CHIEF JUSTICE FLAGS ‘IRREGULAR’ PRIVATE EMAIL FILING…as Presidential petition deadline expires

Social media reports had earlier circulated claims that the election dispute was formally and duly filed.

However, the Judiciary clarified that the document bypassed standard administrative registries entirely.

In an email addressed directly to Dr Malila, Ms Kasonde explained that she initially attempted to electronically lodge the petition with the Chief Registrar’s Office pursuant to Order III of the Constitutional Court Rules.

However, the official institutional email address bounced back repeatedly.

Left with no physical access to the building due to security restrictions and facing strict constitutional deadlines, Ms Kasonde sent the entire packet—including the petition, an affidavit verifying the facts, a list of authorities and formal submissions—directly to the Chief Justice’s private account.

While Dr Malila acknowledged receipt of the electronic files, the Judiciary emphasised his strong stance on maintaining institutional boundaries.

The Chief Justice explicitly stated that using a judge’s private inbox to submit formal court documents fundamentally violates established legal procedures.

Despite the breach of protocol, Dr Malila opted not to throw out the challenge on a technicality.

Instead, he utilised his unique administrative oversight to forward the materials to the Constitutional Court.

The panel must now rule on whether an election petition can be legally recognised under such extraordinary filing conditions.

The unorthodox filing had drawn sharp criticism from political consultants and legal purists.

Critics argue that personal emails lack the official tracking, time-stamping and payment logging required to formalise statutory filings.

They warn that letting the practice slide could set a chaotic precedent where citizens attempt to initiate litigation via platforms like WhatsApp or Facebook.

Opposition factions have accused the Executive and Judiciary of deliberately locking down the courts to block timely challenges to the declaration of President Hakainde Hichilema as the election winner.

Conversely, authorities maintained the temporary closures were necessary measures following security assessments.

The Constitutional Court now holds the responsibility of deciding if the “People’s Petition” would move forward or be dismissed due to its irregular delivery route.