THE Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by former First Lady Esther Lungu to stay proceedings in a matter in which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gilbert Phiri seeks to forfeit her 15 double-storey flats to the State. Esther wanted the court to stay the proceedings pending her appeal against the Economic and Financial Crimes Court ruling that the DPP doesn’t need to commence other proceedings to determine whether properties are indeed tainted before he can apply for a Non-Conviction Based Forfeiture order. The Court further denied Esther an order for constitutional reference in which she was seeking to challenge the Chief Justice’s authority to establish the Economic and Financial Crimes Court as a division of the High...