JUDICIARY WINS KUDOS OVER LUBINDA ACQUITTAL

By ADRIAN MWANZA

THE recent acquittal of Patriotic Front (PF) vice president Given Lubinda by the courts is a sign that the Judiciary is impartial and is not controlled by the Government, Socialist Party Director for research, Lawrence Mwelwa has said.

Mr. Mwelwa in an interview said that the acquittal of Mr. Lubinda was a sign that the Judiciary was independent and was not controlled by the politicians.

He said that the news was encouraging and that it gave hope to people that were facing various charges in the courts of law.

He said the verdict was testament that the Judiciary was impartial and was not out to fix perceived political opponents.

“Mr Lubinda’s verdict shows that indeed the Judiciary is the bedrock of the country’s democracy and that there was no control from anyone,” Mr. Mwelwa said.

He said that people should stop putting pressure on the Judiciary because it had proven that it would not sway anyone.

Lusaka Senior Magistrate Sandford Ngobola acquitted Mr. Lubinda in a matter where he was facing four counts of possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

The court said the State failed to prove that Mr. Lubinda acquired the properties through proceeds of crime.

And Mr. Mwelwa called on all those with cases in the courts of law not to worry because the Judiciary had time and again proved that it was impartial when dealing with cases even if the accused were from the opposition political parties.