The Constitutional Court has set December 10, 2024, as the date in which to deliver its judgement in a petition challenging the eligibility of former President Edgar Lungu to contest the 2021 and a future election.
When the matter came up for hearing before a full bench of Constitutional Court judges led by its president, Professor Margaret Munalula, the petitioner Michelo Chizombe through his lawyer, Michael Moono, argued that Mr. Lungu already held office twice.
He says Mr. Lungu will be violating the constitution if he attempts to seek for a third term in office.
Mr. Moono has told the court that it is not in dispute that Mr. Lungu participated and won the Presidential election in 2015 which culminated into his first term and at that time Zambia was using the 1991 constitution.
But Mr. Lungu’s lawyers namely Bonaventure Mutale, Jonas Zimba and Makebi Zulu have argued saying matters relating to the eligibility of their client to contest an election were already dealt with and in all the cases, the court ruled that his first term into office did not constitute a full term.
Earlier, constitutional lawyer John Sangwa excused himself from being a part to the proceedings as a friend of the court after the court declined to hear his oral arguments.
By Darius Choonya