By DELPHINE ZULU –

PETITIONERS in Lusaka have submitted that lawyers should stop exploiting their clients through unnecessary court adjournments.
Ernest Kamanga, who appeared before the Legal and Justice Sector Reforms Commission, submitted that it was a pity that some lawyers had a tendency of coming up with unnecessary adjournments thereby delaying cases further.

Mr Kamanga complained that his case had dragged for over 16 years in a matter in which he had been sued over a land dispute by a named Lusaka lawyer whom he accused of exploiting him due to his illiteracy.

“The case started in 1998, judgment was passed in 1999 in his favour but did not bring the judgments to us. From that time I only saw the copy of the judgment in 2012 and immediately appealed, since then
there has been adjournments one after another at his behest because I am representing myself,” he said.

Mr Kamanga said legal fees were exorbitant to an extent that many Zambians were not able to afford representation.
Smart Lungu also submitted that the Judiciary should establish a Fast Track Court to handle disputes between Landlords and tenants that arose, especially where the landlords took the law into their own hands.

“Many people here are suffering, most tenants have their doors and roofing sheets removed by their Landlords in a bid to recover their monies, I submit that the law should be repealed on the Tenancy Act which is outdated,” he said.

Ketu Imakando, a paralegal, submitted that there was need for Government to come up with shelter for displaced children, especially those whose parents faced evictions without notice because the action violated their rights.

Disability Rights Watch Zambia president, Wamundila Waliuya submitted that Government should ensure that all the laws be in harmony with the Persons with Disabilities Act of 2012 when it came to the right to exercise legal capacity; access to justice; participation in public and political life; accessibility and contracts.