president sata suspends two high court and one supreme judge for Misbehavior and Incompetence

President Micheal Sata Has With Immediate Effect Suspended Two High Court Judges Namely; Justice Charles Kajimanga, Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna And Supreme Court Judge Phillip Musonda And Subsequently Appointed A Tribunal To Investigate Allegations Of Misbehavior Or Incompetence Of The Three Judges.

Speaking At A Press Briefing Today At State House President Sata Says The Pf Government Is Committed To The Fight Against Corruption And Will Not Spare Any Effort Or Cost In Fighting Corruption Wherever It Is Found Hence The Suspension Which Has Been Slapped On The Three Judges Pursuant To The Powers Vested In Him Under The Constitution Of Zambia.

President Sata Says Since The Election Of The Pf Government In September, Last Year He Has Received Numerous Representations And Complaints About Corruption In The Judiciary And The Need For The Government To Do Something About These Complaints.

He Says Some Of The Complaints Have Emanated From The Law Association Of Zambia, Individual Legal Practitioners And Members Of The Public In General However His Government Has Been Slow To Act On These General Allegations Because The Integrity And Independence Of The Judiciary Is An Important Principal Which The Pf Government Is Not Willing To Violate.

President Sata Says While Upholding The Integrity And Independence Of The Judiciary Is Important, It Is Equally Important That Specific And Credible Allegations Against Judges Are Investigated For Us To Start Reclaiming The Tarnished Image Of The Judiciary.

He Has Reiterated That The Fight Against Corruption Must Be All Embracing And Must Be Anchored On The Basis Of Equality Before The Law Adding That General And Unsubstantiated Allegations Against The Judiciary Are Inimical To The Independence And Impartiality Of The Judiciary.
President Sata Adds That His Government, In Its Quest To Fight Corruption And Restore Dignity And Integrity In The Institutions Of Government Shall Investigate All Specific And Credible Allegations Misconduct Within The Judiciary.
The Tribunal Which Has Appointed To Investigate the Alleged Misbehavior or Incompetence of the Three Judges Will Be Headed By A Malawian Court Judge Lovemore Chikopa and Will Comprise Of Retired High Court Judges Timothy Ndhlovu, Naboth Mwanza And The Secretary will be Ms. Chipili Katunasa.

under the terms of reference of the tribunal set up to investigate the alleged misbehavior of the three judges the Tribunal shall generally inquire into the conduct of  Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna in relation to the manner in which he presided over the hearing and determination of the case of Development Bank of Zambia, Post Newspapers Limited, JCN Holdings Limited and Mutembo Nchito  and without limiting the generality of the foregoing shall specifically inquire into the following specific charges.

The tribunal shall also look at whether Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna misbehaved and/or acted incompetently when he proceeded to hear and determine the matter without a formal order transferring the matter from Justice Albert Mark Wood before whom the matter had been heard.
The circumstances under which Justice Mutuna heard the matter without a formal order from Justice Albert Mark Wood pointed to a conspiracy with Justice Philip Musonda and Justice Charles Kajimanga to defeat and/or subvert the course of justice.

It shall also look at that Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna misbehaved and/or acted incompetently when he proceeded to hear and determine the matter in total disregard of evidence available to him that clearly demonstrated that Justice Albert Mark Wood’s independence as a Judge had been interfered with in the course of proceedings relating to the matter.

The tribunal will also look at Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna misbehaved and/or acted incompetently, in the circumstances of the matter, when he proceeded to deliver judgment in a matter in which the Plaintiff had expressly indicated that it no longer intended to proceed with the matter as a result of which it filed a notice of discontinuance.

It shall also look at Justice Nigel Kalonde Mutuna misbehaved and/or acted incompetently when he allowed his impartiality and therefore his independence as a Judge to be compromised during the hearing of the matter.

And With respect to Justice Philip Musonda and Justice Charles Kajimanga, the Tribunal shall generally inquire into the conduct of  Justice Philip Musonda and Justice Charles Kajimanga in relation to the manner in which they interfered in and illegally retrieved or caused the retrieval of  the cases of Development Bank of Zambia –v- Post Newspapers Limited, JCN Holdings Limited and Mutembo Nchito  and Finsbury Investments Limited, Antonio Ventriglia and Manuela Sebastiani Ventriglia  from Justice Albert Mark Wood and without limiting the generality of the foregoing shall specifically inquire into the following specific charges.

It shall also look at whether Justices Philip Musonda and Charles Kajimanga misbehaved and/or acted incompetently when whilst acting together they conspired to pervert the course of justice by retrieving or causing the retrieval of the records relating to the matters from Justice Albert Mark Wood during the due execution of his judicial functions as Judge of the High Court of Zambia.

The set tribunal will look at whether Justices Philip Musonda and Charles Kajimanga misbehaved and/or acted incompetently when they interfered with the independence and impartiality of Justice Albert Mark Wood by causing him, directly or indirectly to hand over the records relating to the matters which were properly and regularly being handled by him in the course of his judicial functions.

It will further look at whether Justices Philip Musonda and Charles Kajimanga misbehaved and/or acted incompetently when they retrieved and/or caused the retrieval of the records relating to the matters on the basis of unverified and undocumented complaints purportedly raised off the record in complete disregard of judicial practice and etiquette.

And lastly will look at whether Justices Philip Musonda and Charles Kajimanga jointly and whilst acting together misbehaved when owing to political considerations, exigencies and influence they retrieved and/or caused the retrieval of the records relating to the matters.

In addition to the foregoing the Tribunal shall inquire into all matters incidental and necessarily related to the foregoing and shall make recommendations to the Republican President His Excellency Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata pursuant to Article 98 (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia.

The Tribunal shall at its first sitting determine the procedure and venue of its inquiry and The Tribunal shall make its recommendations to the President within a period of two months or such other period as the Tribunal may reasonably recommend to the President