Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s eligibility case worries Sakwiba Sikota

By Lazarus Sichula

State Counsel (SC) Sakwiba Sikota says the ruling of the Constitutional Court to dismiss an application by former President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu (ECL), to have ConCourt President Margaret Munalula and two other Concourt justices recuse themselves from hearing a petition before the Concourt to determine whether Mr. Lungu was eligible to contest the 2021 presidential election and other future elections, has effectively placed on public trial, the said three Concourt justices whom Mr. Lungu fears will be biased against him because of their close relations with President Hakainde Hichilema.

Mr. Sikota has argued that by the fact that rulings of the Constitutional Court can not be appealed against, the ConCourt justices whom Mr. Lungu fears will be biased against him, are the very ones that will hear his election eligibility petition, which is before the ConCourt.

Sikota contends that the implication of this ruling is therefore that the said three ConCourt justices will be under strict public scrutiny in how they handle the ECL eligibility petition.

Sikota is suggesting that the public will be interested to see how impartial, competent, and independent they will be, as they have said themselves.

Mr. Sikota has wondered why after three (3) years of being Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) board chairperson, President Hichilema did not put in place a strategy for the IDC which he now wants to put in place after a recommendation by the World Bank that he ceases to be IDC board chairperson.

The United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) chairperson and United Liberal Party (ULP) president thinks that the World Bank was only being diplomatic in its reasons to recommend that the President leaves the IDC post as the truth of matter is that Dr. Hichilema has failed to run the IDC.

Sikota has challenged the Republican President to admit publicly that he has failed to run IDC if indeed he is not a narcisist (egoist or self-centered).

Lungu filed a Notice of Motion in the Constitutional Court, requesting the recusal of three judges from presiding over his eligibility to contest the 2021 General Election and any future elections.

The motion, supported by an affidavit, names Constitutional Court President Margaret Munalula, her Deputy Arnold Shilimi, and Judge Mapani Kawimbe, alleging potential bias.

In his affidavit, Mr. Lungu contends that Justice Munalula had previously delivered dissenting judgments between 2016 and 2021 in favour of President Hakainde Hichilema.

Lungu notes that Justice Munalula was among a group of judges reported to the Judicial Complaints Commission several years ago, alongside three suspended judges: Annie Sitali, Palani Mulonda, and Mugeni Mulenga.

Additionally, Mr. Lungu claims that Judge Shilimi is a professional associate of President Hichilema, raising concerns about impartiality. Lungu alleges that Judge Kawimbe may have a familial connection with President Hichilema, which, according to Lungu, could influence the judge’s stance on the case.

This motion is part of a broader case initiated by youth activist Michelo Chizombe, who has asked the Constitutional Court to determine whether Mr. Lungu was eligible to run in the 2021 General Election and if he can participate in future elections. The court’s decision will have significant implications for Zambia’s political landscape as it examines the legal standing of Mr. Lungu’s candidacy.