The Constitutional Court has for the second time dismissed the application by the Law Association of Zambia to summon Justice Minister, Given Lubinda and Attorney General, Likando Kalaluka, as its witnesses in a matter in which LAZ is challenging the enactment of a Bill to amend the Constitution of Zambia.
LAZ Lawyer John Sangwa had applied for leave to summon the duo as witnesses after the full bench had earlier set aside the summons for irregularity.
The full bench of the Constitutional Court had issued directions that the Court shall not accept any other applications from both sides made after November 5, 2019. But without applying for leave to alter the Court’s directions, the body of lawyers decided to file its application on 7th November 2019.
Sitting in Chambers this afternoon, Constitutional Court Judge Enock Mulembe observed that the Law Association of Zambia had obtained no leave from the Court to file an application outside the directions of the Court.
The Attorney General had also questioned the regularity of the application having been filed in blatant disregard of the Court’s directives. The dismissal of the application by the Court still confirms that neither the Justice Minister nor Attorney General will testify on behalf of LAZ.
The full bench has set November 12 at 09:00 hours for the hearing of the main petition filed by the Law Association of Zambia and Chapter One Foundation
This whole petition should never have been filed from beginning. LAZ is now fishing for evidence. This Sangwa should not have been asked to handle this matter. He is becoming irrelevant/
LAZ a weak case so they are now playing hide and seek.
If LAZ cannot understand the simple directives by the Court, how can it understand the process to amend the Constitution and when to challenge the amendment? I find this as biggest problem. LAZ wants the Court to help them win case by summoning witnesses, helping them get document they never had. LAZ filed this petition unprepared. It should ve been dismissed long ago
I will sue you, and you will be my witness.
This lazy cray LAZ has lost it.
Mwitwa and Sangwa.
Just drop it.
LAZ and Linda Kasonde are being HH to legitimise opposition to Bill. I don’t see any contravention when Parliament decides to amend Constitution unless procedure was not followed. Common sense!
Bandits everywhere in government institutions. Are there in courts in Zed? All corrupt. Do judges still send letters who won the cases. IMF said Zambia is the poorest country because of corruption.
Strange that the Law Association of Zambia is showing this kind of naivety. They’re probably just doing it for the record. They want evidence to be created that certain steps were taken but the Constitutional Court chose to ignore those steps for reasons it could not explain in its ruling.
This is a Constitutional Court which found that ministers stayed in office illegally after dissolution of Parliament and has even ordered that they refund all allowances and salaries paid to them. This illegal receipt of govt money and vehicles still had no bearing on the election petitions strangely! And the majority of the judges had no problem wth this kind of judicial reasoning.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THIS USEL#SS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT THAT FAILED EVEN TO RULE OVER HH ELECTIONS APPEAL AND HIDING IN NOT UNDERSTANDING THE DAYS WITHIN WHICH TO DISPOSE OFF THE CASE. THEY ARE TOOTHLESS ON MINISTERS STAYING IN OFFICE ! LUNGU APPOINTED THESE SITUPID JUDGES TO PROTECT LUNGU. LOOK AT THE TERM OF OFFICE, LUNGU WILL BE IN OFFICE MORE THAN 10 YEARS AND THE WHOLE JUDGEMENT BY THESE FOOOLS WAS FRAUD. SO LAZ STILL THINKS OUR COURTS ARE STILL SENSIBLE. THE PROBLEM WE HAVE MOST OF THESE INSTITUTIONS ARE RUN BY BEMBAS AND BEMBAS ARE BY NATURE THIEVES AND CORRUPT. THANK GOD SATA DIED FAST BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE WHO PLANTED A FOREST OF BEMBAS IN EVERY GOVERNMENT INSTITUTION. ITS HIGH TIME WE CLEANS THIS COUNTRY. VIVA HH AND UPND 2021
Whata difficult with agreeing which items to move out from Bill and pass it. Thia 2016 Constitution is dangerous for our politics. Let MPs sit down. Don’t use your tribe to think, use your minds and make progress
Ain’t thinking whole Bill is bad, UPND must stop playing politics. Let’s move ahead
Tongas are a very very big problem…now holding LAZ hostage. Why are u in Parliament if u cant debate bill and make changes. Failed H² leadership now getting to LAZ. UPND never supported Constitution since formation
How and why is tribe coming into this issue? That’s the problem with using tribe to think as opposed logical reasoning! That Tonga you despise will one day rule this country.
No. 3.2, no one says Tonga won’t rule, they are part of this country but the current Tonga at helm of the Tonga party is more dangerous and divisive. His bitterness is reason this Bill is dragging. He sees nothing good and seeks no consensus on on how to move forward coz he thinks that easterner will take credit. UPND shouldn’t ve been in Parliament at all
LAZ has lost a soul. It needs prayers and deliverance from Mwitwa. Isn’t this embarrassing of legal fraternity?
LAZ, UPND, Kasonde got no national interest at heart. EU had said current constitution is problem, AU, and Court itself. But only those associated with Tonga opposition to everything Govt does are against amendments. Don’t participate in parliamentary ekections if u cowards in law making
Tongas have endemic tribalism. Even during independence, they worked against UNIP because Nkumbula wasn’t its leader. Regardless of Nkumbula’s shortcomings they backed him because he was one of them. Mainza Chona was battered to near death for being one of Kaunda’s supporters. “Kamujate ma bege, ba Bemba babola” is indoctrinated in them from childhood.
Am finding something seriously wrong with LAZ. How can u claim 2 defend Constitution when u failing to comprehend simple directions of court. Sangwa been daring the Court coz he thinks those Judges re incompetent. He wants LAZ lose as many applications as strategy to gain Courts sympathy to decide this matter his way. Its folly to claim Bill contravenes Constitution unless he says procedure for Bill in Article 79 was not followed. This is easiest case for Court to decide. But LAZ needs reforming.
LAZ lost its value when it was hijacked by the cartel on the Mwanawasa years and became a political tool to be used to get at business and political opponents. It needs reform now as it has been exposed.
Something seriously wrong with lawyers in this country. No wonder when you lose cases for clients, you end up blaming Judges. Let LAZ just argue its case than these shenanigans we seeing. If u need witnesses, get UPND and those who stayed away. How do u sue AG and then apply he must become your witness. Are u mad?
The independent spirit lives on in LAZ. Mwanawasa never controlled LAZ. The LAZ presidents during Mwanawasa years were Michael Musonda and Musa Mwenye. They were never Mwanawasa boys. Linda Kasonde was unpopular wth the PF but LAZ did not care and still ensured that she had her two terms as president. Of course there were some lawyers in LAZ who didn’t like her but they were a tiny minority who could not stand her forthrightness. They’re not go-to lawyers on serious cases. But u csn always count on them to launder money for crooks.
Why go to Court when u ve no evidence, witnesses etc? LAZ che!
Hatred and personal agenda block reasoning
Why is this Bill dividing us more ans more? Is it coz its conflicting with Constitution? No! The egos from both sides are too too much. UPND and supporters, coz it ain’t them in power so won’t support bilk; PF and its supporters, they want political mileage.
Let both sides swallow pride and agree which provisions to pass and which ones to drop. Otherwise this petition been useless from beginning
Name one prominent bemba or easterner who’s successful and is not a thief. I bet you for each one you mention I can name 500 southerners and westerners. That in itself says a lot when the country has been mainly run by easterners and bembas since independence. Chimbuya based on protecting their thieving backsides because they know such rubbish won’t be allowed when a fair hard working southerner or westerner comes to power. And yes I am from the north and that is how much I despise my own fellow tribesmen x
If you are against pf ,you are UPND, If you criticize the president you are Tonga. Southerners have always supported the ruling party in Government until this hatred of Tongas led by Chiluba and Sata was manifested
If the Northerners and Easterners can not tolerate Southerners ,why not expel them from Zambia ? pf has brought untold suffering and misery to Zambia yet people are pretending that all is well.
When HH speaks ati he is bitter. Corruption has been institutionalised by state house. 15 hrs of load shedding is normal to some in this century,55 yrs after independence. Mwe bantu iyi curse ya fuma kwi?
LEAVE TONGA ALONE YOU FOOLS,ZAMBIA HAS BEEN DRAGGED IN UNTOLD MISERY BECAUSE OF THE BEMBA’S WITH THEIR UBOMBA MWIBALA. SHAME SHAME.
Katana, corruption is not only in PF but in UPND too.
Ask yourself, how did your man buy shares in Sun Hotel and became it’s chairman when he was the liquidator of Intercontinental Hotel that Sun bought? How did he buy Lima Bank Houses when he was the bank’s liquidator. If that is not corruption that I wonder what it is to you.
Iwe chi katana keep quiet,you think we are toddlers here..?
Zambia has 72 tribes the only tribe with deadly tribalism is yours from its
inception.History is witness.
Recently,other tribal entities are here to punish you so that you learn that
tribalism is evil. 2021 is wako – wako formation.
LAZ thank you for trying l see all these dull chaps in Zambia don’t seem to understand that you fighting for them and their children from the crooked pf politicians who have divided us by tribe and want to completely destroy our beautiful country. That constitution court is full of lungu’s buddies appointed by him so they are not going to rule against him and his cronies. Your fight will yield results if you faint not because dictators no matter how hard they try to push their agenda it’s the people’s will that prevails in the end and not their personal agendas
Good job by LAZ..These rulings are further exposing the Concourt as puppets of the Executive.
Opposition parties no longer take matters to the ConCourt.Its irrelevant and lacks any credibility.
As long as lawyers get paid for court appearances and not cases won Sangwa will continue taking cases to court even when the prospect of winning are nil.