Former justice minister Sebastian Zulu says he was shocked to learn that justice Earnest Sakala accepted an appointment to sit on a tribunal to probe Mutembo Nchito, the former DPP who had previously complained against him on a matter the Tribunal was investigating.

This is the matter in which Nchito is challenging his removal from the office of DPP arguing that it was illegal and should therefore be declared null and void.

Nchito had earlier indicated that he wished to call witnesses to aid his case and the court ordered him to file witness statements.

And in a witness statement filed in the Constitutional Court, on Monday, Zulu, an 81 year-old legal practitioner of Chongwe district, stated that he was summoned to give evidence by the Mutembo Nchito SC Investigative Tribunal and appeared before the said tribunal to testify in compliance with the summons.

Zulu who was the first Justice Minister under the PF, stated that when he was the Minister of Justice, he received a complaint against Justice Sakala and other Judges made by Mutembo and others.

Zulu said he dealt with Justice Sakala on Mutembo’s complaint.

He stated that due to his dealings with Justice Sakala, he was shocked to learn that Sakala accepted an appointment to sit on a tribunal to probe Mutembo Nchito in 2015 on a matter Mutembo had complained against Sakala in 2012.

“Due to my dealings with Mr. Justice Sakala in this matter, I was taken aback that he (Justice Sakala) could accept to sit on a Tribunal in which the issues I depose to herein were central and in circumstances where there had been a complaint levelled against him by the Petitioner herein in relation to the case of Development Bank of Zambia Vs JCN Holdings Limited, The Post Newspapers Limited and Mutembo Nchito which matter was part of the Terms of Reference of the Mutembo Nchito SC Investigative Tribunal which Justice Sakala sat on,” he stated.