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| National |
| Court backs Muluzi |
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by
Pilirani Semu-Banda, 05 March 2005
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16:27:37
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The High Court in Blantyre on Friday ordered that former President Bakili Muluzi should keep his guards until a judicial review or a further order of the court.
The court’s decision has gone against Attorney General (AG) Ralph Kasambara’s application to the court that the mandatory injunction obtained by Muluzi's lawyer David Kanyenda last month, which stopped the Inspector General (IG) of Police Mary Nangwale from replacing, changing or transferring the former president’s security officers, be quashed.
High Court judge George Chimasula-Phiri said in his ruling issues of security, be it state security or personal security “must be viewed seriously and not from a childish or academic point of view”.
He said it must be observed that issues relating to security of the President, Vice President, former President and former vice president are spelt in an Act of Parliament.
“This is not an ordinary private law issue as the Attorney General would wish this court to find. Contrary to the views of the Attorney General, this court is of the view that the right to security of former state president would be meaningless if it were to be regarded as an operational police force task,” said Chimasula-Phiri.
The AG had submitted to the court that deployment of security officers is an operational task for the police force.
But the judge said it is a “statutory right to the former head of state”, which bestows a corresponding duty on the state to discharge.
“I believe that security issues should not be compromised. I doubt that the Inspector General would just overnight change security guards for the President or his vice without alerting them,” said Chimasula-Phiri.
But he said Muluzi is raising a triable issue and that it was not necessary, at this stage, to go into detail of that triable issue to determine its merits on mere affidavit evidence.
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