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Constitutional lawyer, Tresford Chali, has filed a petition in the Constitutional Court challenging the Judicial Complaints Commission’s (JCC) qualifications to recommend judge removals, asserting that most JCC members lack the required high judicial office experience.
Chali claimed that only retired Justice Prisca Nyambe met the qualifications for the JCC, while other members fell short, rendering the commission’s recommendations invalid.
He contended that the JCC, led by Vincent Malambo, lacked a quorum when it recommended removing judges Annie Sitali, Mugeni Mulenga, and Palan Mulonda.
Chali seeks several declarations, including:
1. Recognition that JCC members, aside from Justice Nyambe, are unqualified.
2. An order for Parliament to legislate specific qualifications for JCC appointments.
3. A declaration that the JCC’s October 20 report, recommending judge removals, was unconstitutional and altered established jurisprudence.
He also requested that the standard for assessing judges’ qualifications be set between the civil balance of probabilities and the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additionally, Chali seeks to nullify the JCC’s report and President Hakainde Hichilema’s related actions, arguing that the 2016 Constitution, which established the JCC, lacked specific qualifications for its members, forcing the President to use outdated standards from the abolished Judicial Code of Conduct Act No. 13 of 1999.
Chali further alleges that the JCC breached confidentiality by publicly advertising its October 14 hearing notice, which he said undermined judicial independence.
He warned that political motivations behind judge removals could deter qualified candidates from the judiciary, endangering Zambia’s constitutional democracy.
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