Africa-Press – Zambia. By Sean Tembo – PeP President & TONSE ALLIANCE Spokesperson
1. Today’s ruling of the South African High Court, Gauteng Division, to deny the Lungu Family leave to appeal the judgement of the same court, to the Court of Appeal, with costs, took me aback. And l am still reeling with shock.
2. Suffice to mention that l was not as shocked by the Court’s earlier judgement which granted custody of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s body to the Zambian Government, for the simple reason that a Court judgement is merely an expression of the opinion of the judge or judges sitting at the bench. In as much as l was disagreeable with the judgement itself, I comforted myself that a superior court will definitely overturn it.
3. However, for the High Court to deny the Lungu Family the opportunity to get a second opinion from a superior court, on their judgement, smacked me as a total compromise by the Court, in favor of the Zambian Government. This is not a mere misdirection of the Court. This is a deliberate effort by the Court to deny the Lungu Family justice in this matter.
4. A 2013 survey undertaken by the Johannesburg Society of Advocates found that about 57% of all High Court Judgements in the Gauteng Division, which were appealed to superior courts, were subsequently overturned. What does this statistic mean? It means that when the South African High Court, Gauteng Division, issues a judgement, more often than not, the judgement is wrong. So, given such statistics, why would the High Court deny the Lungu Family the opportunity for a superior court to have a second bite at the cherry? To review the law and the facts and make a determination? If indeed, the High Court was acting in good faith and in the interest of justice?
5. Besides, this is a matter that has not only attracted and captivated wide public attention in Zambia and South Africa, but in the entire sub-saharan region as well. Therefore, for such a prominent matter, why should the High Court, the most junior of the three superior courts, feel that they should be the ones to have a final say? That they should be the only ones to have a bite at the cherry?
6. Some people say they are tired of this matter, and that we should close this chapter and move on. But how do we move on while carrying an injustice on our heads? Surely, would that be a befitting way to honor the legacy of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu? A man who sacrificed his health and the comfort of his Presidential retirement to come back to active politics, just so that he can redeem the Zambian people from the current maladministration?
7. The only sure way to properly close this matter is if we get justice. What kind of justice am l looking at here? Well, my idea of justice in this matter is when the Lungu Family are granted the legal right to determine how and where they should bury President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. That’s my idea of justice in this matter. Without that, then l am quite sure that the spirit of Mr Lungu will haunt those of us whom he expected to safeguard his interests, if a time ever came when he was unable to safeguard his own interests. And that time has come. It is now.
7. In the premises above, l wish to state that l am in full support of any decision that the Lungu Family may take to appeal the refusal by the High Court to grant leave to appeal it’s judgement, to the Court of Appeal.
8. I am further making a humble cash donation of K10,000.00 to the Lungu Family to go towards meeting the costs of pursuing justice in this matter. I wish l was in a position to donate more, but l am not. May it be known to all men and women that, we may have lost ECL in flesh, but those of us who loved and cherished him shall never allow his legacy to be disacleted by those who abhorred him. That is the greatest insult that we can ever suffer. And those that loved and cherished ECL can be rest assured that we shall go to the ends of the earth to protect and defend his legacy. May His Soul continue to Rest in Peace.
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