My Convention was illegal Miles Sampa

By BARNABAS ZULU

MILES Sampa has asked the Lusaka High Court to nullify his election as the Patriotic Fron (PF) president because the event that installed him as the leader of the country’s largest opposition political formation on October 24, 2023 was illegal and was held against the former ruling party constitution.

And George Chisanga, the PF chairperson for legal has said now that Mr Sampa has confessed and consented to the fact that the convention that installed him as PF president was illegal, the court should move and restore the party to its original status to end the wrangles that had engulfed it for the last three years.

Mr Sampa, the Matero PF Member of Parliament yesterday said the retreat, which was to be converted into an elective convention and installed him as president was nothing but a sham and should therefore be nullified along with his presidency.

Mr Sampa, who is now the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, revealed that the event that was held at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre with express permission from the state and well-guarded by State Police should now be declared null and void.

He is now seeking a genuine convention that would give all interested candidates an opportunity to participate, so that a true and universally accepted leader of the opposition could be elected.“This morning, I consented in court that the PF convention that was held in 2023 that elected me as president needs to be nullified,” Mr Sampa said in a statement posted on his Facebook page on August 14, 2025.

He said the purpose of seeking the nullification was to pave the way for a transparent process that would produce a leader with broad-based support from all stakeholders within the PF.

“We can go back to another convention that will allow all that may have applied as candidates then, and those that wish to apply now, to do so,” he explained.

“We trust then a president will emerge that will have consensus from all stakeholders of our beloved party.

I trust it is the best route to take and more so given the unfortunate demise of former President Edgar Lungu,” Mr Sampa said.

And Mr Chisanga, says now that Mr Sampa has confessed and consented to the fact that the convention that installed him as PF president was illegal, the court should move and restore the party to its original status to end the wrangles that had engulfed the former ruling party for the last three years.

Mr Chisanga said time had come for the courts move and restore the status of the PF to its original owners because the former ruling party had resolved to reconcile with itself.

He thanked the senior leadership of the PF for standing firm in pursuit of justice and praised the party’s legal team for adopting what he described as “a grand innovation” in their approach to the case.

“We have been on this journey for a long time. This is a case where you don’t need to call witnesses to give evidence on what transpired.

There is only one thread that has remained constant: Was that convention done in compliance with the constitution?” Mr Chisanga said.

He noted that the PF had consistently argued before various courts that the 2023 convention did not comply with the party’s constitution, particularly in the way the electoral college

was constituted.