Attorney-General contends High Court lacks jurisdiction to determine PF lawmakers’ legal presence in parliament

The Attorney-General has argued that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case brought by nine Patriotic Front (PF) Members of Parliament (MPs) contesting Deputy Speaker Moses Moyo’s decision to declare their seats vacant.

In its application to set aside the ex parte order for leave to apply for judicial review, the state contended that the Deputy Speaker followed proper procedures.

Deputy Clerk (Procedure) of the National Assembly, Cecilia Sikatele-Mambwe, stated in an affidavit supporting the summons that on December 12, 2023, a letter from the counsel representing the nine expelled PF MPs informed the National Assembly of their challenge before the Constitutional Court.

On June 27, 2024, the Constitutional court dismissed the petition due to lack of jurisdiction.

The MPs then filed a new process before the same court, seeking the same reliefs.

On July 3, the Deputy Speaker announced the vacancies in the constituencies of the nine MPs, formally communicating this to the Electoral Commission of Zambia on the same day.

Sikatele-Mambwe asserted that there was no proper challenge to the expulsion before any court and that the Deputy Speaker acted constitutionally.

The state argued that the High Court must consider whether it was necessary to grant the applicants leave for judicial review when alternative remedies were available.

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They pointed out that the MPs had an active matter before the Constitutional Court, which could provide the same reliefs sought from the High Court.

The state submitted that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to determine the constitutionality of the Deputy Speaker’s procedure and that the MPs had not exhausted all alternative remedies.

The state requested the court to set aside the ex parte order for leave and stay of the Deputy Speaker’s decision, with costs for the respondent.

The affected MPs are Mutotwe Kafwaya, Brian Mundubile, Nixon Chilangwa, Emmanuel Mpakanta, Christopher Kang’ombe, Ronald Chitotela, Remember Mutale, Francis Fube, and Stephen Kampyongo.

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