Lusaka High Court grants Royal Kents permission to summon former FAZ Secretary General in stadium fees case

The Lusaka High Court has granted Royal Kents Engineering Limited permission to summon former Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) Secretary General, Adrian Kashala, to testify in a case involving over US$161,000 in alleged unpaid fees for the construction of the DK Stadium in Chipata.

The company dragged FAZ citing Reuben Kamanga in his capacity as FAZ Secretary General and Mathias Phiri, the architect, to court seeking to recover funds it claimed remained outstanding from the stadium project.

Royal Kents submitted that despite listing Kashala as a key witness, efforts to engage him for a witness statement had failed.

The firm argued that Kashala’s testimony was crucial, as he was FAZ Secretary General during the time of the transaction and was involved in related correspondence, making him well-placed to speak to key documents in the case.

FAZ, however, opposed the application to subpoena Kashala, arguing that his evidence was unnecessary and that the matter could be determined without his input.

The first defendant’s affidavit in opposition was criticized by the court for being laden with extraneous arguments and conclusions, in violation of Order 5 of the High Court Rules.

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In a ruling delivered by Justice Laston of Mwanabo, the court sided with the plaintiff, ruling that the request to subpoena Kashala was neither frivolous nor an abuse of process.

“I am of the view that the application herein does not amount to an abuse of the privilege to summon witnesses.

“The relevance of the evidence and the witness to be subpoenaed has been clearly demonstrated by the plaintiff,” Justice Mwanabo stated.

Citing precedent from the case of Agrovet Market v. Others, the judge said there was no legal impediment to granting the request. As such, the court granted Royal Kents leave to issue and serve a subpoena ad testificandum to Kashala.

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