Sat, 27 May 2017 10:56:47 +0000 THE trial of UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has to wait for a determination regarding the validity of the certificate committing him and five others for trial, which the defence is challenging. Lusaka Magistrate David Simusamba allowed defence lawyers to seek judicial review over the Certificate of Committal signed by Deputy Chief State Advocate Mariam Ba-Matandala on behalf of Director of Public Prosecutions Lilian Shawa-Siyunyi. Mr. Simusamba said yesterday that under section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the DPP had power to delegate her subordinates to issue Committal Certificates through written instructions. “A close scrutiny of section 82 of the CPC shows that State Advocates of any rank do not have the power to issue the Certificate of Committal on behalf of the DPP without her accompanying written instructions,” Mr. Simusamba said. He said it had been a practice over the years that courts had committed people facing offences […]
