Legal fireworks as Court agrees to hear Lungu’s case seeking to remove three judges in his eligibility case

The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear an application by former President Edgar Lungu to recuse three judges from his eligibility case, citing perceived bias.

Lungu’s legal team, Makebi Zulu Advocates, argued that Justice Arnold Shilimi’s alleged close relationship with President Hakainde Hichilema posed a conflict of interest.

Lungu named Constitutional Court president, Justice Professor Margaret Munalula, her deputy Justice Shilimi, and Justice Maria Kawimbe as the judges in question.

Read more: Lungu accuses constitutional court president, two other judges of bias, requests their withdrawal from election eligibility dispute

The hearing for the application is set for October 3, 2024.

Makebi Zulu Advocates contended that the involvement of the three judges could lead to an unfair hearing in the case, which involved youth activist Chizombe contesting Lungu’s eligibility to run in future elections.

Zulu, acting on Lungu’s instructions, applied for leave to formally seek the judges’ recusal during a session of the main case before a seven-member panel.

The state did not oppose the request, but Chizombe’s lawyer, Michael Moono, described it as a tactic to delay the proceedings.

The court allowed the request and instructed Lungu’s lawyers to submit the formal application by 13:00 hours, scheduling the hearing for 14:00 hours. However, Makebi Zulu informed the court that they were unable to meet the deadline due to time constraints, citing power outages at their Roma office and the complexity of drafting the necessary documentation.

The application required evidence of the alleged relationship between Justice Shilimi and President Hichilema.

The State and petitioner’s legal teams opposed the request for an extension, accusing Lungu of stalling the case. Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha emphasized that adjournments should not be assumed.

Despite the objections, Zulu insisted that judicial recusal must be resolved before proceeding with the main case.

The court granted an extension, instructing Lungu’s lawyers to file the formal application by Monday, with responses from the State, Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), and the petitioner due by October 2.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) dismissed Lungu’s complaint against the three judges, asserting that claims of bias fall under the court’s jurisdiction.

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