By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
FORMER Republican president Rupiah Banda has asked the Lusaka High Court to quash the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to commence criminal proceedings against him after his immunity was lifted by the National Assembly in 2013.
Mr Banda, through his lawyers, also informed Lusaka High Court judge Annie Sitali that he intended to enter a consent order with the State.
This is a matter in which Mr Banda is challenging the decision of the Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini to remove his immunity and open him to prosecution.
Mr Banda has since been acquitted of one of the charges of abuse of authority relating to the Government oil deal which he was facing while other cases are still active in court.
But Mr Banda has argued in his notice of intention to apply for leave to amend the statement filed in the Lusaka High Court yesterday that the decision by the DPP to commence criminal proceedings against him in the subordinate court should be quashed because of illegality.
He submitted through his lawyers that the decision by the DPP to start criminal proceedings against him was illegal, null and void as the proceedings were commenced on the basis of an illegal decision of the National Assembly to remove his immunity.
Mr Banda further argued that the decision of the National Assembly to strip him of his immunity departed from the parliamentary rules of procedure with respect to the subjudice rule.
When the matter came up for hearing in chambers yesterday, one of Mr Banda’s lawyers, Abyudi Shonga informed Ms Justice Sitali that Mr Banda had filed an amended notice which would be relied upon at the hearing.
He later applied for an adjournment to enable both parties to file a consent order.
Solicitor General Abraham Mwansa did not object to Mr Shonga’s application.
Ms Justice Sitali adjourned the matter to March 14, 2016.