Ex-Zambia President Edgar Lungu withdrawals court case against his travel ban

BARELY a day after filing a lawsuit against the State seeking to challenge the decision to bar him from going out of the country, former President Edgar Lungu has filed a notice to entirely discontinue the case.

Yesterday, Mr Lungu filed a notice before the Lusaka High Court to commence judicial review proceedings to challenge Government decision to prevent him from traveling outside Zambia.

He sought leave of the Lusaka High Court to commence judicial review proceedings against the state’s decision, arguing that there’s no procedure which requires him to seek clearance from Cabinet Office.

And on Saturday, PF Information and Publicity Chairperson Emmanuel Mwamba was quoted in the media disclosing that Mr Lungu and his wife Esther were stopped from traveling to South Korea to attend a peace conference.

Mr Mwamba said the former President and his wife were already on board a flight when a protocol officer informed them that government had cancelled their trip.

In response, Chief government spokesperson Chushi Kasanda told a local tabloid that the former president was stopped from travelling to South Korea because he did not seek clearance from Cabinet Office.

But Mr Lungu applied for an ex-parte order seeking leave (permission of the court) to commence judicial review to challenge the state’s decision.

The court granted him leave to commence judicial review proceedings against the State and set September 25, next week Monday, as date for hearing his application between the two parties.

But latest court documents indicate that Mr Lungu has filed a notice to withdraw the whole case.

In the notice to withdraw the application for leave to commence judicial review, Mr Lungu submits that going ahead with the case would be an academic exercise.

“The Applicant[Edgar Lungu] herein having been given an inter-parte hearing date of the 25th September, 2023 relating to an application for leave to commence judicial review proceedings filed on the 17th of September, 2023 with a certificate of urgency and noting that the conference for which the application relates to ends on the 20th September, 2023.

“Further, having considered that this matter in light of the date of the conference and the date of hearing shall amount to an academic exercise. The applicant herein now gives notice that this matter is hereby and wholly withdraws/discontinues this matter for the above stated reasons” the document reads in part.

Source:Zambiareports