Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate Miles Sampa has been given a temporary injunction by LUSAKA High Court Judge Timothy Katanekwa, preventing his expulsion from the party while the case is being heard in court.
Given Lubinda, the interim president of the PF, and Nickson Chilangwa, the acting secretary general, are not permitted to continue in their roles until the lawsuit against them has been adjudicated.
Additionally, the judge has issued an order prohibiting Mr. Lubinda and Mr. Chilangwa from making any derogatory remarks about Mr. Sampa, a member of the Pf central committee.
This is in accordance with a yesterday-issued ex-parte order of interim injunction given to Mr. Sampa.
Mr. Sampa has hurried to the High Court to contest the PF’s choice to exclude him from the group that his late uncle, the fifth President Michael Sata, created.
Aside from suing them for slander and libel, the former deputy minister of finance also charged Mr. Chilangwa and Mr. Lubinda with improperly holding public office.
The lawsuit was filed just a week after Mr. Lubinda said that Mr. Sampa had been suspended for allegedly making derogatory remarks about party members by reportedly insulting several of his fellow presidential candidates at a press conference last Friday.
According to Mr. Lubinda, the Matero member of parliament is not permitted to attend or take part in any party events during his suspension, even gatherings that his fellow lawmakers would call.
The previous mayor of Lusaka filed a lawsuit after becoming dissatisfied with the decision, naming Mr. Chilangwa and Mr. Lubinda as first and second defendants.
The plaintiff requests that the court find that the defendants’ decision to suspend him from the central committee is unlawful and should be overturned because it was improperly procedural and went against the principles of natural justice.
In addition, he demands monetary compensation for slander and libel as well as an order prohibiting the defendants and their representatives from suspending or dismissing him.
The Judge yesterday later in the afternoon granted Mr. Sampa’s request for an order of injunction prohibiting the defendants from maintaining their posts until the matter is resolved.
“The plaintiff seeks an order that having no president and secretary general of the party proceed to immediately hold a general conference to elect leaders to file up the vacant positions under the joint leadership of the central committee,” the document reads.
Because he was not prosecuted and did not appear before a disciplinary committee, Mr. Sampa claims that his suspension without a disciplinary hearing was made in bad faith.
“The actions by the defendants has not been made in good faith but it is a ploy to prevent him from participating in the general conference slated for March 2023,” the document reads.
Additionally, Mr. Sampa requests that the court direct the defendants to organize a general conference right away in order to elect leaders to fill the open posts.
The matter will be heard on February 16, 2023, according to the court.
