Chongwe residents, United Quarries end court feud

CHARLES MUSONDA writes @sunzambian THE Lusaka High Court has discontinued a case in which over 40 residents of Chongwe sued United Quarries Limited and its three directors over alleged contamination of boreholes and damaging their properties as a result of mining activities in the area. The residents also sued Chongwe Municipal Council (CMC) through their spokesperson Francis Mukuka and cited Yu Wang Ping, Zheng Xiong Yu, and Lihua Wu as other defendants. In a consent order dated December 15, 2020, Lusaka High Court Judge Ruth Chibbabbuka discontinued the case after the parties agreed through their respective lawyers to wholly discontinue the matter. After the residents took the matter to court, Chongwe Municipal Council (CMC) argued that following United Quarries’ application for change of land use from agriculture to mining, the plaintiffs ought to have given their notice of intention to object to the council, which is vested with jurisdiction to determine their grievance. CMC argued that the residents’ failure to wait for it to conclude necessary administrative procedures, before making their claims, rendered their court action incompetent and misconceived at law and should therefore not be entertained. As the matter was still active before court, Minister of Local Government Charles Banda wrote a letter disapproving United Quarries’ application for change of land use but on November 16, 2020 the company warned the minister that contents of his letter dated August 25, 2020 were a subject of protracted litigation in the matter before court. United Quarries chief executive officer Munir Zulu told Dr. Banda that the company was saddened that despite him knowing that the matter was before the High Court, he caused to be published and in contempt his letter. “Your active involvement in this matter is rather very suspicious. We therefore advise you to immediately withdraw your letter failure to which we are left with no option but to instruct our lawyers to institute criminal contempt against you personally at your own cost and convenience,” Mr. Zulu’s letter read in part. He told Mr. Banda to note that while he insisted on United Quarries closing its operations, CMC had been receiving necessary levies from the company and would prove in court that the council had received more than K 5 million through its accounts and its lawyers Chifumu Banda and Associates. Another controversial issue arose when Judge Wilfred Muma, who was initially handling the matter, made two conflicting orders in the space of 20 days. On August 7, 2020 Mr., Justice Muma granted the company an ex-parte order to dispose of stock at hand but on September 2, 2020 he discharged the same order. This prompted Mr. Zulu to write to Chief Justice Irene Mambilima asking her to remove Mr. Justice Muma from handling the matter on grounds that United Quarries, which has been operating a quarry since 1978 with a valid licence approved by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency and Ministry of Mines, was not comfortable with Mr. Muma for reasons that were evident on court record.