Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka said President Hichilema believed in good governance, the rule of law and the separation of powers, stressing that the Judiciary was an independent arm of the State.
Mr Hamasaka said the President had neither the constitutional authority nor the power to determine when, how or from whom the courts receive filings.
The statement comes after courts were closed on Monday, 24 August, amid security concerns, with the closure occurring as the period for challenging the presidential election result was coming to an end.
Mr Hamasaka said the measures taken on Monday followed security risk assessments carried out at selected Government premises across the country.
He said the assessments included institutions under the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, the National Prosecution Authority and the Attorney General’s Chambers.
According to Mr Hamasaka, the operations were intelligence-led and preventive, and were aimed at safeguarding Government institutions, public officers and members of the public accessing those premises.
He said the measures were therefore not directed at the Judiciary alone or at any particular litigant.
Mr Hamasaka also said the suspension of court operations was not without precedent, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic when court sittings were curtailed and court calendars disrupted nationwide in the interest of public safety.
He said such suspensions were administrative responses to conditions on the ground and that normal court business subsequently resumed.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia declared the presidential election result on 18 August, opening the constitutional period for challenging the result.
Mr Hamasaka said the courts sat, received filings and transacted business on the working days that followed the declaration.
He said no petition challenging the presidential result was lodged during that period.
The State House statement said the law sets an outer limit for filing a petition but does not require a petitioner to wait until the final hours of that period before approaching the court.
“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,” the statement said.
State House said security measures affecting physical access to Government premises should not be conflated with the denial of judicial remedies.
It said the remedies available under Zambian law remained in place and that those with legitimate grievances were entitled to pursue every remedy provided by law.
The statement also criticised what it described as selective criticism of the Judiciary, saying respect for the courts and the rule of law should not depend on political circumstances.
Mr Hamasaka said President Hichilema respected the constitutional independence of Zambia’s institutions and would continue to do so.
He said Zambia should now move forward peacefully, constitutionally and together.
