Two Chinese and a Korean Investor have been granted
permission by the Lusaka High Court to commence
proceedings to commit Director General of Immigration
Japhet Lishomwa to prison for contempt of court.
The Lusaka high court granted deported business
investors an ex-parte order for leave to issue
committal proceedings.
Last week, the Zambian Civil Liberties Union had
Condemned the Immigration Department for disobeying the
directive by the high court to issue temporarily
permits to the three business investors who were due to
attend their first judicial review on 31 st January 2024.
The proceedings failed to take off but were adjourned
mainly on account that the immigration department had
not yet complied with the high court order despite
being served with the high court ruling and 2
application for temporary permits being made.
According to the evidence filed in the High Court by
lawyers for the three business investors, GM Legal
Practitioners, Immigration Officers at Kenneth Kaunda
International Airport declined to receive the ruling of
the court on 27th January 2024 which directed them to
issue temporary permits to the three.
Further evidence submitted to the court shows that the
Director General and the Attorney General received the
court ruling on 29 th January, 2024 from the lawyers, and the Chinese Investors were made to pay a total of
K36, 360 to the immigration department for the temporary permits but the immigration department still did not issue the permits as directed by the court.
According to the lawyers who now seek to commit Mr.
Lishomwa to prison, he is not intending or
willing to respect the court and claimed the delay is
manifesting disobedience to the court.
Meanwhile, ZCLU Executive Director Isaac Mwanza has
insisted that state institutions and all persons in
Zambia are under an obligation to respect the court and
any disrespect of the courts shows a breakdown in the
rule of law.