🇿🇲 EXPLAINER | Ng’ona Appeals High Court Ruling in PF Leadership Dispute With Sampa
The legal contest over authority within the Patriotic Front has moved to the Court of Appeal after Morgan Ng’ona formally challenged a Lusaka High Court ruling that dismissed his case against Matero Member of Parliament Miles Sampa. Court records show that the appeal was filed on 10 March 2026 following the High Court decision delivered by Justice Conceptor Chinyanwa Zulu on 3 March 2026.
Ng’ona, who has been acting as Secretary General aligned to the Robert Chabinga faction of the Patriotic Front, had approached the High Court to challenge Sampa’s decision to remove him from the position of Secretary General. He also sought a declaration that Sampa’s move to dissolve the party’s Central Committee was illegal on grounds that the PF president did not possess such powers under the party’s governing structures.
However, the High Court dismissed the matter in its entirety after finding that the case had not been actively pursued over an extended period. Justice Chinyanwa Zulu struck out the application for want of prosecution, a procedural outcome that occurs when a party who files a matter fails to move it forward within a reasonable timeframe.
Ng’ona has now appealed that decision, arguing that the High Court erred in both law and fact. In the Notice of Appeal filed before the Court of Appeal, the appellant states:
“TAKE NOTICE that the Appellant herein being dissatisfied with the whole of the Ruling of Honourable Madam Justice C. Chinyanwa Zulu given in the Lusaka High Court on the 3rd March 2026 intends to appeal to the Court of Appeal.”
The Memorandum of Appeal further sets out the grounds on which the decision is being challenged. One of the key arguments advanced by Ng’ona is that the High Court failed to consider several procedural applications that had been filed by both parties since the case began. The appeal document states:
“The learned trial Judge in the Court below erred in law and fact when she dismissed the matter herein for want of prosecution without taking into account several interlocutory applications on the record that both parties made since the matter commenced.”
Ng’ona also argues that the court misdirected itself when it dismissed the matter based on an application made by Sampa without determining whether the delay in prosecution created a risk to the fairness of the trial. The appeal document states:
“The learned trial Judge in the Court below misdirected herself in law and fact when she dismissed the matter for want of prosecution on an application made by the Defendant herein without making a finding as to whether the Plaintiff’s delay in the prosecution of the matter would give rise to a substantial risk capable of endangering a fair trial.”
The dispute reflects the deeper political fragmentation that has defined the Patriotic Front since it lost power in the 2021 general election. After former president Edgar Lungu created a leadership hiatus by hesitation, competing centres of authority emerged within the party. Miles Sampa initially consolidated control of the PF secretariat during the dramatic events of 2023 and declared himself party president, a move that was at the time supported by several figures within the party, including Robert Chabinga.
This alliance did not last. Differences soon emerged between Sampa and Chabinga over control of the party structures and political direction. As the divisions deepened, Sampa’s authority within some PF circles weakened, leading to parallel structures and rival claims to legitimacy inside the party. Morgan Ng’ona’s legal action forms part of that broader contest over who legitimately controls the PF’s administrative machinery and constitutional structures.
The outcome of the appeal carries political implications beyond the courtroom. Zambia is moving toward the 13 August 2026 general election, and the continued fragmentation of the Patriotic Front has already reshaped the opposition landscape. Multiple political actors who once operated within PF structures are now positioning themselves independently, while the party itself continues to struggle with unresolved leadership disputes.
The Court of Appeal will now determine whether the High Court was correct in dismissing the case for want of prosecution. If the appellate court finds merit in Ng’ona’s arguments, the matter could be revived and returned to the High Court for full hearing.
If the appeal fails, the dismissal will stand, effectively closing this particular legal challenge against Miles Sampa’s actions within the party.
For now, the Patriotic Front’s internal struggle continues to play out not only in political meetings and press conferences, but also within Zambia’s judicial system, where competing factions are seeking legal confirmation of authority as the country moves steadily toward another election cycle.
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