Retired Sesheke cops lose case
RETIRED Sesheke police of cers’ attempt to get back their jobs have been dashed following a court decision to discharge their application seeking judicial review.
e Lusaka High Court on Wednesday discharged the exparte leave it had granted to the two Secheke police of cers who were challenging the State's decision to retire them in national interest.
Judge Pixie Yangailo said in her ruling that the applicants should have sought other avenues. is is in a matter in which Shapa Wakunguma, a senior superintendent o cer, commanding, Sesheke and Flemming Chilongo, second o cer commanding Sesheke had in March this year sought leave to commence judicial review proceedings in the Lusaka High Court after the Zambia Police Service retired them in national interest for allegedly beating up PF cadres during the parliamentary by-elections in the area.
ey cited the Attorney General as the respondent.
Judge Yangailo however, in April granted the exparte leave which was to operate as a stay of the decision to retire them in national interest.
But the State asked the court to discharge the exparte leave on grounds that the applicants did not appeal the decision to retire them to the Police Service Commission.
It stated that there were other remedies that should have been exhausted and that the court was a wrong forum for such a grievance.
Meanwhile, Mr Wakunguma and Mr Chilongo argued that the court exercised its inherent authority by granting them exparte leave to commence judicial review as all mechanisms and relevant local remedies available to them to rectify the alleged illegal and outrageous retirement had been fully exhausted.
e o cers stated that they had a t and proper case for the court to hear and determine on its merit through judicial review. In discharging the exparte leave earlier granted, Judge Yangailo agreed with the State's argument that the matter was not amenable by Judicial Review because it relates to private contractual matters emanating from the contract of employment between the Zambia Police Service Commission and the applicants.
"My considered view is that the applicants do not have an argument case for Judicial R eview as the dominant factor in this case is that the applicants want to enforce private rights under private law of employment.
"I thus agree with the respondent’s argument that this matter is not amenable to Judicial Review because it relates to a private contractual matter emanating from the contract of employment between the Zambia Police Service Commission and the applicants," judge Yangailo said.
She said the law was clear in the right procedure used in airing grievances before courts of law and where a matter was not properly before court, the judge had no jurisdiction to make declarations requested.
Judge Yangailo said it was therefore, her nding that leave should not have been granted and thereby set it aside together with the stay of the decision to retire the twoin national interest or public interest.