⬆️ BRIEFING | Court Shuts Down Oasis Forum’s Last-Minute Bid to Halt Bill 7 Process
The Constitutional Court has dismissed an urgent application by the Oasis Forum seeking to halt the Bill 7 process, ruling that the civil society grouping moved too late and that there was “nothing to conserve.”
In a decision that effectively closed the door on interim relief, a full bench of the Constitutional Court held that the Technical Committee on Constitutional Amendments had already completed its mandate and submitted its report to President Hakainde Hichilema, rendering the application academic.
The Oasis Forum, whose petition was filed through the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) alongside the NGO Coordinating Council, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, Council of Churches in Zambia, Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops and the LCK Freedom Foundation, had asked the court to issue a conservatory order to nullify any document produced by the Technical Committee and to freeze the process pending determination of their petition.
Their renewed application followed an earlier refusal by single Judge Maria Mapani-Kawimbe to grant interim relief. Before the full bench, counsel Linda Kasonde argued that the threshold for a conservatory order had been met, citing the existence of a prima facie case, the risk of irreparable harm and the need to protect public interest. The applicants relied on an earlier finding by a single judge that the petition raised serious constitutional questions with prospects of success.
The State opposed the application, arguing that it was inordinately delayed. Through an affidavit sworn by Dr Landilani Banda and in skeleton arguments, the respondents told the court that the application was filed more than a month after the Technical Committee had been appointed, at a time when about 95 percent of its work had already been completed.
They warned that stopping the process at that stage would serve no practical purpose and would amount to an academic exercise, something the Constitutional Court has consistently declined to entertain.
After considering submissions from both sides, the full bench comprising Professor Margaret Munalula, Arnold Shilimi, Judy Mulongoti, Martin Musaluke and Mudford Mwandenga agreed with the State.
“We note that the Technical Committee, which is at the centre of the petition, has concluded its work and submitted its report to the President,” the court ruled.
“The applicants moved this court too late in the day.”
The judges added that the court could not act in vain, concluding that there was “nothing to conserve or to stop,” and dismissed the application.
The ruling marks another setback for the Oasis Forum’s legal efforts to interrupt the Bill 7 process and comes against the backdrop of heightened political and legal contestation over the constitutional amendment as it advances through Parliament.
© The People’s Brief | Francine Lilu