clear case that someone has been paid to rule in their favour.

  26. If I kill a few corrupt politicians, I shouldn’t be prosecuted since the Zambian people would benefit greatly from my services.

  27. Shocking. As a Tax payer in UK whose money funds Aid to mother Zambia, I find PF’s request to CC deeply disturbing.

    This request in itself is sufficient grounds for an impeachment. Clearly we have leeches in Govt with NO iota of integrity.

  28. Just pay back and stop taking people for granted. Don’t forget you will not always be in government. Not resolving this issue now does not mean you will not be pursued once you are out of office. Then the courts will be where you spend most of your time before getting convicted and thrown into prison. Don’t say you were not warned or you are being victimised when that time comes.

  29. I feel for president Lungu. For Luapula votes they had to keep this man. kikikikiki. Pay back the money it is Zambia’s.

  30. It’s hard to believe that our country has deteriorated to such a level of leadership. ECL has has to reassess his goals and what he wants to leave as his legacy. Having an ignoramus like Davies Mwila isn’t doing him any service. I can see all ending in one direction. How does a government become so obsessed with and determined to bankrupt the country’s morals and coffers? Isn’t it the obligation of the President to protect the constitution and ensure that the checks and balances are in place? Mr Mwila’s attempt to circumvent the judgement is an indication of the impunity with which the current government has been operating. My surprise is that they think they will get away with it. Believe me, you won’t. You’ll be stripped of everything you guys have, when the times comes for you…

  31. I’m here to remind you why education must be free not just in Zambia but in the whole world. Mwaimwena namenso yenu!

  32. It should be interesting to see how the ConCourt will pronounce itself this time around. They say lawyers work on instructions but lawyers also have a duty to advise their clients when a course of action is hopeless. Judgement eagerly awaited.

  33. Mwila was one of the criminals who benefited by looting the public money as they,Mwila and his friends, remained impersonating as government Ministers.

    The Zambia Police should be above board by taking interest in studying this criminal behaviour.

    One cannot be a Minister when the so called constitution of the land doesn’t support the position they are clinging on. That is Impersonating. It’s a criminal offence.

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