Maravi

Court directs police to allow UPND rally

Court directs police to allow UPND rally
By Allan Mulenga
Sun 09 Sep. 2012, 10:30 CAT

THE Lusaka High Court has ordered the police to allow the UPND hold its planned rally in Kanyama compound. But Lusaka Province police commissioner Solomon Jere yesterday said the Lusaka High Court judge justice Justin Chashi had contradicted himself in his judgment.

And UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said the cancellation of the rally, slated for today, was politically motivated. Police cancelled the UPND rally in Kanyama because officers had been deployed in Ndola to police the Zambia Vs Uganda match yesterday.

But the UPND vowed to go ahead with their rally and sought judicial review.
Delivering the ruling on Friday, Judge Chashi directed police to allow the UPND to go ahead with their rally.

"It is ordered that the application be allowed and that the said applicant do have leave to apply for judicial review as aforesaid. The court further directs that all decisions, proceedings now being challenged, including the decision to cancel the rally of the 9th September 2012, be stayed until after hearing of the motion for judicial review herein or until further order and that the said rally go ahead," read the ruling in part.

But Jere said Judge Chashi had misled himself on the judgment.

"This judge is misleading himself because he has granted review to the UPND and at the same time that the rally should go ahead. The ruling is defective because you cannot say you have granted judicial review and at the same time you are saying that the rally should go ahead. The main subject of the application is the cancellation of the rally. They are saying the cancellation is null and void and the rally should go ahead. They are saying they are granting the judicial review for the application," he said.

Jere said the ruling did not make legal sense.

"This does not make any legal sense at all. But one thing is that we are law enforcers and we have to obey the law. But first of all, we have to obey the law which is specific and straight, not something that is ambiguous," said Jere.
And Kakoma said police's decision to cancel the rally was politically motivated.
"It was just a political decision that we should not have that rally and that is giving an impression that now we are thriving into dictatorship where opposition political parties cannot be allowed to hold political rallies and that we will not accept as UPND. That is why we are saying that with or without police officers, we are going to go ahead with that rally," he said.

Kakoma said the UPND did not need police presence at the rally, adding that the police cancelled the rally on flimsy grounds.

"We notified them two weeks ago and it is up to them to be present at our rally or not. There is no authority under the law to cancel the rally. We don't care whether they are present or not. Obviously, if they are present they can take care of the law and order. But it is embarrassing that they gave an excuse that they don't have enough police officers because all of them will go to watch soccer in Ndola," said Kakoma.

Labels: CHARLES KAKOMA, COURTS, UPND

posted by MrK @ 3:33 PM