Africa-Press – Zambia. Ford Chomba was a Magistrate who rose to the position of Deputy Registrar at the Supreme Court. In 2013, he was retired in national interest by government. Therefore, he was not paid his pension and was immediately removed from the payroll.
In 2025, he petitioned the Constitutional Court (ConCourt), arguing that he should be paid his pension as well as put back on the payroll until he is paid his dues. He calculated and demanded that he is owned ZMW2.1 million in salary arrears. He contended that the 2016 Amended Constitution provided that workers who were not paid their pension should remain on the payroll.
The Attorney-General, on the other hand, argued that the matter before Court was not a Constitutional matter but that of employer/employee relations dispute. He also told Court that the Petitioner was fired in 2013 and therefore cannot use the 2016 provisions to be out on payroll.
The ConCourt President, sitting with two other Judges, agreed that this case did not raise any Constitutional issues to warrant interpretation.
“A quick perusal of the petition before this court reveals that this matter is a labour related dispute which does not need an interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution…” the Judges said.
The ConCourt said the issue concerning pension and being put back on the payroll can best be addressed and settled by the High Court (Industrial Relations Division).
“Having found that the petition filed on 28th March, 2025 is a labour related matter, we are of the firm view that this Court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter on the merits,” the Judges said.
The case was dismissed on the preliminary stage and did not go to the full hearing by the bench as the ConCourt claimed that it does not have the requisite jurisdiction.
Further, the Court noted that the ex-Magistrate was retired in national interest in March 2013, which is three years before the Constitutional amendments of 2016 were passed. The Court noted that the Constitution provisions cannot be applied in retrospective (backdated) unless the law said so.
The Petition was therefore thrown out for want of jurisdiction.
Case citations- Ford Chomba v Attorney General- 2025/CCZ/008.
Lecture Notes;
1. The ConCourt is very right that you cannot apply a law or Constitutional provision in retrospect. The law does not work backwards. When the ex Magistrate was fired in 2013, there was no provision in the law that workers should remain on payroll until paid their pension. That came in 2016 and therefore inapplicable in this case.
2. On dismissing the matter on preliminary stage, I take the view that the ConCourt should always hear the full case whenever one cites constitutional provisions for interpretation. The person must be allowed to argue his case in full and show how his case is a constitutional matter that requires ConCourt determination.
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