Sampa accuses nine PF lawmakers of ‘forum shopping’ in bid to sack him as party president

Patriotic Front (PF) faction president, Miles Sampa, has accused nine Members of Parliament (MPs) of “forum shopping” in their bid to nullify his party presidency, alleging that they are seeking a favorable judgment by filing similar cases across multiple courts.

Sampa criticised the MPs’ legal strategy, arguing that their statement of claim was riddled with irregularities and overlaps with prior cases.

“I have reviewed the statement of claim filed by the plaintiffs and note that it is plagued with irregularities,” Sampa stated.

He noted that the reliefs sought by the MPs were already subjects of previous legal actions, some of which were still under appeal.

Sampa referred to earlier cases, including cause numbers 2023/HB/77 and 2023/HP/1866, alleging that the plaintiffs were attempting to use multiple courts to secure a favorable ruling.

“It is our submission that the plaintiffs in this matter are undertaking a voyage of forum shopping, which amounts to an abuse of the court process,” argued Sampa’s legal team.

They contended that the plaintiffs’ actions should be dismissed due to the involvement of multiple court cases all seeking the same redress.

Sampa’s legal team further argued that by bringing identical claims in different courts, the plaintiffs have caused unnecessary delays in the legal process and forced the defendants to appear before various forums.

They noted that in some instances, the plaintiffs had either withdrawn their cases or had them dismissed, and pointed out that there is still an active appeal in cause 2023/HP/1866.

“We humbly pray that this court exercises its discretion judiciously and dismisses this action for failure to follow the rules of court, with costs borne by the plaintiffs,” they submitted.

Among the key issues to be determined by the Lusaka High Court are whether the matter constitutes a multiplicity of actions amounting to an abuse of the court process, and whether the plaintiffs have the legal standing to pursue claims on behalf of the PF.

Another issue raised was whether the MPs should have sued the PF Secretary-General directly in cases involving alleged breaches of the party’s constitution by its office bearers.

The nine MPs involved include Mutotwe Kafwaya, Brian Mundubile, Christopher Kang’ombe, among others.

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