Lusaka lawyer, Justice Minister trade tackles over alleged abuse of Financial Crimes Court by govt

A Lusaka lawyer, Makebi Zulu, says the establishment of the Financial Crimes Court was an interference in the operations of the judiciary by the ruling party aimed at punishing opposition Patriotic Front members.

In 2022, the Chief Justice of Zambia, exercising his powers under Article 133 (3) of the Constitution and Section 3 of the High Court Act established the Economic and Financial Crimes Court as a specialized division of the High Court through Statutory Instrument No.5 of 2022.

The objective of the court was to deal with economic crimes including fraud, corruption, misappropriation of public funds, money laundering, and tax evasion, among other financial crimes.

But Zulu said the establishment of the courts itself did not follow the due procedure but only followed instructions from the executive without respecting the independence of the legislature.

Zulu said this on Tuesday when he featured on 5fm’s radio burning issue programme along with Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe.

“The manner in which the court was established did not follow the due process and was not well intended as it was done out of some pronouncement from the executive through the President,” he said.

Read more: Lungu a coward by hiding under title of ex-President to play politics —Justice Minister, Haimbe

He said the only people that had been appearing before the crimes court were Patriotic Front members and that could be seen as a ploy to punish them.

“There has been massive political interference in the Judiciary by the executive going by some decisions and statements that have been made by the President thereby casting a serious dent on the separation of powers.

In response, Haimbe expressed concern at the conspiracy theories that were being peddled by members of the opposition on many judicial matters such as the establishment of the Financial crimes court.

Haimbe said the Judiciary had enjoyed its independence since the United Party for National Development (UPND) assumed office and that there was no interference with how they collaborate with the Judiciary.

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