Court dismisses Mundubile’s petition against Speaker
THE Lusaka High Court has dismissed Brian Mundubile’s application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings against speaker of the national Assembly Nelly Mutti for supplanting supplanting him as leader of the opposition in parliament.
High Court judge Geoffrey Mulenga has ruled that according to the amended constitution of 2016 the High Court’s powers have been limited to determine issues bordering on constitutional breaches by public authorities.
He said he will be usurping powers of the Constitutional Court as the original and final arbiter in constitutional matters.
The Mporokoso member of parliament protested Mutti’s decision to alter the seating position by replacing him as the leader of the opposition with his Mafinga counterpart, Robert Chabinga.
He said Mutti’s actions were procedurally improper and irrational when she acted on a request by PF Secretary General Morgan Ng’ona to have him replaced on reasons that he had effected changes on the list of office bearers of the party at the National Assembly.
Mundubile said Secretary General of the Edgar Lungu group Raphael Nakacinda wrote to Mutti informing her that no changes had been made yet she went ahead and pronounced that the office bearers of PF had been changed according to a search conducted by the National Assembly at the Registrar of Societies.
He sought a declaration that the information given by the speaker on November 1, 2023 that the office bearers of PF were changed at the Registrar of Societies is and was incorrect.
Mundubile wanted the Court to pronounce that the decision by the speaker to replace him with Chabinga was elligal, null and void.
He further sought an order of certiorari to quash the decision of the speaker.
Ruling on the application judge Mulenga directed that Mundubile should seek redress from the Constitutional Court if he feels the Speaker has breached the law.
“I find that this Court does not have the jurisdiction to hear and determine this application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings on reasons that the action is concerned with the interpretation of Article 74(2) which is a preserve of the Constitutional Court,”judge Mulenga said.
He further guided that the matter cannot be refered to the correct Court owing to the wrong mode of commencement.
By Mwaka Ndawa
Kalemba
Pfools have Pfoolish numbskull
Lawyers
The courts in zambia are fair depending on how one forwards a case. As for the PF and honourable Mundubile stop pointing your fingers at the speaker because she is just following the law considering her vast experience as a lawyer.
As a Lawyer, Mundubile should know that he is fighting a losing battle. In Law, they use references and precedences and when you look at the case involved, it’s exactly the same withe first one in 2014, the only difference are names. In 2014, it was Lungu at Mulungushi Rock of Authority and in 2023, it was Sampa at Mulungushi International Conference Centre. Lungu submitted his list of names to RoS and Sampa handed his list to the same office. Sampa and others never went to Court, instead they just joined Lungu after seeing that they were not going to defeat him. But Given Lubinda and others have decided to go to Court thinking that they can defeat Sampa when they already created a precedence for him. Things will not work out for them, the best alternative is to join him just as he did to Lungu, otherwise Lawyers like MZ will be going to Court until they get your last ngwee. This time mu PF, it’s the survival of the fittest.