Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The Supreme Court has sent back to the High Court the matter in which Matero Member of Parliament Miles Sampa appealed against the court’s decision to dismiss his application to join a consent judgment that declared Defence and Justice Minister Edgar Lungu as the duly elected Patriotic Front president.
The matter has been referred to Judge Isaac Chali who will now decide whether to join Mr. Sampa to the consent judgment or not.
This means that Mr. Lungu who is the PF president can still file his nomination as party candidate to contest in the forthcoming 2015 presidential election owing to the fact that the consent judge has not been set aside.
Delivering ruling this afternoon, Justice Evans Hamaundu who read the majority judgment of the court said the court has decided to send back the matter to the same trial judge who earlier dismissed Mr. Sampa’s application on account of the merit it has found in the first ground of Mr. Sampa’s appeal.
Justice Hamaundu said the court below did not consider the reason Mr. Sampa put forward to join the consent judgment.
He said the court has not however, found merit in the other two grounds of appeal by Mr. Sampa, adding that both parties will have to bear their own costs.
Meanwhile in the minority judgment the Supreme Court has however held that it is not necessary or expedient in the interest of justice for it to allow remit of the case to the High Court.
Justice Albert Wood who read the minority judgment explained that this is because the Supreme Court had sufficient material to decide whether or not to join the appellant to the consent judgment.
And speaking shortly after the ruling, one of the lawyers representing Mr Lungu Tresford Chali expressed optimism that if matters stay as they are considering that the consent judgment has not been tempered with , Mr. Lungu will on Saturday proceed to file his nomination to participate in the January 20th ,2015 presidential election.
Mr. Chali has also indicated that his team has no intentions of allowing Mr. Sampa join the consent judgment when the matter comes up at the High Court.
He has however hinted that should the High Court on the other hand allow Mr. Sampa to join the consent judgment, his team will appeal to the Supreme Court against the decision.