A CHAIRPERSON of Chief Shakumbila Royal Establishment Committee and two others have discontinued a case in which they dragged dethroned Chief Shakumbila, Patrick Chibamba, to the Constitutional Court seeking an order restraining him from acting as Chief Shakumbila of the Sala people.
Ackson Shachele, a chairman of the Chief Shakumbila Royal Establishment Committee; Edgar Mwambula a senior member of the Chief Shakumbila Royal Family and Dennis Changachanga, a subject of the chiefdom, discontinued the petition a few days after the court threw out their application for an interim order of injunction pending trial.
This is according to a notice of discontinuance of the petition filed in the Constitutional Court.
“Take notice that the petitioners herein hereby discontinue this action wholly without prejudice to recommencing the matter de novo,” the notice read.
In this matter, the petitioners sought among others, an order that Chibamba vacates the palace and hands over the instruments of power and other royal property following his dethronement, and an order restraining him from acting as chief Shakumbila of the Sala people of Mumbwa District.
They also sought an interim order for injunction restraining Chibamba, whether by himself, his agents, his servants or whomsoever from interfering with the installation and presentation ceremony of the person that the royal family and the Royal Establishment Committee had newly selected and appointed as Chief Shakumbila.
But in her ruling, Constitutional Court judge Professor Margarate Munalula said the application for interim order of injunction pending trial by the petitioners had no merit and she therefore dismissed it.
The petitioners had stated in their petition that on October 11, 2020, the Royal Family members of the Shakumbila Chiefdom and the Royal Establishment made a resolution that Chibamba be removed from the throne of Shakumbila Chiefdom and be replaced with someone else with immediate effect due to his alleged various breaches, wrongdoings and misconduct.
The three accused Chibamba of conducting illegal activities for his own benefit and the benefit of his relatives and causing or creating disunity or division among the Royal family and other subjects of the Sala chiefdom.
They had stated that particulars of Chibamba’s wrong doings were that he was involved in the rampant sale, allocating of traditional land to foreign nationals and other individuals without consulting the Royal family members or the people contrary to the norms and customs of the chiefdom.
The petitioners further stated that Chibamba used the police and impolite language to harass the Royal family members, relatives and other subjects which brought the Royal family and the Sala family into ridicule.
They stated that Chibamba’s misconduct or behavior when he was chief instilled indescribable fear amongst his subjects who begun to lose confidence in the government of the day and the said loss of confidence adversely affected government programs in the chiefdom as the local people felt let down by what they perceived as the government’s failure to deter Chibamba from the injustices he committed and his unjustifiable actions.
On the other hand, Chibamba has also dragged newly appointed Chief Shakumbila, Netta Shimwambwa Shakumbila and two others to the Lusaka High Court, seeking a declaration that the attempt to dethrone him is illegal.
Chibamba who has also sued Ackson Shibalanga and Edgar Mwambula is seeking a declaration that he is the current and reigning Senior Chief Shakumbila of the Sala people of Mumbwa district.
He also wants an order of interim prohibitive injunction directed to the defendants to restrain them, their servants, agents or whomsoever from continuing to interfere with the execution of his chiefly duties or his administration of the Shakumbila Chiefdom and further attempting to dethrone him as Chief Shakumbila.
