. Lungu

By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
PATROTIC Front (PF) president Edgar Lungu is on course to file his nomination as PF presidential candidate for the January 20, 2015 elections.
This follows Matero Member of Parliament (MP) Miles Sampa’s withdrawal of his application to stay the consent judgment by Lusaka High Court Judge Mungeni Mulenga which declared Mr Lungu as the duly elected president of the PF as well as the sole candidate for the ruling party.
Ms Justice Mulenga, who was yesterday scheduled to hear Mr Sampa, Kasama Central MP Geoffrey Mwamba and former High Commissioner to Nigeria Selemani Banda Phangula’s application to stay the consent judgment as well as for them to be joined to the proceedings only heard PF national chairperson Inonge Wina’s application to stay all other applications by Mr Sampa and other two until the determination of their contempt case.
Ms Wina on Wednesday filed an application asking Ms Justice Mulenga not to hear the three on any other application until they purged their contempt which she had sued them for allegedly disobeying an injunction which restrained them from going ahead with a second PF general conference on December 1, 2014.
She has sued the three together with suspended PF chairperson for elections Sylvia Masebo, second PF returning officer Germano Kaulung’ombe, Daniel Mukombwe who was appointed as PF national chairperson and then PF deputy secretary general Anthony Kasolo for disrespecting a court order and going ahead with the conference.
Ms Wina argued in her affidavit in support of inter-parte summons to stay proceedings that the rules of the Supreme Court which directed Ms Justice Mulenga to hear them on their application for a joinder prohibited the hearing of contemnors before they had purged their contempt.
She urged the court not to hear the trio on any other application until the determination of their contempt proceedings.
Mr Kaulung’ombe as a friend of the court has filed an affidavit where he stated that they were aware about the court order five hours before the voting started and that the PF senior members hid former PF secretary general Bridget Atanga to prevent her from receiving the injunction.
But the three argued against Ms Wina’s application and asked the court to hear them as their application was urgent.
Ms Justice Mulenga reserved ruling to Monday on whether or not to stay the proceedings as requested by Ms Wina or to hear Mr Sampa, Mr Mwamba and Mr Phangula’s application to be joined as defendants.
Ms Wina’s lawyers later said in an interview that the adjourning of the ruling to Monday entailed that Mr Lungu would file his nominations tomorrow because the consent judgment that declared him the duly elected and sole candidate of the PF was still valid.
“We raised a preliminary issue that Honourable Miles Sampa cannot be heard on the joinder because he is a contemnor, that is the only application that was heard today. It means for Saturday, Honourable Lungu files,” one of Ms Wina’s lawyers Tresford Chali said.
But Mr Sampa’s lawyer Makebi Zulu said in an interview that it was too early for Ms Wina’s lawyers to celebrate the outcome of the matter adding: “The day is too young. We have today and tomorrow.”