THE Constitutional Court has ruled that a Local Government and Rural Development Minister cannot suspend a council, noting that the Constitution does not provide for the suspension of a local authority. The matter was commenced following then minister Gary Nkombo’s decision of November 4, 2022, to suspend the operations of the Kafue Town Council and appoint Abel Siwakwi as Local Government Administrator to oversee the operations of the local authority. On January 29, 2025, Nkombo also suspended the Mayor and Councillors of Chongwe Municipal Council for a period of 90 days on allegations of illegal land allocation. In this matter, Mputa Ngalande petitioned the Attorney General in the Constitutional Court, challenging the constitutionality of the powers of the Minister to...