The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has lost the bid to have the Constitutional Court order Justice Minister Given Lubinda and Attorney General Likando Kaluluka to appear as their witnesses.
LAZ wanted Lubinda and Kalaluka to produce unspecified reports, research materials, memoranda, write up or data or any other material generated before the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019 for purposes of helping LAZ to argue its case against the enactment of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10.
Delivering the ruling on behalf of the full bench this morning on the application by the Attorney General to set-aside the summons ordering Lubinda and Kalaluka to appear and give testimony on behalf of LAZ, Constitutional Court Judge Musaluke agreed with the Attorney General that LAZ was, by the rules of the Constitutional Court, required to obtain leave before they could issue summons to compel possible witnesses appear before the Court.
The Court referred to its past decision in which summons issued to witnesses by former Director of Public Prosecutions Mutembo Nchito were set aside for irregularity as they were issued contrary to the Order 38 Rule 19 Sub Rule 3 of the Supreme Court (England), applicable to Zambia, which state that “before a subpoena can issue for attendance in the Court of Appeal, leave must be obtained from that Court by motion or notice, after which a subpoena will issue from the Central Office.”
Justice Masuke said the Court has found LAZ did not obtain any such leave from the Court to issue the summons to both Justice Minister Lubinda and Attorney General Likanda Kalaluka. The setting aside of the summons mean LAZ will have to find other means of getting the unspecified materials it needs to argue and win the case.
This afternoon, the Court is set to rule on the appeal by LAZ against the refusal by a single judge to grant an injunction against the State which would prevent Parliament from proceeding to debate the Bill. Legal experts say the granting of an injunction against Parliament will set a dangerous precedent in which the public will be stop Parliament from debating Bills using the Judiciary.
LAZ leadership is useless organisation been controlled by the Supreme leader HH of the UPND who has hidden the privatisation loot in the paradise papers… LAZ therefore lost it’s credibility when they joined the Presidential petition for the privatisation crook…
Sangwa, how can u think u can just call anyone u want without court approval. Abusing subpoena
Bill 10 petition was motivated with selfish ambitions. No wonder its falling like tonne of bricks. LAZ is coming out with wounds. Surely, how can lawyers not know about getting leave. SMH
That constitution won’t be undressed before 2021 erections.
Is it true that your Edgar won’t be on republican president ballot? Whom are you PF going to pitch against HH? You PF will start hanging yourselves by the balls soon.
Petition is crumbling due to poor planning by Sangwa. Same way he eat money from HH during petition same way he is playing it with LAZ.
Sounds like H² petition where they started looking for evidence from ZNBC when court sessions were ripe.
It is possibly such lawyers like Sangwa who misled poor h².
LAZ’s unprofessional conduct on bill no 10 is appalling. They look like amateurs at their own game. On moral grounds, after all this is said and done, LAZ president Mwitwa must step aside for unprofessional conduct that like to put the entire professional body of lawyers into disrepute.
LAZ is lost cause. How do u go to court unprepared and think u rely on summons to hostile witnesses. Just continue eating HH money. U wasting our time
How can anyone win a case in Lusaka? Everything is a nolle prosecue.
I read somewhere a resident has requested or ll request court to allow live coverage of petition. Hope its done soon. Will help absolve these accusations against judges when lawyers re putting in substandard arguments. LAZ is let down under Mwitwa.
Sounds like civics class not lawyers.
These today Zambian lawyers like;
Makebi Zulu, Tutwa Ingulube.
Some appointments were only for Lusaka, the employer didn’t think of Kitwe or Mongu.
Imagine a country with Kalaluka as Attorney General, and who is Solicitor General again in that Lusaka?
Mwasebaneni ba LAZ, so u dont even ve documents and reports. Poor presentation of cases.
Petition is fast collapsing, people had said it even before matter was tabled.
Kaili they were just sent by the perpetual looser, what do you expect?
Shame. I always say Kalaluka is a damn good lawyer but Sangwa is good at speaking English.
Big kudos o Kalaluka and team. U ve done your homework on this petition. Now ECL must do his to clean up bill and pass it. If he fails, he must remember what happened to RB
Lets all sober up, remove what people have rejected from Bill 10 and what they have said YES. Enact it and close the chapter. We can’t be politicking all time, especially LAZ
So the courts now can decide who can be a witness for a plaintiff or accused? How bizarre!
How could the so called “leave” would have been obtained from the Court by motion or notice when the motion was stopped in the first place by the challenge mounted by the same potential witnesses? It’s chicken and egg.
But from this technicality it simply means that the petitioners, LAZ can still go ahead and obtain the same “leave”, right? It’s almost like ‘how can you turn up without making an appointment… no we can let you in”. Well you simply return and make an appointment and show up another time. Isn’t that the same, simple as?
Best witnesses are voluntary witnesses and not those who because u issued a subpoena. Who even told LAZ that Lubinda wanted to be witness in a matter they have gone on fishing expedition?
Sangwa is in this for legal fees but also prey on the minds of the judges he called inexperienced for him to have favourable outcome. Surely, only an insane Court would interfere to stop Parliament from conducting its internal processes. Anyway, LAZ is donor and HH funded, so it doesn’t care taking up cases that it knows are not winnable.
Why does LAZ want the court to help it win cases. So a body of lawyers are still hanging on to a case it know can’t win
LAZ should have considered taking the matter to the Local Court, at least they couldn’t have gotten the shock of having an application dismissed based on an English Law!
With our current constitution LAZ cannot even be heard what more if the new constitution is enacted, it will be a mess. Kudos to LAZ it better to fight injustice and lose than just watching like what most docile Zambians are doing. PF you are already broke and full of dull ministers you only digging your own grave with a bad bill like this one you’re trying to impose on the people. Continue abusing our courts and see how worse the country gets, RB did that and now he is out.
PF caders, just posting negative things, same people using different names. Write as much as you wish but don’t loose track of reality on the ground – bola naimikosela bane, Mulimbe
I like what LAZ is doing. They are indirectly gathering enough evidence and grounds for the disbandment of the ConCourt in 2021
The court is just exposing its bias and incompetence.
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Iwe Danny, You did not ask for leave. kkkkkikii Court English differs from ordinary English. For me applying for leave is something to do with going on holiday. What does leave mean in court?
Clever Sangwa go ahead its party to party to party to party,its time to chew baba.
It is puzzling as to who is actually pulling the strings for the LAZ Executive to dance to unknown legal music. The integrity of LAZ has disintegrated or simply fallen apart. One wonders whether Zambians can any longer entrust the calibre of such lawyers to represent their plights.
It is puzzling as to who is actually pulling the strings for the LAZ Executive to dance to unknown legal music. The integrity of LAZ has disintegrated or simply fallen apart. One wonders whether Zambians can any longer entrust the calibre of such lawyers to represent their plights. Bad luck