Lawyer faults suspension of constitutional cout judges, says action politically motivated

Constitutional lawyer, Tresford Chali, has filed a legal challenge against President Hakainde Hichilema’s suspension of three Constitutional Court judges, branding the move as a violation of the Republican Constitution.

In his petition, Chali targets the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) and the Attorney General, asserting that the suspension of Justices Anne Sitali, Mungeni Mulenga, and Palan Mulonda was not only unlawful but a direct threat to judicial independence.

Chali argued that the President’s actions on September 23, 2024, undermined judicial neutrality and posed a risk to Zambia’s constitutional democracy.

He is seeking an interim order to reverse the suspension and a full judicial review to nullify the President’s decision to accept the JCC’s recommendations.

According to Chali, the suspension and the Commission’s actions violated Articles 143 and 144 of the Constitution.

The petition also called for the nullification of the JCC report, labelling its findings unconstitutional.

Chali emphasized that judges cannot be disciplined for their rulings, citing Article 122(2), which protects them from interference by public officers, including the President.

“The suspension of these judges undermines judicial independence and entangles the judiciary in politics, threatening the core of our democratic system,” the petition stated.

Chali further argued that the judges enjoyed security of tenure and cannot be arbitrarily removed from office.

He questioned the legitimacy of the JCC’s investigation, pointing out that similar complaints about the judges’ rulings in the 2016 case involving Hichilema and former President Edgar Lungu had been dismissed previously.

The petition described the suspension as politically motivated, stressing that the President should not have been involved in suspending the judges who ruled against him in the 2016 case.

Chali warned that allowing this suspension to stand would erode public confidence in the judiciary, deter qualified lawyers from becoming judges, and weaken the constitutional framework.

He urged the Constitutional Court to reinstate the suspended judges and safeguard the judiciary from political interference, framing the petition as a battle for the soul of Zambia’s democracy.

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