MINISTER of Justice Wynter Kabimba and his petitioners Brebner Changala and Lucky Mulusa outside the Supreme Court after appearing before the tribunal set to investigate his alleged breach of secrecy yesterday. – Picture by CHANDA MWENYA.
THE tribunal tasked to probe alleged breach of secrecy rules by Minister of Justice Wynter Kabimba says it may not summon witnesses at this stage of the hearing to give evidence.
The three-member tribunal comprising Supreme Court judge Evans Hamaundu and High Court judges Gertrude Chawatama and Justin Chashi, said parties would be allowed to bring witnesses but that it has not identified areas which may need witnesses just yet.
“We have not identified any areas [in the complaint] for any person to come and clarify. Therefore, we cannot summon anybody. However, during the process if we feel we need clarifications, we will summon those relevant,” Mr Justice Hamaundu said.
He said no witness will be summoned to the hearing at this point but that the parties can bring any witness who can voluntarily give evidence on their behalf.
He said since the prerogative of summoning witnesses is with the tribunal, it will only subpoena witnesses that are relevant to the hearing and that these do not necessarily have to be those desired by the complainants or Mr Kabimba.
“This is a request by the complainants that we summon certain people. We make it very clear that people summoned at the instance of the tribunal are ours, we may summon these people that you have requested or we may not,” Justice Hamaundu said.
Earlier, lawyer for the complainants Makebi Zulu , who was joined by Gilbert Phiri, Nganga Yalenga and Keith Mweemba, asked the hearing to avail 11 witnesses, among them Solicitor-General Musa Mwenye.
Mr Zulu said Mr Mwenye was to be summoned so that he could produce the document relating to the question he was asked by Mr Kabimba to render legal opinion and in what capacity Mr Kabimba was asking for this opinion.
He said the complainants also wanted Acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda to testify whether she received the said legal opinion and what she did with it.
Mr Zulu also said they intended to call Attorney General Mumba Malila to clarify the procedure involved in dealing with classified government documents.
He said Mr Kabimba’s lawyer Bonaventure Mutale, Leonard Banda, Acting Registrar of the High Court Chilombo Phiri, Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson Irene Mambilima and judiciary public relations officer Terry Musonda were included on the list of intended witnesses.
But Mr Justice Hamaundu said the tribunal would only call witnesses that it deemed fit to testify in the hearing and that it was not necessary for Mr Kabimba’s lawyers to respond to the request.
Former Solwezi Central member of Parliament Lucky Mulusa and Lusaka businessman Brebner Changala petitioned Mrs Justice Chibesakunda to establish a tribunal to investigate Mr Kabimba.
Mr Mulusa and Mr Changala want the tribunal to state whether Mr Kabimba abused his office by using Government information rendered by Solicitor-General Musa Mwenye to allegedly back up Patriotic Front cases attempting to block parliamentarians whose seats have been nullified by the Supreme Court for engaging in corrupt activities.
49 total views, 45 views today