PF sues Speaker
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Secretary General Davis Mwila has sued the Speaker of the National Assembly for refusing to declare Chishimba Kambwili’s Roan Constituency seat vacant. Mr Mwila applied for Judicial Review in the Lusaka High Court citing the Attorney General Likando Kalaluka as the respondent in the matter. He sought a declaration that Mr Kambwili had no court action before the High Court to challenge his expulsion from the PF. Mr Mwila also sought an order quashing the Speaker’s refusal to declare the seat vacant and an order of mandamus directed at the Speaker to declare the seat vacant. He said the Central Committee of the PF resolved to expel Mr Kambwili from the membership of the PF on July 22 2017 and the decision was communicated to Mr Kambwili through a letter dated July 24 2017. Mr Mwila said the Speaker was on July 26, 2017 informed of the decision to expel Mr Kambwili and was requested to declare the Roan Constituency seat vacant but that Mr Kambwili commenced an action in the High Court challenging his expulsion . He however, said the court dismissed Mr Kambwili’s court action for disregarding and breaching court orders. Mr Mwila explained that on October 26, 2018, he again requested the Speaker to declare the seat vacant since there was no matter for determination over the expulsion of Mr Kambwili from the PF. “By letter dated October 26 2018, I wrote to the Honourable Mr Speaker requesting that the seat be declared vacant since there was no cause or matter pending for determination before the High Court in respect of the decision to expel Hon Kambwili from the Patriotic Front,” Mr Mwila claimed. He claimed that the Speaker, citing Article 72 (5) of the Constitution, refused to declare the seat vacant on the basis that the court had not pronounced itself on the merits of the case to confirm the expulsion. Mr Mwila further claimed that the Speaker said there was an appeal against the dismissal of the case pending before the Court of Appeal. He said he again wrote to the Speaker, explaining that the appeal before the Court of Appeal was in relation to the dismissal of the case and not the expulsion. Mr Mwila said he reiterated his request to declare the seat vacant but the Speaker refused again, emphasising that the matter had not been determined ion the merits and that since Mr Kambwili may succeed in his appeals either in the Court of appeal or Supreme Court, the seat could not be declared vacant in order to “give the courts latitude to deal with the matters conclusively”