M’membe fights legal cost

FORMER Post Newspapers proprietor Fred M’membe has asked the Constitutional Court to halt its judgement in the case where it condemned him to costs for a matter in which he was challenging the liquidation of the newspaper company.

Dr M’membe stated that he had since applied for interpretation or review of costs awarded to the State and the Post Newspapers Limited (in liquidation).

In the matter Dr M’membe was seeking an order to reverse the winding up of the newspaper company.

He was also challenging the Kitwe High Court’s decision to quash the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC)’s ruling which found High Court Judge Sunday Nkonde with a prima facie case for professional misconduct.

He sued now Industrial Relations CourtJjudge Sunday Nkonde and the Attorney General seeking a declaration that the proceedings in 2017/HK/771 (the winding up of the newspaper) were a nullity on account of want of jurisdiction and that the consent judgement entered in that case was null and void.

But Attorney General Likando Kalaluka argued that Dr M’membe could not purport to set aside a consent judgment to which he was not a party.

And the Constitutional Court, in its judgement delivered in December last year, dismissed Dr M’membe’s petition with costs saying it was improperly before it.

The court agreed with the State’s position that he, having not been a party to the matter before the Kitwe High Court, could not purport to challenge the consent judgement in the Constitutional Court.

Dr M’membe, however, in his affidavit in support of exparte summons for stay of execution pending interpretation and review of costs filed on Friday last week, says the respondents had applied for a bill of cost out of time and that the said application will prejudice his request for review or interpretation of the costs order.

“This honourable court entered judgment against the petitioner in December 29, 2018 and awarded the respondents costs.

I applied for a review and interpretation of the costs order in the judgement on 26 August 2019,” he states.

“The first respondent has applied for leave to bill of costs out of time.