TASILA AND ESTHER LUNGU’S APPLICATION TO APPEAL AGAINST GRABBING OF THEIR PROPERTIES DISMISSED BY THE COURTS OF LAW IN LUSAKA
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ECONOMIC and Financial Crimes Court (EFCC) has dismissed Tasila and Esther Lungu’s applications for permission to appeal against the court’s recent judgement ordering forfeiture of their properties.
Tasilu Lungu asked for leave to appeal against EFCC’s decision to order forfeiture to the State of her Sinda farm worth K8.8million.
On the other hand, former First Lady Esther Lungu wanted permission to appeal against the courts decision to order forfeiture of her flats valued at K66million to the State.
In both cases, EFCC has refused to allow Tasila and her mother to appeal against the courts decision to order forfeiture of their asseets.
In the case of Tasila, who is currently abroad on maternity leave, there judges refused to allow her to appeal because her application because it lacks merit as she had failed to advance persuasive grounds to justify allowing her permission to appeal against the court’s judgement.
“We find that the interested party [Ms Lungu] has not advanced compelling grounds or special circumstances to warrant this court to exercise its discretion to grant leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
“Leave to appeal is therefore denied,” the ruling rendered on Friday reads.
In a September 17, 2024 judgement, EFCC allowed the forfeiture of Ms Lungu’s farm F/2278 in Sinda, Eastern Province, to the State because it was tainted.
The court ruled that Director of Public Prosecutions had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the property was acquired through illicit means.
Ms Lungu, who is former President Edgar Lungu’s daughter, was also condemned to pay costs.
Dissatisfied with the judgement, Ms Lungu filed an application for leave (permission) to appeal against the verdict before the Court of Appeal.
Through her lawyers, Ms Lungu, who has been out of the country of on maternity leave, urged the court to grant her leave to appeal because her grounds of appeal have serious likelihood of success.
However, Judge Susan Wanjelani, on behalf of other judges, ruled that perusal of Ms Lungu’s intended grounds of appeal reveals that the appeal has no prospects of success.
“Aside from the above, we are also aware that counsel for the interested party urged us to allow the application for leave to appeal because the appeal raises a point of law of public importance.
“…for a point of law to be of public importance, it must have a public or general character rather than one that merely affects the private rights or interest of the parties to a particular dispute,” Judge Susan Wanjela said.
“It is our considered view that though matters to do with non-conviction forfeiture are novel, the said matters do not fall in the realm of public importance because they merely affect private rights”.
On the part of the former first lady, another panel of judges ruled that Mrs Lungu failed to advance any compelling reasons to warrant granting her leave to appeal against the judgement.
Judge Pixie Yangailo said that Mrs Lungu’s grounds of appeal also does not have any prospects of succeeding.
Mrs Lungu lawyers plan to appeal against the refusal to allow them to appeal.