Mohan vows to expose 'criminals' in Judiciary
By Mwala Kalaluka
Wed 22 Jan. 2014, 14:00 CAT
Murder convict Matthew Mohan says he will in time resurrect to expose some individuals within the Judiciary that nicely and calculatedly orchestrated his death sentence in order to protect their criminal interests.
Mohan, the Inktech managing director, who was last year sentenced to death by Supreme Court judge Gregory Phiri, sitting as a High Court judge, over the murder of Cyclone Hardware proprietor Sajid Itowala, said it pains him that the people that committed the crime were freely walking the streets of Lusaka and South Africa.
He, however, said he was going to fight his case in the Supreme Court and had faith that the highest court in the land would vindicate him through his appeal.
Mohan said being sent to the Condemned Section at Kabwe's Mukobeko Maximum Prison had not put him down and that very soon, the truth would come out about the Itowala murder.
"I have never wanted to comment about the whole thing from the start," said Mohan, who appeared as a witness in a civil matter where Cubit Zambia Limited has sued African Gases before High Court judge Albert Wood.
Labels: CORRUPTION, JUDICIARY, MATTHEW MOHAN
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Judiciary upsets the corrupt
By Editor
Mon 12 Aug. 2013, 14:00 CAT
Nevers Mumba is talking like a confused, desperate man. Indeed, Nevers has a lot to be desperate about. Things are not going well for him and his league. But this shouldn't be a licence for him to talk nonsense about other people.
It requires just a little memory, if a little is all one has, to remember that following the 2001 elections, Sikota Wina petitioned the election of Michael Mabenga as member of parliament for Mulobezi.
Indeed, the court found Mabenga to have engaged in corrupt or illegal electoral practices and had his election nullified. Mabenga could not re-contest that seat. But despite this, the MMD went ahead to elect him as chairman of the party. The Post opposed this and denounced the MMD for electing a person who had been found to be engaging in corrupt practices as its chairman. We have been very consistent on this score.
And equally, the MMD has been very consistent in its support for corruption. Today, the MMD is defending corrupt elements to continue being members of our National Assembly. This is not surprising because the MMD leadership has no problems with corruption. Rupiah Banda, who not very long ago was the MMD president, is today in court facing corruption charges. And its current president, Nevers, is also in court facing corruption charges.
Maxwell Mwale, whose seat was nullified for corruption both by the High Court and the Supreme Court, is also in court for corruption. Dora Siliya, whose election as a member of parliament was nullified by the Supreme Court, is also a subject of corruption investigations. The list is endless.
This issue has nothing to do with us. With or without us, the MMD still remains a political party that defends the corrupt and corruption.
Equally, their partners in the UPND don't have a problem with corruption. The UPND is today at the head of the column defending Rupiah's corruption. The UPND has even recruited Mwale, whose election as member of parliament was nullified by our courts of law for corruption. The UPND cannot even wait for Mwale to be cleared of his corruption cases in court. The UPND has no problem fielding corrupt individuals as members of parliament. They have always been ready to get corrupt elements from the MMD and field them as their candidates. They did this in Lukulu West with Misheck Mutelo; they wanted to do the same with Mwale in Malambo and they were courting Dora in Petauke Central. Corruption is not an issue with UPND as well.
Contrast this with the position of the Patriotic Front on this issue. There are people who tried to jump to the Patriotic Front and launder themselves. Here we are talking about people who had engaged in corrupt or illegal electoral practices under the MMD. The Patriotic Front has refused to adopt them for parliamentary seats. This is not a small feat in a country where politicians don't care much about corruption. And even if the Patriotic Front had joined the others in fielding candidates who have been found to be corrupt, our position would still remain the same. We have never hesitated to denounce corrupt elements and those who shield them whoever they may be.
Again, it doesn't require much memory to recall our position on the Patriotic Front when it gave sanctuary to Frederick Chiluba when he was being pursued for corruption. We denounced the Patriotic Front and Michael Sata for that. But this is what differentiates Michael from our other politicians: he listens to advice and changes course when necessary. Michael is not permanently wedded to wrong things. We all sometimes get things wrong. However, what differentiates us as human beings is our capacity for contrition and change. If something is wrong, it is wrong, and there is no need to cling to it.
Electoral corruption is wrong. And it doesn't matter who is involved in it or what their political affiliations are. A corrupt Patriotic Front politician is no different from a corrupt MMD or UPND colleague.
There are in our body politic many and grave ills, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure and attack upon every evil man whether politician or businessman, every evil practice, whether in politics, in business or in social life. We hail as benefactors every person who, with merciless severity, makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful.
Nevers says they will ensure that Dora files her nomination papers tomorrow. How? Morally and legally, the position Nevers is taking is indefensible. If Nevers has no regard for the law as it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court, he should at least, as a pastor, have respect for morality. To try and insist on fielding a candidate who has been found to be corrupt speaks volumes of Nevers' sense of morality let alone his respect for the law against corruption. Anyway, this is understandable. This is a political party, a group of people, that had gone to Parliament to remove a law that punished corruption, abuse of public office and replace it with a law that permitted impunity when it came to corruption matters and other abuses of public office.
And Nevers is accusing the Patriotic Front of harassing MMD members through the Judiciary. How else can those in government deal with such abuses or illegalities if not through the Judiciary and the law? This is what the rule of law entails - taking matters to court and letting the courts decide.
But Nevers is also being dishonest on this issue. Wasn't the MMD government taking people to court? We want Nevers to answer this question in an honest way if there is still a bit of honesty remaining in him.
Anyway, all this is not surprising because the MMD is a party of corruption, and corruption defines the MMD's character as a political party.
Nevers is accusing us of being used by the Patriotic Front to churn out illegalities. What illegalities? We know the law a little bit more than Nevers to distinguish between what is legal and what is not. It is not legal to bribe the electorate and think one will get away with it. We are not for hire. We can never be hired out. Nevers and his friends were in government, they had state power and a lot of money at their disposal; did they hire us?
We freely choose to support that which we believe is right. And we sincerely believe that electoral corruption is wrong and must be opposed and eradicated from our politics and elections. Where there is electoral corruption and illegalities, people will not be able to freely choose their leaders. For our country to prosper, our politics should be cleansed of corruption, especially during elections.
Nevers is accusing us of misinterpreting the statement from the Judiciary. We are not clerks; we are reasonably educated people with the necessary experience required by the tasks we are performing. We have the duty to analyse things for our readers and not to leave them guessing what the stories we are publishing are about. The candidates whose elections were nullified by the Supreme Court are not so many; it is a small number of well-known people. This being the case, we have a duty to mention who these people are, and we mentioned them. What is wrong with this? One doesn't need a degree in law to realise that what we did was the right thing. There are a lot of things we know that Nevers may probably not know because he doesn't have the necessary qualifications, experience and exposure to these things. It is important for people in top political positions like Nevers not to express opinions or to give unilateral judgments on things or processes they don't fully understand or they know very little about.
Nevers says the Zambian people are upset with the illegalities we have been churning out over the last few days. Pastor Mumba, learn to be honest with yourself and others. Which Zambians are upset? Zambians don't support corruption to be upset by a campaign against corruption. It is you yourself, Nevers, who is upset and should learn to tell the truth.
We maintain that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles and standards and common aims and values. Today's politics should be about the search for a more just, fair and humane society. We must build the strong and active society that can provide that. We must work together for it. We cannot buy our way to such a society. We must plan for it together. We can't protect the ordinary against the abuse of power by leaving them to it; we must protect each other because this can only be done together.
Leaders lead, but in the end the people govern. Those who win elections should win not because their opponents are despised, but because they are better understood, supported, trusted. There should be no choice between being principled and unelectable; and electable and unprincipled.
Labels: JUDICIARY, MMD, NEVERS MUMBA
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If criticism of the Judiciary is valid, it must be made
By Editor
Sun 07 July 2013, 14:00 CAT
If criticism of the Judiciary is valid, it must be made. And no section of the community has all the virtues, neither does any have all the vices.
We are quite sure that some people try to do their jobs as best as they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful. He who has never failed to reach perfection has a right to be the harshest critic.
There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution - Judiciary, Legislature, Executive, whatever - should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don't.
But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one part of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of honesty, gentleness and understanding.
Accordingly, no one should try to stop honest criticism of the Judiciary and its decisions. And we don't think that criticising the decisions of the Judiciary is a crime or something unacceptable. The Judiciary does sometimes get things wrong. And when the Judiciary is wrong it deserves criticism. But this criticism has to be honest criticism and done in a civil manner. There has to be honest and civility in the criticism.
And moreover, decisions of our judges are not shielded from criticism. Our whole appeal system is characterised by criticism of the decisions that judges make. Even the decisions of the Supreme Court, final as they may be, are open to criticism. And by criticism we mean honest criticism carried out with civility.
If the decisions of our courts, including the Supreme Court, over the election petitions are believed to be wrong, they are open to criticism. But not the criticism that we have been hearing from the opposition and other civil society organisations.
It is not honest and fair criticism to accuse the acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda of conniving with the ruling Patriotic Front to nullify MMD and opposition seats in a bid to give the Patriotic Front the parliamentary majority it is looking for. There is no truth and honesty in this type of criticism. Actually this is not criticism, it is criminal defamation of justice Chibesakunda and other Supreme Court judges who have delivered election petition judgments the opposition is not happy with. What we have been hearing from the opposition are prosecutable cases of contempt of court. And we are actually wondering why no contempt proceedings have been commenced against those who have been recklessly, maliciously and criminally attacking justice Chibesakunda and other Supreme Court judges.
If the decisions of the Supreme Court are faulty, let them be legally analysed and criticised.
It is interesting to note that those who have been making these criminal criticisms are not lawyers. The lawyers who were representing them in these petitions are quiet; are not speaking for them. Why? It is simply because the lawyers know the truth; they know they cannot defend or justify such criticism. But they want such criticism to be made and have allowed their clients to do so.
We are also surprised by the deafening silence of the Law Association of Zambia which is usually very quick to come to the defence of the Judiciary and judges.
It is a publicly known fact that the Law Association of Zambia is opposed to justice Chibesakunda being appointed Chief Justice. She is not the desired candidate for that job of the current leadership of the Law Association of Zambia. There are perfectly entitled to their own desires. They also have the right to point out and challenge any such appointments that are outside what the law permits.
We do not believe that the appointment of justice Chibesakunda as Chief Justice is outside the law. She may not be the desired candidate of some or many, but that does not make her appointment as Chief Justice illegal. If the appointment of justice Chibesakunda as Chief Justice is an illegality, then let those illegalities be brought out and give correct legal guidance to the nation and to all those involved in this process. If it is just a matter of one's desire then there is no issue because the issue of desire, when it comes to such appointments, lies only with the President.
And moreover, the law is clear on who should make such appointments. It is not the job of opposition leaders to make such appointments. It is also not the job of NGOs to make such appointments. Not even the Law Association of Zambia has powers to make such appointments. Of course, during the ratification process, the Law Association of Zambia and other civil society organisations are called by the appropriate select committee of Parliament to give their views on the presidential nominee for that job. These views aid the members of parliament in their decisions to ratify or not ratify the presidential nominee. It is not these civil society organisations, including the Law Association of Zambia, that ratify the presidential nominee. Of course, they have the right to lobby for or oppose the appointment of certain individuals. But the final decision on who becomes Chief Justice does not lie with them. If someone who doesn't qualify to be appointed Chief Justice is so appointed, they have the right to go to court and challenge that appointment so that it is declared null and void.
As for now, the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia vests in the President the power to appoint the Chief Justice. And the person so nominated by the President for the job may not always meet the desires of all or us as stakeholders. But we don't have a direct vote in this matter. Our judges, including the Chief Justice, are not appointed on the basis of a popular vote or approval. If we don't like this way of appointing the Chief Justice, let's change the Constitution to provide for that, instead of resorting to malice and slander of others.
We do appreciate the fact that we have had wrong or bad people as judges or even as Chief Justices. We had Mathew Ngulube - a man who was corrupted by the Chiluba regime - as our Chief Justice. Ngulube's corruption was exposed and he had to resign as Chief Justice. Of course, the Law Association of Zambia has no issue with corrupt Ngulube; they still invite him as the guest of honour at their annual general meetings. But what honour does Ngulube possess to be invited as a guest of honour by the Law Association of Zambia? This brings into question what the Law Association of Zambia really stands for or believes in.
Labels: JUDICIARY, LOMBE CHIBESAKUNDA, POLITICS
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Nevers' attacks on Judiciary unnecessary, says Mangani
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Thu 04 July 2013, 14:01 CAT
PATRIOTIC Front Chipata Central candidate Lameck Mangani says MMD leader Nevers Mumba's attacks on the Judiciary are unnecessary.
And Mangani (left) says Mumba went too far by attacking him that he was prompted by poverty to petition the election of Mtolo Phiri.
Mumba has questioned the credibility of the Supreme Court following the nullification of Dora Siliya's seat for slandering the Patriotic Front candidate in 2011.
"The people of Zambia cannot be surprised with the outcome of the Chipata Central petition, they know what happened; the outcome of the Petauke Central petition. The Judiciary, in my view, has been very impartial and they have done their work properly," Mangani said.
And Mangani says the diminishing fortunes of the MMD will be made public on July 25, 2013.
Reacting to attacks on him by Mumba, Mangani said being a religious man, he did not expect Mumba to use bad language.
He said Mumba knew deep in his heart who was practicing politics of the belly between the two of them.
"He knows how I joined politics; he knows my position and my standing in politics. Up to now he (Mumba) is a president of a political party but he is still living in a rented home. So I don't expect him to say those things. I respect him he is my traditional cousin but I think he went too far," Mangani said.
He said Mumba knew that the fortunes for MMD were quickly diminishing in the province.
"The diminishing fortunes of MMD will be seen in the outcome of the elections of Chipata Central, Petauke and Mambwe. You will see the outcome very soon. So he (Mumba) doesn't need to go to the radio and insult me. He is getting angry because he knows that he is almost losing in these three constituencies," Mangani said.
And Mangani said the people of Chipata Central and Eastern Province in general had resolved to work with the government.
"The people of Chipata cannot be shy to indicate their position on this matter. So everywhere we go I think the mood has changed, even some of the people that I thought were staunch MMD, they have resolved that for the sake of the Eastern Province and for the sake of Chipata, we are going to give the Patriotic Front a vote on 25 July, so the mood is very good," Mangani said.
Labels: JUDICIARY, LAMECK MANGANI, NEVERS MUMBA
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Judiciary has been above partisan lines - Mpombo
By Moses Kuwema
Thu 04 July 2013, 14:01 CAT
GEORGE Mpombo says it is morally and politically unjustifiable for the MMD to attack the Judiciary because the party engaged in a lot of electoral lawlessness during the 2011 election campaigns.
Commenting on MMD president Nevers Mumba's questioning of the Supreme Court ruling on Dora Siliya's election and saying that President Michael Sata wanted to use the Court as a slaughterhouse and an abattoir for democracy, Mpombo said the attack on the Judiciary was a blunder of major proportion.
"There was a lot of electoral lawlessness on the part of the MMD. They ran the most expensive election campaign in Zambia and in the SADC region. I think the complaint is morally and politically unjustified if you can go by what MMD did. The amount of electoral extravaganza that the MMD put up was immense. So far, the courts have performed very well and we must continue to demonstrate that kind of confidence in our Judiciary. They have been above partisan lines. They have been a shining example," he said.
Mpombo said it was grossly unfair for the MMD to attack the Judiciary, saying the opposition political parties should instead support the courts because they were the fountain of justice.
He said in order to uphold the rule of law and support justice, the Judiciary should never be attacked even if some of its decisions might be uncomfortable.
Mpombo advised the MMD to address their internal squabbles and find out the source of the squabbles.
"At the moment, MMD has got to put its house in order in terms of internal squabbles. The MMD should concentrate on picking up its broken pieces and forging ahead. It will not help to attack the justice system," he said.
Mpombo also called on the PF to stop inducing what he termed as unnecessary by-elections.
"PF cannot run away from the fact that they have been inducing these by-elections by flashing deputy ministerial positions in the faces of opposition members of parliament. They cannot deny that, because all members of parliament that have crossed the floor have ended up being appointed deputy ministers. PF can help the country to douse the feeling that they are infiltrating the Judiciary. The number of by-elections that the PF has caused is a source of concern," said Mpombo.
Labels: GEORGE MPOMBO, JUDICIARY, MICHAEL SATA
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Katele 'confident' in judiciary
By Agness Changala
Sun 30 June 2013, 14:01 CAT
KATELE Kalumba says he has confidence in the country's Judiciary. And Lusaka High Court judge Evans Hamaundu admit-ted Kalumba and three other convicts to bail on the same terms that were granted to them by the Subordinate Court on the appeal to the High Court.
In an interview on Friday shortly after judge Hamaundu rose, Kalumba who was not keen to speak, however said his prayer was that the appeal hearing would be heard soon.
"I have confidence in the Judiciary; my prayer to God is that soon we will have the hearing of the appeal as soon as possible," Kalumba said before he was taken to the holding cell by a prison officer.
This is in a matter where the quartet applied for bail pending appeal in the Supreme Court after the Lusaka High Court upheld the five-year jail sentences slapped on Kalumba, a former finance minister, former finance permanent secretary Stella Chibanda and former Access Financial Services Limited (AFSL) directors Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabwe.
The State urged the Lusaka High Court to deny Kalumba and three other convicts bail pending appeal in the Supreme Court saying there was no likelihood that it would succeed.
Principal state advocate Mable Nawa also asked the court not to grant the convicts bail unless they disclose the exceptional circumstances as required.
Nawa submitted that appeals no longer took long to be processed by the judiciary and there was no possibility that the convicts would serve their substantial sentences before the appeal in the Supreme Court was concluded.
However, the convicts through their lawyers Vincent Malambo and John Sangwa asked judge Hamaundu who sat with judge in-charge Jane Kabuka to grant them bail because they were not flight risks and there was merit in the appeal.
Malambo told the court that exceptional circumstances existed and urged the court to grant their clients bail.
Sangwa said the defence was concerned about time it would take for the appeal to be determined, saying the delay should not impact negatively on the convicts.
Delivering ruling for bail pending appeal to the Supreme Court, judge Hamaundu said having been seized with the appeal for the past three years, the court was alive to some circumstances that were discernible from the record.
He also admitted that the record of the matter was voluminous and would take some considerable amount of time to process for the appeal.
He said the court was also alive to the fact that the administration allowed convicts to have one third of their sentences remitted for good behaviour.
Judge Hamaundu said it was the court's view that the delay that may result from processing the voluminous record in this matter may result in the appellants serving a substantial part of their sentence before the appeal was determined.
He said the court considered this as an exceptional circumstance and granted the appellants bail to pending appeal to the Supreme Court.
The convicts were granted bail on grounds that they surrender their passports, each raise two working sureties of established employment, business and residence and KR5,000 K5 million in their own recognisance.
Labels: JUDICIARY, KATELE KALUMBA
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Lawyer reports judge to ACC
By Moses Kuwema
Wed 12 Dec. 2012, 12:00 CAT
LAWYER John Sangwa has called for the arrest of Ndola High Court judge-in-charge Munalula Lisimba on charges of corruption and abuse of authority of his office as a judicial officer.
And the Judicial Complaints Authority (JCA) has acknowledged receipt of the complaint lodged by Sangwa and that of his three clients against Lisimba.
"In accordance with the provisions of section 26(2) of the Judicial (Code of Conduct) Act No. 13 of 1999, as amended by Act No. 13 of 2006, your complaint shall be laid before the Authority for consideration," stated the JCA letter dated 11th December 2012 and signed by Dr Winnie Mwenda.
According to a complaint letter dated December 11, 2012 and addressed to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) director general, Sangwa of Simeza Sangwa and Associates Advocates called on the Commission to investigate and possibly arrest justice Munalula.
"Since I applied for His Lordship's recusal in a matter and lodged a complaint against His Lordship with the Judicial Complaints Authority, I have received information from some lawyers both in Lusaka and on the Copperbelt who have similar complaints against His Lordship.
This has caused me to believe that the events outlined in my affidavit, copy of which I attached, are not isolated but part of a pattern of behaviour which not only violates the provisions of the Judicial Code of Conduct Act, but also the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act going back many years," he stated in his letter.
Sangwa stated that most of the lawyers he had spoken to were unwilling to go on record for fear of retribution not only from His Lordship Lisimba, but other justices in a similar position or sympathetic to His Lordship.
He stated that he was of the belief that given the powers and resources of the ACC, it should be possible to overcome constraints and establish the veracity of the allegations.
"May I take the liberty to suggest that investigations should not be limited to the cases I have referred to in my affidavit but extend to all the cases allocated to His Lordship since his appointment as a puisne judge. However, special attention should be given to cases in which decisions are pending and those, which have been discontinued. I am available to attend on you for further discussion of this matter if need be," Sangwa stated.
The board of directors for Zambezi Portland Cement Limited and their lawyer, Sangwa, have accused Lisimba of bias in the manner he was handling matters involving the company.
According to a complaint letter dated December 6, 2012 and addressed to the Secretary of the Judicial Complaints Authority, Simeza Sangwa and Associates, on its own behalf and on behalf of Dr Rajan Mahtani, Joan Craven and David Kamalarajan Kanaganayagan, stated that they were ready to clarify their allegations.
"We hereby, in line with the provisions of Section 25 of the Judicial Code of Conduct Act No. 13 of 1999, as amended by Act No. 13 of 2006, submit a complaint against His Lordship Mr. Justice Munalula Lisimba, the allocating Judge of the High Court at Ndola," the letter read in part. "The basis of the complaint is that His Lordship has conducted himself in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of Section 6 of the said Act."
The complaint arises from an ongoing court case between Antonio Ventriglia and Manuela Ventriglia as the first and second plaintiffs, respectively, and the Eastern and Southern African Development Bank and Robert Mbonani Simeza, in his capacity as Receiver of Zambezi Portland Cement Limited in receivership and Zambezi Portland Cement Limited as the first, second and third defendant respectively.
Sangwa in his affidavit of December 4, 2012 which was filed in the Ndola High Court registry, asked that the order for leave to issue contempt proceedings against the complainants be set aside and that the court case be transferred to another judge on account of bias.
"On the 29th day of November, 2012, an application was made before this court, exparte for leave to commence committal proceedings against me, Mrs. Joan Craven, and Mr. David Kamalarajan Kanaganayagan," he submitted. "This court on the same day granted the ex- parte order for the plaintiffs to commence committal proceedings against me, Mrs. Joan Craven and Mr. David Kamalarajan Kanaganayagan."
Sangwa stated that the said proceedings were being commenced against him on the premise that he was the defendants' advocate in the case and also as an advocate for Finsbury Investments Limited, a company that was not a party to the proceedings.
"Mr. Justice Munalula Lisimba, who has been adjudicating in this case and who granted the said order for leave to commence committal proceedings dated 29th November 2012, has conducted himself or behaved in a manner, which has convinced me that he is biased in that he has been providing benefits to the plaintiffs by failing to be impartial in the determination of the many applications, which have been presented by the plaintiffs in this and other cases, in which the plaintiffs are directly involved or have interest in the outcome," he stated.
Sangwa asserted that he believed judge Lisimba was biased because owing to his pole position at the Ndola High Court, he had been allocating to himself cases involving the plaintiffs or those which they had an interest either directly or indirectly.
He then outlined the number of cases that judge Lisimba had allocated to himself, including the one where Antonio and his three sons, Claudio, Daniele and Valerio were recently deported after they were declared prohibited immigrants, an action which compelled them to commence judicial review proceedings on November 21, 2012.
Labels: ACC, CORRUPTION, JUDICIARY
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Bad judiciary can lead to a failed state - Chongwe
By Allan Mulenga
Tue 06 Nov. 2012, 14:40 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says a dysfunctional judiciary can lead the country into a failed state. Dr Chongwe, who is a legal consultant, said there was need for the government to make the judiciary functional. He, however, said the government was on track in terms of judicial reforms.
"We are on the right course because the problems that we have in this country, take for example, the judiciary, it is
not an isolated problem.
This problem has surfaced in Senegal; it has surfaced in Kenya; it was a problem in Liberia where I was sent to assist in the rehabilitation of the judiciary there. It was a problem in Sierra Leone. It was a problem at one time in Ghana, but these problems were sorted out," he said.
"What the new government is seeking to do is to make the judiciary functional because if it stays as dysfunctional as it is now, it will create a failed state."
Dr Chongwe also urged the government to go the Kenya way in the constitution-making process.
In Kenya, the process was led by a committee of experts who advised the constitution -making body.
"I think it is the modalities on how to do it. My view is this that let us take the Senegalese way. Let us take the Kenyan way because we understand the Kenyan way is working. I have myself worked in Kenya to try to bring about a new constitution for that country in 1999," he said.
"Although I didn't succeed, but nonetheless I went there and we discussed the judiciary; we discussed the legislature and we discussed the executive and the anti-corruption commission and also the media."
Asked on his presidential ambitions, Dr Chongwe, who was featuring on Muvi TV's The Assignment programme on Sunday evening, responded: "I am 74 years of age; I think that my generation will end with Mr. Sata's presidency. We are out of it.
We are here to assist in building the nation of Zambia. My generation is the President's generation; he is only one year older than me. The previous president Rupiah Banda is also one year older than me. We have had our chance; let us give chance to our sons and daughters because if we don't give you any chance you will never be president..."
Labels: JUDICIARY, ROGER CHONGWE
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Sata has powers to suspend a judge, Malila tells Supreme Court
By Namatama Mundia and Agness Changala
Wed 19 Sep. 2012, 10:30 CAT
THE Attorney General yesterday told the Supreme Court that President Michael Sata has powers to suspend a judge without consulting the Judicial Complaints Authority.
This is in a case where Attorney General Mumba Malila appealed against Lusaka High Court judge Fulgence Chisanga's ruling where she stayed President Sata's decision to appoint a tribunal to investigate the misconduct of Supreme Court justice Philip Musonda and two High Court judges Charles Kajimanga and Nigel Mutuna.
The long awaited tribunal appeal hearing was heard before a full bench of Supreme Court justices who included acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda, acting Deputy Chief Justice Florence Mumba, Marvin Mwanamwambwa, Muyinda Wanki, Elizabeth Muyovwe, Hildah Chibomba and Gregory Phiri.
Malila urged the court to allow their appeal saying judge Chisanga made a ruling from a wrong premise namely an inappropriate interpretation of Article 98 (2) of the Constitution, adding that if she had placed a correct interpretation of that provision, she would have come to know that the application for judicial review would fail.
He said judge Chisanga grossly misdirected herself by interpreting Article 98 (1) of the Constitution in a manner inconsistent with the current meaning of the words used in the Article.
Malila said by failing to construe the text of the Constitution according to its original understanding, judge Chisanga departed significantly from basic principles of constitutional interpretation and thereby misdirecting herself.
He said in dealing with the application to discharge leave, judge Chisanga inevitably dealt to an extent with the main judicial review application.
Malila added that judge Chisanga did not also take into account all the issues which were brought before her.
And Solicitor General Musa Mwenye also submitted that judge Chisanga misdirected herself in law and fact in finding as she did that on facts and the arguments advanced there was a prima facie and arguable case sufficient to justify refusal to discharge the ex-parte order granting leave for judicial review.
He said had judge Chisanga directed her mind to three considerations namely, illegality, procedural impropriety and unreasonableness, she could have come to the inescapable position that there was in fact no prima facie case established.
Mwenye said there was misdirection of the serious kind for judge Chisanga to hold that the Republican President could only invoke his constitutional powers under Article 98 (3) of the Constitution, upon the advice of the Chief Justice given under subsidiary legislation passed later than the Constitution, namely the Judicial Code of Conduct Act No.13 of 1999.
He said there was nothing that dilutes the constitutional powers of the President in Article 98.
Mwenye said the matter in the court below had gone behind the stage of leave because judge Chisanga had already granted leave for judicial review.
"The learned judge had different considerations before her from the considerations which she ought to have directed her mind at the stage of the application to discharge the leave," he submitted.
Mwenye further submitted that at the stage of discharging the leave, it was unavoidable to delve in the merit of the application, adding that had the judge directed her mind to the powers of the President, she could have come in the inescapable consideration that there was no prima facie.
He added that judge Chisanga in deciding whether prima facie had been established, she should have directed her mind to whether the decision by the President was executive or quasi judicial.
Mwenye said had the judge considered the serious weighty public policy consideration, she would not have come to inescapable conclusion that there was no prima facie.
And one of the respondents' lawyers, former Attorney General under the Rupiah Banda regime, Abyudi Shonga urged the court to dismiss the appeal with costs saying judge Chisanga was on firm grounds when she granted his clients a stay against their suspension.
He said the appeal should be dismissed because the appellants had raised new grounds which they did not raised in the lower court.
Labels: FLORENCE MUMBA, JUDICIARY, MICHAEL SATA, MUMBA MALILA
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Sata warns diplomats - Diplomats interfering in domestic politics will be expelled
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Sat 08 Sep. 2012, 10:30 CAT
ZAMBIA will expel foreign diplomats accredited to the country if the government finds that they are interfering in domestic politics, says President Michael Sata.
President Sata yesterday warned "some ambassador", who was in the habit of going directly to State House without seeking appointment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to respect Zambia's territorial integrity.
President Sata said this at State House when he received credentials from newly-appointed German Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke, Somalia
Ambassador to Zambia Mohammed Hassan Daware and Nigeria High Commissioner Sitemu Inu-Umoru Momoh, and conferred justice minister Wynter Kabimba as State Counsel.
"Remove this habit, you can speak to me on the phone but don't make a habit to see me," President Sata said.
"Go through foreign affairs. I am not going to mention the names of those ambassadors who have the habit of thinking 'I can go to State House'. Even if in your own house, if your own son or your own daughter is in the toilet, you can't go in. Please go to foreign affairs and foreign affairs will clear you but we will always like to exchange… and you ambassadors and high commissioners, find time to tour Zambia."
President Sata said some ambassadors accredited to Zambia were interfering in the country's domestic politics because natives were indolent.
"Because you are being so lazy, you are being idle, that's why some of the embassies are trying to entertain or interfere in our internal politics. I am sure you know what I mean by that," President Sata told Ambassador Finke.
"If you want to interfere in our internal politics, you are under the Geneva Convention, and it will be very embarrassing for His Excellency or Her Excellency to be expelled from a country where they have gone for tour of duty. Please stay away. Leave our internal politics to ourselves and because some are boasting that we are going to be funded by such and such…at the moment, we have our intelligence within your own missions; before they report to you, they have already told us what's happening."
President Sata told foreign diplomats accredited to Zambia to visit beyond Lusaka.
"Go to all the 10 provinces. Go to all the districts so that you know all our difficulties," he said.
And Sata said Zambia was happy that the Nigerian government was helping Zambia to probe an oil deal in which Rupiah Banda's regime allegedly paid for oil to Nigerian dealers although the commodity was never delivered.
"Please convey to His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan; we are very grateful that without the current government in Nigeria, we would have not known for the oil which we paid for which has never arrived in Zambia and with the help which we are getting from you country, we are very grateful and we are always," President Sata told High Commissioner Momoh.
And President Sata said the government was ready to be sued for the planned cancellation of the concession agreement of the Zambia Railways from Railway Systems of Zambia.
President Sata told Kabimba to work with the government's legal team to ensure the country's interest in the running of Zambia Railways was protected.
"Yesterday, some man was threatening to take me to court and I am waiting for him to come and serve me with the writ of summons," he said.
"Some man from Zambia Railways, you have a number of people who will assist you with that. There are so many things which…Zambia is our country and we only have one country and we have no any other country. You have capable hands to work with. Some of them are very radical, some of them are very radical. Like the Attorney General is very gentle like a pastor."
He also urged Kabimba to help in justice delivery system in the country with a focus on improving conditions of service for judiciary officers.
"Prisons are for poor and illiterate people. Let's bring justice to the people…people working in justice are working in deplorable conditions," said President Sata. "We have shortages of courtrooms, manpower. I have seen your predecessor asking me to fire a judge for failing to write judgment. The conditions, we still have some retired judges who have gone without writing judgments."
Kabimba replaced Sebastian Zulu as justice minister.
Labels: JUDICIARY, MICHAEL SATA, RAILWAY SYSTEMS OF ZAMBIA, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Judicial Complaints Authority's not being felt.
By Kombe Chimpinde
Sat 30 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
JUSTICE minister Sebastian Zulu says the impact of the Judicial Complaints Authority is not being felt.
Speaking when he launched the Authority's Strategic Plan for 2012-2016 yesterday, Zulu said the Judicial Complaints Authority which was a vital part of the judiciary which was mandated to spearhead professional conduct among judicial officers brought to them by the public.
Zulu, however, acknowledged the logistical challenges faced by the institution established by an Act of Parliament through the Judicial Code of Conduct Act.
Judicial Complaints Authority is a body established by the Judicial Code of Conduct Act number 13 of 1999 as amended by the judicial code of conduct amendment Act number 13 of 2006.
The institution's mandate is to regulate the conduct of the entire adjudicator through investigation of allegations of non-impeccable misconduct in a bid to promote professionalism, among others things.
Authority chairperson Professor Patrick Mvunga some of the challenges that were currently affecting the operations of the body in the last five years were failure to address the lacunars in the neighboring Act, in which the institution has proposed necessary amendments.
Professor Mvunga also said the body required enforcement powers to monitor and ensure its findings and recommendations submitted to the authority are judiciously implemented as well as funding of at least K7 billion.
And in an interview, Zulu said the PF government will not appoint retired judges or those due for retirement on contract.
His remarks come in the wake of calls by the opposition that the recent appointment of justice Lombe Chibesa-Kunda was unconstitutional as she was above the stipulated age of 65.
"You see in the ministry, now we are discouraging judges being put on contract after retirement because that tends to compromise their position. That is our policy that if somebody has retired we don't give them a contract…," he said.
Zulu said there was no need to speculate on the matter as the appointment was substantive.
"Since they are acting appointments, there will be no need for Parliament to ratify them…," said Zulu.
Labels: JUDICIARY
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Ex-magistrate calls for breaking of corruption syndicate in Judiciary
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Tue 26 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
ACTING Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda must break the corruption syndicate in the Judiciary by removing corrupt judges and magistrates, says former magistrate Scrivener Mulubwa.
In an interview in Kitwe yesterday, Mulubwa, a former magistrate in Kalulushi, said the appointment of justices Chibesakunda and Florence Mumba as acting deputy chief justice was a welcome development as the two were judges of integrity with vast experience.
Mulubwa said justices Chibesakunda and Mumba must protect the integrity they had earned in both local and international legal fraternity by refusing to work with corrupt elements.
He said the Judiciary in Zambia had lost its integrity because of some judges and individual senior judicial staff that were heavily corrupt and had failed to uphold the country's constitution.
"I worked with justice Chibesakunda when she was in-charge of the High Court in Ndola and I know justice Florence Mumba as a very intelligent judge. This is a formidable team of two women of high integrity. I have no doubt they will transform the judiciary and for them to achieve this, they must sweep the Judiciary of corruption. They should not associate themselves with corrupt elements and these corrupt individuals in the system are well known," Mulubwa said.
He said the level of corruption in the Judiciary was appalling and it was the newly appointed Chief Justice's duty to push for serious judicial reforms that would protect and restore the integrity of the institution.
Mulubwa said it was sad that corruption in the judicial system had been allowed to manifest and get to unacceptable levels as some individuals within the system had turned themselves into criminals that needed to be behind bars.
"My appeal is that the people running the Judiciary now will look into the plight of the people. No one is above reproach in the judiciary. It must be noted that it's not everyone who is corrupt in the judiciary but some individuals are very corrupt and have managed to bring the name of the institution into serious disrepute," Mulubwa said.
He said many court clerks and the prosecution teams were involved in various activities of corruption.
Mulubwa said unscrupulous clerks that were conniving with criminals to steal files of cases must be investigated and prosecuted.
He said the institutions must be decentralised so that people with complaints against judicial staff could report the cases and culprits brought to book.
Mulubwa said key institutions in fighting corruption in the Judiciary such as the Judicial Complaints Authority, the Judicial Inspectorate and Training Unit must be decentralised and empowered to end the vice.
Labels: CORRUPTION, JUDICIARY
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Judiciary should explain its decisions - magistrate
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Sun 24 June 2012, 13:28 CAT
THE Judiciary should always balance its scale and explain how it arrives at certain decisions, says a Chipata magistrate.
Speaking when Eastern Province permanent secretary Hlobotha Nkunika toured the Judiciary stand during the Public Service Day on Friday, magistrate Malawo Kunda said courts had a crucial role to interpret the law and do justice. He said the Judiciary had a duty to dispense justice in a transparent manner.
He said the Judiciary should always ensure that it was accessible to members of the public and that it should promote the rule of law.
"When everyone comes before the court, we have to deal with them as human beings, regardless of their positions because everyone who comes before the court is innocent before being proven guilty. If the parties present a civil matter, the courts have to hear both sides, rule of natural justice, before making a ruling," magistrate Kunda said.
He said the Judiciary should always balance its scale and explain how it arrives at certain decisions.
Magistrate Kunda said the society should be safe for everyone to live in.
He said people were free to consult the Judiciary on legal matters because ignorance of the law had no defence.
"The general perception is that some members of the public are afraid to come to court and when they come to court they sometimes fail to speak, but we are encouraging the people to be free when they are before the courts of law," Magistrate Kunda said.
And Eastern Province prisons deputy commanding officer Namataa Mayumbelo said the service was embracing to a wider way of rehabilitating prisoners through education.
Mayumbelo said offers literacy classes to some prisoners while others start from the grades they dropped from.
She said some prisoners complete their prison terms with diplomas and some trade certificates.
"Last year, we had eight inmates who acquired some trade certificates in carpentry and joinery; then we had five who acquired trade certificates in bricklaying. This helps them when they finish their terms," said Mayumbelo.
Labels: JUDICIARY
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Remove corrupt judges - M'bao
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe and Moses Kuwema in Lusaka
Thu 21 June 2012, 13:25 CAT
RESTORING the integrity of the Judiciary will remain a dream in Zambia if the acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda allows herself to work with corrupt elements already in the system, says Reverend Richard M'bao.
Commenting on President Michael Sata's appointment of justices Lombe Chibesakunda and Florence Mumba as acting chief justice and deputy chief justice respectively, Reverend M'bao who is chairperson of the Pastors Forum for Eastern and Southern Africa, said transforming the Judiciary would not be successful if corrupt judges and staff within the system were not removed.
Rev M'bao said individuals within the judicial system with questionable characters must be investigated and removed from the system if Zambians were to have a credible Judiciary.
He said justices Chibesakunda and Mumba must look at their appointments by President Michael Sata as an opportunity to contribute to national development by creating a corrupt-free Judiciary.
Rev M'bao said the judiciary in Zambia was under ridicule because of compromised individuals that were serving their own interests and the interests of a few influential individuals.
"The appointment of the new Chief Justice must be a turning point for the country's judicial system. There is no way Zambians will take comfort in the Judiciary if radical measures aimed at 'sweeping the dirt' in the system are not immediately implemented," Rev M'bao said.
Rev M'bao said justice Chibesakunda had a mammoth task of redeeming the name of Zambia's Judiciary by creating an institution of justice.
He said the existence of courts alone provided no guarantee of justice as the institution was heavily corrupted in the previous regime.
Rev M'bao said the current status of the Judiciary was so weak that it could not gain public support because of the existence of individuals that refused to deliver justice in the past.
"The Judiciary will not change until those who serve in it and the public change their attitude and refrain from corruption. Some individuals have remained stubborn and are now fighting President Sata. It will be total confusion if corrupt elements are entertained within the system," he said.
And Senior Chief Bright Nalubamba says the judicial reforms may be conducted better with justice Lombe Chibesakunda and Florence Mumba at the helm of the Judiciary.
Commenting on President Sata's appointment of Supreme Court judges Chibesakunda and Mumba as acting Chief Justice and deputy respectively, chief Nalubamba said the two were clean.
"People have spoken enough and there is need for Zambians to listen to the people's voice. I want to believe that even the judicial reforms may be conducted better when Chibesakunda and Florence Mumba are there. Why I say so is because they have never been talked about in a very negative way, they are clean. They are a good appointment. We wish them well in their new positions," chief Nalubamba said.
Justices Chibesakunda and Mumba replace justices Ernest Sakala and Dennis Chirwa who have gone on leave pending end of their contracts this August.
Labels: CORRUPTION, JUDICIARY, RICHARD M'BAO
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Zulu explains Sakala's exit
By Bright Mukwasa, Ernest Chanda and Henry Sinyangwe
Sat 16 June 2012, 13:30 CAT
FORMER chief justice Ernest Sakala and his deputy Dennis Chirwa requested to go on leave pending their retirement, says justice minister Sebastian Zulu. And LAZ president James Banda says he is hopeful the two senior justices would join other stakeholders to achieve meaningful reforms in the Judiciary as well as the legal profession.
President Michael Sata on Friday appointed justice Lombe Chibesakunda acting Chief Justice replacing justice Sakala. He also replaced justice Chirwa with justice Florence Mumba.
"Justice Lombe Chibesakunda was appointed to act because the former Chief Justice Ernest Sakala has requested President Sata to go on leave pending their retirement," Zulu told journalists yesterday.
"So the move was from the judges themselves not us…and we have got to do the reforms. We are together with judges, we are on the same side with the judiciary."
Zulu also described the move to appoint female justices to head the Judiciary as progressive.
And Banda said LAZ would remain focused on the structured process of judicial reform which they had already embarked on.
Banda said the legal fraternity had every confidence that justices Chibesakunda and Mumba would, in the period that they were acting, help to move the process of reforms forward.
"As we welcome the appointments of justices Lombe Chibesakunda and Florence Mumba as acting Chief Justice and acting deputy Chief Justice respectively, and notwithstanding that the appointments are only in an acting capacity, it is our sincere hope that the two honourable justices will get the Judiciary to work with the Law Association of Zambia and other stakeholders to achieve meaningful reforms in the Judiciary as well as the legal profession," Banda said.
"We have always believed that the Judiciary itself should take the lead in this process of correcting matters and not allow a situation where reforms are forced on it due to inertia or lack of initiative on the part of the Judiciary. Introspection is very cardinal in this respect."
Banda thanked Justices Sakala and Chirwa for their long service and wished them well.
And FODEP has commended President Sata over the duo's appointment.
During a press briefing yesterday, Forum for Democratic Progress (FODEP) president Shepherd Chilombe, said his organisation felt delighted with the continued recognition of women in key decision-making positions.
FODEP feels delighted by his Excellency President Sata's recognition of women in key decision-making positions such as the ACC, police, and more recently the judiciary. We strongly feel that this gesture speaks volumes of government commitment in meeting the SADC requirement of 30 per cent of women representation in key decision-making positions, said Chilombe.
Labels: DENNIS CHIRWA, ERNEST SAKALA, JUDICIARY
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Judiciary changes excite women
By Joan Chirwa-Ngoma
Fri 15 June 2012, 13:25 CAT
THE appointment of female justices Lombe Chibesakunda and Florence Mumba as acting Chief Justice and acting Deputy Chief Justice respectively, will bring order in the Judiciary, says NGOCC chairperson Beatrice Grillo.
President Michael Sata yesterday appointed, with immediate effect, justices Chibesakunda and Mumba to the two most senior positions in the Judiciary with the hope of "achieving aspirations of the Zambian people for the Judiciary".
This is the first time in the country's history that a female has been appointed to head the Judiciary.
The two replace justices Ernest Sakala and Dennis Chirwa who have gone on leave awaiting the expiry of their contracts and retirement.
In a statement issued by his special assistant for press and public relations, George Chellah, President Sata wished justices Chibesakunda and Mumba success in their responsibilities, adding that he had no doubt the appointments would assist in achieving aspirations of the Zambian people for the Judiciary.
He thanked justices Sakala and Chirwa for their service to the nation and wished them well in their impending retirement.
President Sata further said he was hopeful that the appointment of justices Chibesakunda and Mumba would help boost Zambia's chances of achieving the Millennium Development Goals on women in leadership positions.
Grillo, in welcoming the appointments, said the women movement was "very excited with the news" as it was coming at the time of judicial reforms.
"…We welcome the move, it is a very progressive move. These women will bring the order that is required in the judiciary. This is really affirmative action," she said, adding "We are looking forward to working with them and ensure there is justice in the country."
Grillo said justices Chibesakunda and Mumba were women of integrity that the NGOCC believed would perform to expected standards.
"These are challenging positions but they will do it. They are women of integrity and we have so much trust in them. They won't let us down. While the men are fighting in the judiciary, we need women to bring order in the Judiciary. We are hoping that they will bring that order in the Judiciary," said Grillo.
Judge Mumba served as Electoral Commission Zambia chairperson.
Judge Mumba was a member of the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2003.
She was elected Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on May 20, 1997.
Judge Mumba was the vice-president of the ICTY between November 1999 and November 2001.
Labels: JUDICIARY
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Judiciary is being player, referee - Chikwanda
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Tue 12 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
FINANCE minister Alexander Chikwanda has regretted that
a lot of lies have been peddled concerning the Zambian Airways debt. And Chikwanda says the Judiciary has advantage in an undesirable war of attrition because they have an enviable role of being player and referee.
Meanwhile, Chikwanda questioned the ability of "some regionally-strong political parties to organise nation-wide protest in pursuit of their cause".
Chikwanda, who by yesterday was acting Republican President in the absence of President Michael Sata, said it was inconceivable for the Executive to undermine the Judiciary
"It is in public interest that the minister of finance as shareholder directed Development Bank of Zambia to ask their lawyers to pend the action before the court and not to withdraw but to seek the Attorney General's opinion because the matter before the Court had acquired overtones which were contentious," Chikwanda said.
"It is government's practice to seek guidance of the Attorney General's opinion on matters where there is no certainty. This is not optional but mandatory.
"The government owns about 90 per cent of the DBZ with EximBank of India and Development Bank of Southern Africa returning the 10 per cent equity.
Chikwanda said it was "absolutely inconceivable" that President Sata could wittingly or inadvertently do anything that undermined any component of government.
Chikwanda said the strained relationship between the Executive and the Judiciary was regrettable as the two form the same government.
"As is public knowledge, the Judiciary has different views and the Executive has no alternative except to seek recourse to the same Judiciary by ways of appeal," Chikwanda told journalists yesterday.
"We know the Judiciary has advantage in this undesirable war of attrition because they have the enviable role of being a player and referee. Government will not take any precipitate measures in this matter and we appeal to both the general public and civil society to pend their anger and frustration."
Chikwanda said the government even with the demarcations of responsibilities of the three wings, namely the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature, was essentially one entity.
"The people of Zambia are now being dared to sit in moral judgment of the Executive and the Judiciary because what is happening is far beyond legality," he said.
"It is a moral issue for no government can stand with sustainability without distinct moral benchmarks. This is at the core of the very essence of any government premised on democracy and the rule of law."
On April 30 this year, President Sata suspended Supreme Court judge Philip Musonda and High Court judges Charles Kajimanga and Nigel Mutuna over their alleged professional misconduct and has since appointed a tribunal to investigate them.
President Sata suspended the three judges over their conduct in a civil case involving the Development Bank of Zambia as complainant, and The Post Newspapers Limited, Mutembo Nchito and JNC Holdings Limited as defendants.
The President subsequently appointed the tribunal led by Malawi High Court judge Justice Lovemore Chikopa to probe the three judges.
However on May 16, Lusaka High Court judge Fulgence Chisanga stayed proceedings of a tribunal appointed by President Sata to investigate the alleged misconduct of the three judges on grounds that it was illegal and premature.
"At inception of his administration, President Sata as a mark of respect to the Judiciary invited Chief Justice Ernest Sakala to address Cabinet," he revealed.
"In the words of justice Sakala, that was the only time he had been accorded that honour and privilege in his long tenure at the helm of the Judiciary. President Sata took advantage of the occasion to admonish his ministers to stay away from judicial matters. His Excellency the President is the head of government and has acted most diligently and dutifully to safeguard the integrity and respectability of all arms of government."
And Chikwanda said the Executive appealed against the decision of judge Chisanga because it believed in the separation of power.
"The Executive has no alternative; we will abide by their decision the Supreme Court is the last court of appeal and Zambia can only uphold its democratic arrangements if all arms of government work as part of the entity called government," he said.
"The government has no intention for confrontation. As your Minister of Finance, I cannot withhold payments or disbursements to the Judiciary; that's not right. The Judiciary has to function and function effectively and that is why in this ministry we do everything possible to try and make sure that the Judiciary is equipped to do what they are supposed to do."
"We can't have confrontation between the Executive and the Judiciary nor can we have confrontation between the Executive and Legislature. The democratic norms and imperatives entail us to accept the decisions of other arms of government but it must be realised that the government is literally one. That is why the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary all come here to get our requirements because the division of responsibilities is just for convenience."
Meanwhile, Chikwanda laughed off the suggestion that some political parties, in apparent reference to UPND, would hold nationwide demonstrations to the push for their agenda over the calls for judicial reforms.
He also blamed the UPND for the confrontation last week in which Lusaka Police dispersed a planned demonstration to Supreme Court by UPND cadres.
"The law requires that you seek police indulgence if you want to mount a demonstration. Government is committed to defending the rights and freedoms of the people; we are not looking for eulogies. The PF has a mandate to rule Zambia but to do so within the confines of the law. Let them demonstrate but let them do so within the confines of the law. And some people have illusions that they are going to demonstrate all over the country...where will they get people to join them in Chipata, Mansa or Kasama or even Solwezi, maybe even Mongu?" asked Chikwanda.
"Maybe not even in Choma because people would rather get on with productive functions than being used as cannon fodders soldiers forced to deliberately fight with the foreknowledge that they will suffer extremely high casualties in an effort to achieve a strategic goal by politicians with an agenda which is not in accord with the wishes of the people. But do not resort to confrontations which stall the development of our country. None of us here, if we are X tribe, is without relations in Y tribe. We have now become very fused; we are one. There are people who have different ideas, but the mainstream Zambians want to be one; they want to be a happy society. We want to be a very well embracing, accommodating and tolerant society."
Labels: ALEXANDER CHIKWANDA, FRED M'MEMBE, JUDICIARY, THE POST, ZAMBIAN AIRWAYS
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Fr Luonde refuses to pray for judges
By Ernest Chanda
Sun 10 June 2012, 13:00 CAT
FATHER Richard Luonde says he cannot pray for judges because they are not showing signs of repentance. The Kitwe Anglican Priest said biblical principles demanded that people accepted their wrongs and repented before they could be forgiven and prayed for.
Fr Luonde was reacting to Chief Justice Ernest Sakala's call for prayers on judges and the Judiciary. He said since the judges had portrayed a public picture of innocence, there was no need for anyone to pray for them.
"How do you pray for people who don't want to reform themselves? You only pray for a person who is repentant. It would be a waste of time; how do you pray for someone who is not sorry?" he asked.
"And for me, I'm not taking it away from them; some of these judges if not all they are Christians. And they should understand the principle of Christianity. The principle of Christianity is, 'forgive and you shall be forgiven; repent and you shall be forgiven'. Now, if people don't repent and don't look at their shortcomings, how could they be forgiven?"
On the Bibles donated to the judges, Fr Luonde said: "Some of them have piles and piles of Bibles in their homes; even in their offices. They read them but they don't understand them. That's why if you read the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in the Bible who, when he was asked by the Evangelist Philip if he knew what he was reading, said how can I understand, unless I'm taught? Also these people should begin to understand what they are called for."
Fr Luonde reminded judges that theirs was a call from God to serve humanity with integrity.
"To be a judge is a biblical calling; you bring peace among the afflicted, you bring peace on those who are trodden on, you bring peace on those who are not treated well in the communities. So when they come to you, they are asking God to say can God intervene through the person He has put across as our adjudicator? They are in the same footing as priests or pastors," said Fr Luonde.
"So you continue giving Bibles to people who are found wanting by the communities, what will be the purpose of those donations? You only go to them if they are ready to recognise their shortcomings and they ask for forgiveness; that's when you begin to re-lecture them. To me it's like Zambia is a state where the Judiciary has its own powers and the executive has its own powers. It's like we have a country within a country. People are now skeptical about going to the courts; be it magistrate court, be it the High Court or Supreme Court. And if they Judiciary can rise against the Executive, what more with the ordinary person? Zambians are now scared; they are now seeing that the Judiciary is more powerful than the executive, which is not the case."
Speaking after he received Bibles from Save Rural Africa Foundation president chief Chipepo on Friday, justice Sakala asked for prayers from members of the public, especially now and said no one in the Judiciary was resisting reforms.
Labels: JUDICIARY, RICHARD LUONDE
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Our judges truly need prayers
By The Post
Sat 09 June 2012, 13:00 CAT
DIVINE intervention is required in our Judiciary because things are out of control, things have gone horribly wrong. Integrity, honesty and leadership are no longer there. What we have today is a Judiciary dominated by crooks, by dishonest people who have no problems telling lies.
And we can say this with confidence because some of them have lied about us and have continued to do so without shame. And at the helm of this disgraced Judiciary is Ernest Sakala. Truly, our judges need prayers.
And Sakala's request to the Church to pray for judges is timely. As Sakala has correctly observed, we need to remember our Judiciary in our prayers, and to pray for the judges especially. This is so because some of them have lost "the moral fabrics of the adjudicators".
Our judges truly need Bibles because some of the things they do can only be done by people with evil minds. The Holy Bible teaches us that "it is wrong for a judge to be prejudiced. If he pronounces a guilty person innocent, he will be cursed and hated by everyone.
Judges who punish the guilty, however, will be prosperous and enjoy a good reputation" (Proverbs 24:24-25); "Don't give evidence against someone else without good reason, or say misleading things about him" (Proverbs 24:28); "If you plant the seeds of injustice, disaster will spring up, and your oppression of others will end" (Proverbs 22:8); "When justice is done, good people are happy, but evil people are brought to despair" (Proverbs 21:15); "It is not right to favour the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice" (Proverbs 18:5); "Condemning the innocent or letting the wicked go - both are hateful to the lord" (Proverbs 17:15); "Respected people do not tell lies, and fools have nothing worthwhile to say" (Proverbs 17:7); "Do not plough the ground to plant seeds of injustice; you may reap a bigger harvest than you expect" (Sirach 7:3); "Do not set your heart on being a judge, unless you have the strength of character it takes to put an end to injustice…" (Sirach 7:6).
Yes, as Sakala says, judges need prayers. But so do the people who are victims of our judges' corruption and abuse of power. They too need prayers, probably more than the judges do. There is no need for Sakala to make it seem as if the judges are victims, are on the receiving end.
No! They are not victims - the victims are the people who have been made to suffer the consequences of their corruption and abuse of judicial power. It is important to admit things when they are wrong and you avoid embarrassment.
Sakala says that if the reforms in the Judiciary mean dismissing the Chief Justice and judges, then he was not competent to comment. The current Kenyan Chief Justice has no problems seeing to it that corrupt judges are dismissed, including the Chief Justice. It's not okay to keep people in public offices they have disgraced.
There should be a resolute effort to hunt every such man out of the position he has disgraced. Our plea is, not for immunity to but for the most unsparing exposure of everyone, including judges, who betrays his trust. And in saying this, we are not in any way preaching hatred against anyone.
We don't believe in the law of hate. We may not always be true to our ideals, but we believe in the law of love, and we believe you can do nothing with hatred. We would like to see a time when man loves his fellow man and forgets all other descriptions. We will never be civilised until that time comes.
We are told in the bible, as quoted above, that it is wrong for a judge to be prejudiced. And if he pronounces a guilty person innocent, he will be cursed and hated by everyone. These are some of the things that are today backfiring on our judges.
For too long they have been passing judgments that don't make sense, that are corrupt, that favour certain interests. And today because of this they are being cursed, they are hated, as the bible says, by everyone.
Dismissing incompetent and corrupt judges should be part of any serious reform of the Judiciary. Sakala doesn't want this to happen. He wants every corrupt and incompetent judge to remain in their jobs! Why? For what? What type of reasoning is this? What type of reforms is Sakala talking about or calling genuine?
Genuine reforms take out everything that is rotten, that is not working and replaces it by something new that promises to work. The truth is that Sakala is defensive about his Judiciary because he is responsible for the rot that has been going on, that is going on. Sakala has failed to provide the required competent leadership our Judiciary requires.
And he can't today claim to have performed his duties with sufficient competence, honour and integrity. We say this because in our own case, Sakala has given contradictory statements which border on lies and dishonest. Honesty is required in every leadership position, more so in the Judiciary where there has to be adjudication of differences among people.
In other countries Sakala would have been dismissed from the Judiciary a long time ago for unprofessional behaviour. Sakala is today defending that which cannot be reasonably defended because he is part of it. Sakala is at the helm of this rot. Why shouldn't he be dismissed?
The Zambian taxpayer cannot be expected to pay for that type of service. More is expected of our judges because they are well-remunerated and well-protected. In fact, the people are not protected against some of their corrupt decisions.
The people need more protection today from corrupt judges than the judges need from the people. And more prayers should be directed towards the people than the judges because the people need more protection, more help than the judges who are in a very powerful position. Nothing can happen to them.
If you want to make them accountable they simply use their courts to protect themselves from being made to account for their misconduct, their transgressions and mistreatment of others. What further protection do our judges need when they have proved themselves to be untouchable, omnipotent?
No institution can touch our judges today. They can lord over others but no one can ever attempt to straighten them. Probably the only prayers they need more of are those intended or designed to stop them from mistreating others, from abusing the judicial powers vested in them.
It is interesting to see some of the worst criminals in robes pretending to be victims. What victims can these corrupt elements claim to be?
It's good Sakala's contract which was given to him by Rupiah Banda after he had reached retirement age is coming to an end in August. There will be no need to renew it. The man has nothing to offer but destruction.
The anarchy we are seeing today in the nation is as a result of his failure to lead the Judiciary in the right way. Look at those very close to him and examine their behaviour! They are the most indisciplined. They are the ones being accused of corruption. What type of Chief Justice is this? What type of leadership is Sakala providing to our Judiciary?
It is good religious leaders went to offer our judges Bibles and prayers. We hope they will read those Bibles and learn the teachings and wisdom contained in them and change their behaviour.
We need religious institutions to continue to be the conscious of society, a moral custodian and a fearless champion of the interests of the weak and downtrodden. All our key religious leaders and institutions in this country have in a very strong way called for reforms in the our Judiciary.
Sakala doesn't see the urgency of this and thinks it's business as usual claiming the reforms in the Judiciary started long before the public outcry as he has said before. It's good he at least recognises that there is a public outcry for reforms in the Judiciary.
But instead of being defensive, he should be asking himself what has generated this public outcry. Of course, Sakala tries to play down every call for reform and he tries to play semantics with the so-called genuine reforms. But who has defined these so-called genuine reforms?
We are lucky as a nation that the reforms will not come from Sakala - the matter is beyond him. And as the Law Association of Zambia correctly observed, the current leadership of the Judiciary has no capacity to carry out the reforms required in our Judiciary by our people.
And it is for this reason that Sakala and his cabal of incompetent and corrupt judges must go. If Sakala knew what genuine reforms are required and had implemented them, there wouldn't be this public outcry for reforms. He can't today claim that nobody in the Judiciary is resisting reforms, particularly genuine reforms.
They are resisting and they are using their offices to do that. And if there was no resistance of genuine reforms, Sakala wouldn't be Chief Justice today because genuine reforms would have swept him aside a long time ago.
Labels: ERNEST SAKALA, JUDICIARY
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Sakala asks church to pray for judges
By Namatama Mundia
Sat 09 June 2012, 13:00 CAT
CHIEF Justice Ernest Sakala has asked the Church to pray for judges especially during this period. Speaking after he received 55 Bibles from Save Rural Africa Foundation president chief Chipepo at the High Court yesterday, justice Sakala however, said there was nobody in the Judiciary who was resisting judicial reforms particularly genuine reforms.
He said if reforms in the Judiciary meant dismissing the Chief Justice and judges, then he was not competent to comment but added that genuine reforms were welcome.
Justice Sakala said reforms in the Judiciary started long before the public outcry as he had said before.
Justice Sakala asked the Church in the country to continuously remember the Judiciary in their prayers, especially the judges.
"…when the Judiciary has attracted so much attention from members of the public as well as from the Church, including some members of my own church, the Catholic Church," justice Sakala said.
"But despite the different views that have been expressed by many people, including the Church about and on the Judiciary, on one thing we are all agreed. That is, that we all need an independent and accountable Judiciary because without it, there would be anarchy in our country."
On Thursday, Lusaka Catholic Archbishop, Telesphore Mpundu said the Judiciary should be dissolved if it continued to resist reforms.
Archbishop Mpundu said the Judiciary was not a sacred cow that should be left untouched when it made mistakes.
Several stakeholders too have asked justice Sakala to resign to pave way for robust judicial reforms.
Law Association of Zambia president James Banda when beginning his term of office said that the professional body would ensure that it restored and maintained the integrity of the Judiciary.
But justice Sakala then responded to Banda that the Judiciary would wait to see how LAZ would restore the Judiciary's integrity.
During the opening of the High Court criminal sessions for 2012 in Lusaka, justice Sakala said he was not sure if LAZ was aware of the challenges being faced by the courts.
"I have seen in the press today where LAZ is talking about restoring integrity to the Judiciary. We will wait to see how LAZ will do that. I am not sure if LAZ has any idea of the challenges faced by the judiciary," he said then.
Copperbelt University student leaders also argued that justice Sakala had openly shown how partisan he was under Rupiah Banda.
Yesterday, justice Sakala said that the concept of legal and judicial reforms was accepted by all of them adding that it must not be understood to mean the destruction of the Judiciary but the improvement of the Judiciary.
"Individuals will continue being appointed as judges or even as chief justices, but their time to leave will come and they will go. But the judiciary as an institution, will remain and will continue," he said.
Justice Sakala said he does not believe that the presentation of the Bibles to the judges was simply a mere coincidence that the Foundation chose this particular time to present them.
"In my view, you must have been inspired to choose this time. The inspirations must have come about because the Holy Bibles contain good news. Yes, there could have been no better time for presenting the good news to the judiciary than now. For obvious reasons, I do not intend to elaborate on this," he said.
Justice Sakala said the presentation of the Bibles to the adjudicators symbolised the importance which the Foundation attached to the moral fabrics of the adjudicators.
He said he considered the Bible to be a higher constitution, which embodies all the constitutions and laws of the world.
Justice Sakala said the presentation of the Bibles marked an indelible milestone in the history of the Judiciary.
And chief Chipepo said there would be revival in the Judiciary and people would start smiling.
"There will be nobody who will talk ill about the other," he said.
Chief Chipepo said judges were a group of people who needed to be respected at all levels.
"You can't talk ill about a judge just like you can't talk ill of a President," he said.
And Pastor Wisdom Gondwe prayed for justice Sakala and other judges that God should lead them and the Judiciary where he wants them to be.
He also prayed for God's protection over the judges.
Labels: ERNEST SAKALA, JUDICIARY
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