BRIEFING | Court Adjourns PF Convention Injunction Case to December 9
The legal battle over the Patriotic Front’s internal leadership and its aborted convention has taken a new turn after the Kabwe High Court adjourned a critical matter to 9 December 2025. The adjournment follows a challenge by the Miles Sampa-aligned faction, which accuses rival official Ngona of obtaining an injunction through misrepresentation.
Former PF president Miles Sampa, who attended the Kabwe sitting, said after the hearing that the injunction issued was based on a false claim of authority: “Our lawyers filed an affidavit arguing that Ngona obtained the Order fraudulently because he purported to be the PF SG when he is not,” he explained.
Sampa referred to an earlier interlocutory ruling by Lusaka High Court Judge CC Zulu, which placed the question of secretariat control in dispute and explicitly stated that Ngona could not act as secretary general.
The ex parte injunction halted the PF convention scheduled for 29 November, deepening the long-running leadership crisis that began after Edgar Lungu’s departure in 2021 and worsened through successive factional splits.
For nearly three years, the PF has operated under competing structures, parallel secretariats and conflicting claims of legitimacy. The courts have repeatedly intervened, including key rulings in 2023 and 2024 that attempted to stabilise the party’s organs but left unresolved the question of who holds lawful authority.
At today’s Kabwe hearing, Ngona’s legal team did not file a response to the affidavit challenging his standing. They argued that the documents were served late and asked for more time. The presiding judge agreed to postpone the matter, giving both sides a week to prepare submissions.
The adjournment prolongs a dispute that has national implications. PF remains Zambia’s largest opposition block by parliamentary representation. Court orders affecting its structures influence not only its internal governance but also its ability to contest the 2026 general election under a unified leadership.
The halted convention was seen by many observers as a chance for the party to restore coherence after years of fragmentation.
Sampa said the adjournment does not change his faction’s position that the injunction was obtained improperly.
“Ngona obtained the Order fraudulently,” he insisted, adding that the Kabwe case must be aligned with prior judicial determinations in Lusaka.
He also noted that the matter is “straightforward” and urged the courts to resolve it swiftly.
The next hearing on 9 December is expected to clarify whether the injunction will stand, whether the PF convention can proceed, and who legally constitutes the party’s leadership ahead of 2026.
© The People’s Brief | Mwape Nthegwa
Is Miles and his new attempt to gardner attention progress to the real issue that plagues PF?
PF has failed to move on beyond Edgar Lungu. You can see how Makebi wants to harp on about the man and the burial, Lubinda wants to use Tasila as a new pawn to legitimes the factions as a path to leading the party. Forgetting the electorate and want they would like.
What do you solve in these never ending battles that produce nothing productive for us as Zambians? What does this new twist that Miles brings to the foray? The courts recognise the Chabinga faction (based on prior rulings). Does Miles want the courts to revisit that ruling before this issue is addressed? If so. When will the real cracks of the matter of PF convention elections be addressed?
PF lives in yesteryear. The arrogant lack of realisation that beyond the issue of their leadership wrangles, are elections that are fast drawing near. When will they think they will sell their ideas? The electorate still have the bitter taste of the ideas and rule in their mouths