SOLICITOR General Abyudi Shonga has said the Taskforce on Corruption filed the notice of appeal against former president Chilubas acquittal in defiance of instructions from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).Mr Shonga said the Lusaka High Court should therefore dismiss the petition by Lusaka lawyer Kelvin Hangandu against Attorney General Mumba Malila on the matter.
This is in a case Mr Hangandu petitioned Mr Malila following the DPPs withdrawal of the notice of appeal against Dr Chilubas acquittal, which had been filed by the Taskforce on Corruption.
Mr Shonga accepted that the DPP was endowed with constitutional discretion to discontinue any appeal that might be lodged by the DPP with respect to any criminal trial.
He denied that the DPP was under any legal duty to obtain directives from the Attorney General and would therefore aver at the hearing that the DPP did not unlawfully discontinue the criminal appeal.
The respondent shall further aver that the petitioner has not alleged that his rights under Article 11 (a) of the Constitution have been infringed and that the petitioner possesses no locus to champion rights of third parties through this petition, he said.
Mr Shonga said the discretion relief of certiorari could not be granted to any party through a petition and further that Mr Hangandu was not entitled to an order that the withdrawal of the appeal of the case was ultra vires Article 56 C of the Constitution.
Times of Zambia
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