State House Rejects Claims Over Court Closure

Mr. HAMASAKA says the measures taken yesterday were not directed at the Judiciary, and that the Inspector General of Police has publicly confirmed that security risk assessments were being conducted at selected key Government premises across the country.

In a statement to ZNBC News, Mr. HAMASAKA said institutions under the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, the National Prosecution Authority and the Attorney General’s Chambers were also assessed.

Mr. HAMASAKA said the operations were intelligence-led and preventive, and were intended to safeguard Government institutions, public officers and members of the public accessing the affected premises.

He said precautionary measures applied across several arms and departments of Government cannot reasonably be described as an operation targeting a single litigant.

Mr. HAMASAKA said the suspension of court operations in Zambia is not without precedent.

He said court business has previously been suspended for reasons unrelated to matters before the courts, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, when court sittings were curtailed and calendars disrupted nationwide in the interest of public safety.

Mr. HAMASAKA said, on each occasion, the suspension of court business was an administrative response to prevailing conditions.

He said the timing of the recent suspension is also clear, as the Electoral Commission of Zambia declared the presidential election result on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

Mr. HAMASAKA said the constitutional period for challenging the presidential result opened on the same date.

He said no petition was lodged against the presidential result during that period.

Mr. HAMASAKA said the law sets an outer limit for filing a petition and does not require a petitioner to wait until the final hours of that period before approaching the court.