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The full bench of the Constitutional Court has dismissed an application by the Oasis Forum seeking a conservatory order to halt Bill 7 pending determination of its petition, ruling that there was nothing left to preserve as the Technical Committee on Constitutional Amendments had already submitted its report to President Hakainde Hichilema.
The Oasis Forum—comprising the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), the Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, the Council of Churches in Zambia, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops and the LCK Freedom Foundation—had asked the court to nullify all acts and documents produced by the Technical Committee appointed by the President.
As interim relief, the Forum sought to stop the process pending the hearing of the main petition. That application was earlier dismissed by a single judge, Justice Maria Mapani-Kawimbe, prompting the applicants to renew it before the full bench.
In its arguments, the Oasis Forum contended that it had met the threshold for interim relief by establishing a prima facie case, demonstrating a risk of irreparable harm, and showing that public interest favoured the grant of a conservatory order.
The applicants argued that the single judge had already found prospects of success in the main petition, warranting interim relief.
The State opposed the renewed application through an affidavit sworn by Dr Landilani Banda, arguing that it had been brought after inordinate delay.
The State submitted that the application was filed more than a month after the appointment of the Technical Committee, at a time when about 95 per cent of its mandate had already been executed.
It further contended that the petition had slim chances of success because the committee had substantially completed its work, and that granting interim relief would amount to an academic exercise, which the court had previously discouraged.
The State also argued that public interest would not be served by issuing the conservatory order.
In its ruling, the court said it had considered the application together with the affidavits and submissions from both parties and noted that the Technical Committee at the centre of the dispute had concluded its work and submitted its report to the President.
“The applicants moved this court too late in the day. There is, therefore, nothing to conserve or to stop the commission from doing,” the court ruled.
The application for a conservatory order was accordingly dismissed, with each party ordered to bear its own costs.
The bench comprised Judges Professor Margaret Munalula, Arnold Shilimi, Martin Musaluke, Judy Mulongoti and Mudford Mwandenga.
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