Zambian leader says to respect court judgment on ministers

Zambian President Edgar Lungu said on Tuesday that he will respect the judgment passed by the Constitution Court, ordering his ministers to vacate their offices and pay back salaries and allowances.

On Monday, the Constitutional Court ordered ministers and their deputies to vacate their offices and pay back salaries and allowances they have been enjoying since May 12 when the parliament was dissolved.

Ministers and their deputies had remained in office following the dissolution of parliament, a move that caused consternation among stakeholders.

This forced the Law Association of Zambia, an association representing lawyers, to bring the matter to the Constitutional Court in June this year for determination after President Edgar Lungu's government maintained that the ministers will not leave their offices as they will have to hand over to the new government after the Aug. 11 general elections.

While insisting that he was in order to allow the ministers to continue in office as it was within the law, Lungu told reporters at the City Airport in Lusaka that there was nothing he could do because he has been overruled by the court.

"There is no problem, I had my opinion and the courts have interpreted the law which is their duty. I have no problem, if they say it is a nullity then it is a nullity," he said. Endit