State application against LAZ petition dismissed

THE Constitutional Court has thrown out a preliminary application where the State had asked it to dismiss Law Association of

a ia a etition

challenging the decision of the Government to alter the Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019.

The court has, however, ordered that the hearing of the petition starts on Friday next week.

In this matter, LAZ has sued President Edgar Lungu, Speaker of the National Assembly and the Attorney General regarding the enactment of the Constitution Amendment Bill No 10 of 2019.

Earlier, the State who did not file an answer and an affidavit in opposition to the petition asked the court to dismiss it on grounds that there was no legal basis by LAZ upon which to block the enactment of the Constitution (Amendment ) Bill no. 10.

When the matter came up for the hearing of the application yesterday, Attorney General Likando Kalaluka urged the court to dismiss the petition saying it would have been better to dismiss the petition at the preliminary stage.

He said there was even no reason for the State to file an answer in response to the allegation because the petition by LAZ had failed on its own.

He wondered why LAZ had taken an issue with him signing a Government Bill when it was a mandatory

requirement by the constitution for him to do.

Mr Kalaluka said courts in Zambia had already ruled that one cannot impeach a Bill before it becomes law.

Mr Kalaluka had told a panel of five Judges that both he and the President had not breached the constitution as regards to the Bill in question.

But lawyer representing LAZ, John Sangwa-State Counse,l urged the court to hear the petition on merit and determine it.

In its ruling later in the afternoon yesterday, Justice Mungeni Mulenga on behalf of other Constitutional Court judges Hildah Chibomba, Annie Sitali, Enock Mulembe and Proffessor Margaret Munalula dismissed the State’s application and ordered for trial in the main petition to commence on October 11, 2019.

Justice Mulenga said although the application had merits, it was being dismissed but the court would not disclose the reasons.