NDC’s Josephs Akafumba says NDC leader Chishimba Kambwili is in contempt of court over the recently held party convention on Sunday.

Speaking during a briefing, Monday, Akafumba said Kambwili and his group disobeyed a lawful order of injunction granted by the Ndola High Court.

“It is the worst embarrassment that NDC has gone through. It is very childish. I do not expect adults to behave in the manner in which they behaved yesterday [Sunday]. We did commence an action on March 23, 2021. Based on what we had put before court, the court granted us an ex-parte order of injunction. This is the injunction which is in force. Assuming you skipped grade seven and you also skipped grade 12 and you ended up with a Masters and a Doctorate, are you sure that this injunction only restricts itself to Kambwili? It is clear that any servant or agent who purports to transact any business on behalf of the NDC is captured in this order. But now, when this order was served, Kambwili held a press briefing and said ‘this order only applied to him alone’. That is not the right interpretation,” he said.

“This is the order in which they purported to put aside on the basis that the Ndola High Court had awarded them K1 million costs. Let them produce that order, which said we should pay K1 million to them. It is on that basis of the stay pending costs that they are now claiming that this order of injunction was stayed. An order of injunction cannot be stayed, it is discharged. It can only stay if it is an appeal. What was stayed was the main proceedings and everything remained as they were. Meaning that the injunction is in full force, which they have decided to breach. They have disobeyed a lawful order of injunction granted by the courts.”

Akafumba further said Kambwili and his group had no regards for the judiciary.

He added that with the existence of the injunction which was earlier granted by the court, the happenings in Kitwe on Sunday were a waste of time and money.

“Now, we have been given leave to commence contempt proceedings and show cause why they should not be sent to prison. If it was a criminal trial, they would have now been put on criminal defence. So on that basis, with the existence of the injunction, whatever they did in Kitwe is just a waste of time and a waste of money. This group of people have no regards for the Judiciary. They have embarrassed the Judiciary in totality. So to address Kambwili in view of this order as president, you are also in contempt of the court. We are going to seek further guidance from our lawyers so that we add more of Kambwili’s agents and servants to this action. We will do it,” he said.

“At the conference they attempted to amend the constitution by deleting the requirement of 10,000 people to pass the congress, to bring it to 10. We have been challenged that we are just five or six of us who are just making noise. To the contrary sir, Kambwili, the party is gone and it is with us. We are also going to write to the Inspector General of Police and enclose these orders, that anyone from the Kambwili faction who will masquerade to hold an office and attempt to disregard the order of injunction, put them ku wire.”