Tutwa granted leave to apply for judicial review
THE Kabwe high court has granted Kabwe Central Member of Parliament (MP), Tutwa Ngulube leave to apply for judicial review and stay in a matter where the council had closed his bus station.
Kabwe Town Clerk, Ronald Daka signed a closure notice to stop buses from using Sonnets Melodious Shopping Complex as a transit bus station.
The High Court has further stayed the closure order pending determination of the matter in the judicial review.
The statement on ex-parte summons for leave to apply for judicial review states that the planning permission to receive buses appears in the minutes book of the 2012 at the Kabwe Municipal Council.
It further said that the parking spaces to accommodate buses were approved and supervised by the municipal council department of engineering.
Mr Ngulube said the court had stopped the council from blocking all buses operating at Sonnets because the decision was made in bad faith and without his engagement.
Speaking in an interview to the Daily Nation, Mr Ngulube said the council acted against the law by denying him a hearing before closing the bus station as required by the law and the rule of justice.
“They arrived at the decision to close my businesses, they did not engage me and didn’t give me a hearing so the decision was not made in good faith,” said Mr Ngulube.
The Kabwe Central MP further explained that the decision by the council affected third parties running business at Sonnets hypermarket who had nothing to do with the local authority.
He has since maintained that the council was victimising him for dragging them to court for misconduct.
“The reason why they have actually decided to close my businesses is because am involved in a complaint with them,” said Mr Ngulube. A check at Sonnets Hypermarket yesterday morning showed that the situation has gone back to normal and both state and council police had vacated the premises.