Metro

Zambia: Apex court has powers to reverse itself on ex-President Lungu— AG

Published

11 months ago

December 23, 2023

Amid the controversies surrounding former Zambian President, Edgar Lungu, related to petitions filed against his contesting in next year’s presidential election, the country’s Attorney-General, Mulilo Kabesha, says the Constitutional Court, which is the highest court in the country, has the jurisdiction to vacate its decision in which Lungu was declared eligible for the 2021 elections.

While opposing the notice of motion filed by Lungu where he contested that the matter challenging his eligibility to contest future elections had already been adjucated upon, Kabesha argued that the apex court could still overrule its earlier decision.

“Based on the above holding, it follows, therefore, that this court being the apex court when it comes to Constitutional matters, it also has jurisdiction to review and overrule its previous decisions,” the AG said in a statement in Lusaka on Friday.

The cause of the dispute between Lungu and the court arose from a motion filed by a citizen, Michelo Chizombe, who had petitiioned the Constitutional Court to declare Lungu ineligible to contest future elections.

Chizombe had asked the court to revisit its ruling by declaring that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) contravened the republican constitution when it accepted Lungu’s nomination papers and included him on the ballot.

The former leader, however, had raised what his lawyers called preliminary concerns and argued that the issues in the petition had already been ruled upon.

He had also contended that the Constitutional Court had already pronounced itself on the issue of his eligibility to contest general elections.

Lungu further filed a notice of motion reminding the court that it had previously addressed itself three times on the same matter and, therefore, should be dismissed. He also questioned the court’s jurisdiction when it already ruled on the matter.

He contested that the petition seeking to challenge his eligibility cascaded outside the bounds outlined in Article 101(4) (a) and (b) ,of the constitution of Zambia (amendment) Act no. 2 of 2016.

He, therefore, questioned if the matter before the court was not statute barred as it was being brought over two years since the 2021 general elections.

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Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

Published

4 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

Published

10 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.