By GIDEON NYENDWA
THE United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) has charged that President Hakainde Hichilema has compromised judgements by the dismissal of the three Constitutional Court judges.
UKA chairperson for communication, Jackson Silavwe also said the Chief Justice, Dr Mumba Malila has failed to protect judges from political abuse.
Mr Silavwe said the dismissal of three Constitutional Court judges by Mr. Hichilema was an assault on the judiciary and an affront to the country’s democracy, which was anchored on the principle of the separation of powers.
“We find President Hichilema’s decision to dismiss judges Palan Mulonda, Mungeni Mulenga and Anne Sitali disturbing, especially that they are perceived to have ruled against him in the 2016 presidential election petition.
We find this unfortunate incident as a blatant act of vengeance and a desecration of the judiciary, a sacred institution that all Zambians depend on for justice and settlement of disputes,” he said.
Mr Silavwe said what was more appalling was the fact that the three Judges were cleared of allegations of misconduct by the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) on more than two occasions and it was strange that the same Commission has u-turned on its earlier decision to recommend their dismissal to the President on biased charges.
He said the decision confirms the fears that Mr. Hichilema and his administration were hell-bent on interfering with the judiciary for selfish political reasons.
Mr Silavwe said the move was also ill-timed, especially that the Constitutional Court was expected to rule on the eligibility case of former President Edgar Lungu as well as other high-profile political cases.
He said UKA feared that the act will erode public confidence in the judiciary, which was already at its lowest in recent times.
Mr Silavwe said judges enjoy security of tenure as provided for in the Republican Constitution and it was unfortunate what was happening was no longer the case under the new dawn administration where wanton breach of the supreme law of the land has become the norm.
He said Zambia was a constitutional democracy which was anchored on the independence of the Judiciary, Legislature and Executive and the separation of powers must be respected and upheld at all times to guarantee a functioning democracy.
Mr Silavwe urged Justice Malila to rise up and defend and protect his judges from intimidation and harassment from the Executive arm of Government as it was apparent that the three Constitutional Court judges have been punished for executing their mandate as provided for in the constitution.
He also urged the Law Association of Zambia, the church, civil society organisations and political parties to speak out against the interference in the judiciary as it has the potential to undermine the gains that the country has made as a constitutional democracy.
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