More to join eligibility case

Wed, 31 Jan 2018 10:19:06 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

THE rest of the 16 members of the National Opposition Alliance (NOA) will apply for a joinder in the case to determine the eligibility of President Edgar Lungu to contest the 2021 elections and push for it to be concluded as soon as possible, spokesperson Cozmo Mumba has said.

Yesterday, the ConCourt halted the eligibility case until further notice saying it had initially received a notice of motion requesting that the matter be heard by a full bench but that while it was planning, it received a another notice of complaint from the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) that four opposition political parties were demanding that its president, justice Hildah Chibomba, be investigated for alleged incompetence and gross misconduct, hence that decision. This has however infuriated NOA who have charged that there was no need for the Concourt to halt the proceedings of the main matter on account of the notices as the parties involved had waited for a long time to have the case closed.

The halting of the proceedings until further notice, Dr. Mumba said, was an assault on justice as it would unnecessarily delay the case and that in the wake of the latest development, the rest of the 16 alliance members that were not involved in the matter will now apply for a joinder to push for the conclusion of the matter.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. We believe that President Lungu is eligible to stand in the next election but we did not block anyone from challenging our view point. This is why we have this case before the Concourt but what we are getting now that the case has been suspended indefinitely until the other issue is cleared by the JCC is unacceptable.

“To this effect, the rest of NOA members have resolved to apply for a joinder because we want this matter to be concluded immediately. We cannot afford to continue going back and forth. The ConCourt must be above board and ensure that it offers guidance to the parties involved over such notices before unilaterally coming up with decisions that may delay the entire process. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour from them,” Dr. Mumba warned.