By 
New Heritage Party president, Chishala Kateka, has called on the Chief Justice to update the nation on the status of a presidential election petition filed by lawyer Linda Kasonde and civil rights activist Brebner Changala.
Kateka said the Chief Justice had earlier informed the public that he had received the petition, albeit by email, and forwarded it to the Constitutional Court after the courts had closed during the presidential election petition period.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday, Kateka said the public had since been waiting for guidance from the courts on the matter and the way forward.
She said the petition was a matter of significant public interest and that the Judiciary had a responsibility to keep citizens informed about its progress.
“As a Zambian citizen, she is requesting a response from the courts, particularly from the Chief Justice himself as Head of the Judiciary, on the status of the petition,” Kateka said.
She said she wanted to know whether the matter had been properly lodged before the courts, whether it would be heard and when proceedings could be expected to begin.
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Kateka argued that it was in the public interest for the petition to be heard, despite the fact that a candidate in the election had already been sworn into office.
She said the proceedings could provide important lessons and establish a precedent for future reference.
“Hearing the petition would also play a significant role in bringing closure to the election debacle by assuaging those and their supporters across the nation who felt greatly aggrieved by the closure of the courts at such a crucial time,” she said.
Kateka said a hearing could also help restore public confidence in the Judiciary, which she said had been lost.
She maintained that hearing the petition would therefore be worthwhile and not an exercise in futility.
Kateka also called on the Law Association of Zambia to take the lead, as a national service, in pushing for the petition to be addressed and keeping the public informed about its progress.
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