DOI: 10.5176/2251-3809_LRPP18.11
Authors: Melvin L M Mbao
Abstract:
The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act, 2 of 2016, provided for, inter alia, the establishment of a Constitutional Court with original and final jurisdiction in constitutional litigation. However within months of the Court’s creation, it was embroiled in controversy in respect of the presidential election petition of 2016, resulting in the Court being severely criticized as being incompetent and corrupt and in perpetrating a monstrous miscarriage of justice. This paper interrogates some of these charges with the aid of case law and draws on the rich experience in respect of constitutional interpretation in comparable jurisdictions. The main thrust of the paper is that courts should not be respecters of persons and should live up to their solemn oath of dispensing justice to all without fear or favour and in such a manner that the values and principles embedded in the Constitution are protected and promoted. Given the huge disappointment with the Court’s performance to date, a lot remains to be done in restoring the confidence of the citizenry in the courts as bulwarks or sentinels of individual liberties.
Keywords: Accountability, constitutionalism, literalism, purposive construction.
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