DPP wants Blue Night case dismissed
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has asked High Court Judge Zione Ntaba to strike off the case in which some five civil society organisations (CSOs) want it to reimburse about K14 million it got as donation from certain public institutions.
Trial of the case was scheduled to begin on Thursday with the CSOs parading their first and only witness Gift Trapence but the proceedings only lasted for about half an hour following the preliminary issues raised by the DPP.
Trapence is the chairperson of Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) and executive director of Centre for the Development of People (Cedep), two of the five CSOs pursuing the matter.
Through its lawyer Chimwemwe Sikwese, the party asked the court to dismiss the entire case arguing the claimants failed to comply with the directions issued by the court last year.
The former governing party’s major contention is the delay by the CSOs to file court documents which signified the claimants were not interested to prosecute the matter.
But the claimants’ lawyer Leonard Mbulu pleaded with the court to proceed hearing the matter, arguing there was a provision under the law which governs civil proceedings and gives powers to a judge to proceed with the trial regardless of failure to comply.
Mbulu, who stood in for Wesley Mwafullirwa, argued in the absence of the defendant showing the injury suffered “we are of the view that the matter should proceed because the judge already has a date for the same.”
After hearing both parties, Ntaba directed that she would need to consult the law on what to do in the circumstances, whether to proceed with the hearing or order fresh directions.
The judge is expected to give her determination on the matter, which was heard virtually, during the first week of January 2022.
This is the third time within three months for the case, which started in 2017, to be adjourned without hearing the substantive matter.
Besides HRDC and Cedep, other organisations that want the DPP to refund the funds are Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Youth and Society and Livingstonia Synod’s Church and Society Programme.
The public institutions that donated or pledged to donate the money towards DPP fundraising drive dubbed Blue Night on July 29 2017 at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe were Lilongwe City Council, Blantyre City Council, Mzuzu City Council and Lilongwe Water Board.
