By 
High Court Judge, Conceptor Chinyama Zulu, has refused to halt criminal proceedings against Nickson Chilangwa and others before the Kawambwa Magistrate Court pending determination of his petition contesting the issuance of a bench warrant.
Judge Zulu has also declined to discharge the warrant of arrest issued against Chilangwa by the Magistrate Court as it was the preserve of the lower court to cancel it.
Kawambwa Central Member of Parliament, Chilangwa, filed a petition in the Lusaka High Court, describing the issued bench warrant by the Kawambwa Magistrate Court as a violation of his right to a fair trial.
Chilangwa, who is also acting Secretary General of the opposition Patriotic Front, submitted that the decision by Magistrate Martin Namushi to issue a bench warrant against him jeopardized his presumption of innocence.
On May 24, 2023, Magistrate Namushi issued a bench warrant against the petitioner for failure to attend sessions.
This is in a matter in which Chilangwa, Ronald Chitotela (Pambeshe MP) and five others are charged for arson, threatening violence, malicious damage to property and four counts of assault in 2021. The seven were arrested in November,2022.
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The other accused persons are Kawambwa Council Chairperson, Kalumba Chifumbe, Kunda Chitotela, Chabu Chitotela, Davy Kaniki and Chibwe Musantu, all members of PF.
Chilangwa claimed that his failure to attend trial on May 24, 2023, was because he was appearing in a contempt matter before the High Court in Lusaka.
He said he was surprised that the Magistrate proceeded to issue the bench warrant which was returnable on May 26, 2023. He therefore, sought a declaration that the said decision violated the right to a fair trial and he also claimed damages for breach of his right.
Chilangwa filed an application for the stay of proceedings and warrant of arrest pending determination of the petition before the High Court
The State opposed the application on the basis that civil proceedings could not be used to arrest criminal investigations and prosecutions.
It further argued stating that the warrant of arrest was neither defective nor illegal.
Judge Zulu in her ruling said the application had failed and the warrant of arrest remained in force and until executed or cancelled by the subordinate court that issued it as per the provisions of section 102(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).
She observed that the application was a disguised appeal against the issuance of the warrant of arrest, a thing that bordered on abuse of court process and must be condemned and discouraged at all costs,
She stated, “for the avoidance of doubt, the net effect of this ruling is that the criminal proceedings against the petitioner in the case of the People vs Ronald Kaoma Chitotela and others must proceed in the Kawambwa subordinate court as they cannot be stayed by this court pending the determination of the petition before this court,”
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