High court dismisses application by suspended judge’s to have case against JCC, Hichilema upturned

The High Court has dismissed an application filed by Constitutional Court Judges Anne Sitali, Mungeni Mulenga, and Palan Mulonda, who sought to challenge their suspension by President Hakainde Hichilema following a recommendation from the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC).

A bench comprising Judges Charles Zulu, Chilombo Maka, and T.S. Musonda ruled that the High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter, stating that issues concerning the suspension of judges fall exclusively under the Constitutional Court’s authority.

As a result, the court had revoked its earlier decision to allow the judges to initiate judicial review proceedings and has lifted the stay on the JCC’s ongoing proceedings against them.

In its ruling, the court stressed that resolving this controversy involves interpreting the constitutional mandate of the JCC and evaluating the President’s powers to suspend judges under Article 144(3) of the Constitution, both of which fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court.

The three judges had sought a certiorari order to quash the JCC’s decision to reopen their case, made on September 23, 2024.

They argued that the JCC had no jurisdiction, as the matter had been resolved in earlier complaints lodged by various individuals, including Emmanuel Mtonga, Alfred Chims Mbewe, and Douglas Syakalima.

The judges also sought to overturn the JCC’s recommendation to suspend them and President Hichilema’s subsequent decision to act on that recommendation, arguing that both actions violated the legal principle of res judicata.

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