LUSAKA- (MaraviPost)-Zambia’s State House has rejected allegations that President-elect Hakainde Hichilema ordered courts closed to prevent opposition parties from filing challenges to his re-election.
“President Hichilema is not only a firm believer in good governance and the rule of law, but equally in the principle of the separation of powers,” Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka said in a statement released August 25.
The denial comes after courts across the country failed to operate on Monday, August 24, sparking claims the move was designed to block petitions against the August 13 presidential result.
State House said the disruption was part of nationwide security checks, not a targeted attack on the Judiciary.
“The measures taken on Monday were not directed at the Judiciary alone. As the Inspector General of Police has publicly confirmed, security risk assessments were being carried out at selected key Government premises across the country,” Hamasaka stated.
He said the assessments covered the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Prosecution Authority and Attorney General’s Chambers, and were “intelligence-led and preventive, aimed at safeguarding Government institutions, public officers and members of the public.”
“The Judiciary is an independent arm of the State, and the President has neither the constitutional authority nor the power to determine when, how or from whom the courts receive filings,” the statement added.
State House also cited precedent, comparing Monday’s closure to COVID-19 restrictions. “Nor is the suspension of court operations without precedent… On each occasion the suspension was an administrative response to conditions on the ground. Precedent of this kind is neither novel nor partisan.”
On the election timeline, Hamasaka noted the Electoral Commission declared Hichilema winner on August 18. “The courts sat, received filings and transacted business on the working days that followed. No petition was lodged against the presidential result during that period.”
He challenged critics to provide proof: “If a petition was genuinely prepared but prevented from being filed, those making that claim should produce it, together with evidence of when and how an attempt was made to lodge it. Serious allegations against constitutional institutions require serious evidence.”
“Political disappointment, however, cannot justify attributing the decisions of independent institutions to the Head of State,” Hamasaka said. “President Hichilema respects the constitutional independence of Zambia’s institutions and will continue to do so. Zambia must now move forward peacefully, constitutionally and together.”
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