Nawakwi sued for contempt

Sat, 26 Nov 2016 13:48:37 +0000

EXPELLED FDD members have commenced proceedings against Edith Nawakwi and party leadership for deliberately refusing to comply with the Order of Injunction issued by the Lusaka High Court Justice. This is in a matter in which some FDD members applied for an injunction against Ms Nawakwi and her leadership to stop from amending the party constitution to allow her a third term in office following the expiry of her two 5 year term.

FDD deputy national secretary, Kaluba Simuyemba, and chairman for the disabled, Bwalya Ng’andu, applied to the High Court to restrain all those planning to amend the party constitution for the advantage of one person to continue with the monopoly of the FDD leadership.

They have challenged Nawakwi’s leadership over a planned convention at which a new party leadership was expected to be voted into office, but that some members have insisted the president must be allowed to contest. In a sworn affidavit as a Court Marshal at the Lusaka High Court of Zambia, Robert Moonze submitted to Court yesterday that the FDD refused to acknowledge receipt of the documents served at the party secretariat. “That the respondents, their agents or servants refused to acknowledge receipt of the documents,” he said. Justice Banda-Bobo has since set 28th November, 2016 for hearing of the contempt application.

FDD National Policy Committee on 18 November, 2016 and resolved to amend the party constitution in order to allow Ms Nawakwi to contest her third term of office among other clauses modified. Justice Banda-Bobo earlier on 16th November, 2016 had granted an injunction to restrain the party from making such amendments until the determination of a court matter challenging her continued stay in office despite the expiry of her tenure. The opposition party has been linked to alleged illegal suspensions of anybody against the extension of Ms Nawakwi’s tenure of office from the constitutionally

prescribed 10 years.