Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo has upheld the Registrar of Societies’ decision to cancel the registration of the Democratic Party, which Bahati PF member of parliament Harry Kalaba intended to contest the presidency on.

But Democratic Party spokesperson Judith Kabemba says the party will take the matter to court to seek judicial redress.

In a statement, Thursday, Ministry of Home Affairs Public Relations Officer Nephas Chifuta said government had decided to uphold the decision by the Chief Registrar of Societies to cancel the registration of the Democratic Party for a number of reasons.

“The Ministry of Home Affairs hereby notifies members of the Public that the Minister of Home Affairs, Honourable Stephen Kampyongo, MP, has upheld the decision of the Chief Registrar of Societies to cancel the registration of the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party does not therefore exist forthwith. Anyone purporting to be an official or member of the said Democratic Party would be in breach of the law and would be dealt with in accordance with the law. Honourable Stephen Kampyongo, shall issue a comprehensive statement on this matter in due course,” stated Chifuta.

But in a separate statement, Kabemba vowed that her party would fight the decision in court.

“We would like to state that we have received the information regarding the stance that has been taken by the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon Stephen Kapyongo, MP, to uphold the decision of the Chief Registrar of Societies Madam Mhende to deregister the Democratic Party. We would like to inform the nation that we shall explore all laid down procedures in this matter. In this regard, we would like to inform the nation that we are going to take the next move as provided by the laws of Zambia which is to take the matter to court and seek judicial redress. We further appeal to all our members and sympathizers to remain calm, continue being determined and resilient as we go through this process,” stated Kabemba.