Court dismisses judicial review on UTM registration: Lawyer Bob Chimkango ‘frivolous’ application thrown out

High Court has rebuffed an application by  private practice lawyer Bob Chimkango seeking judicial review  for the registrar of political parties to put aside the court’s earlier order to register the UTM as a political party.

Chimkango, a known sympathiser of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) filed the  ex-part  application for judicial review  purportedly acting on behalf of United Transformation Party (UTP).

A court document dated November 12, 2018 and signed by High Court Judge Mike Tembo which Nyasa Times has seen, cited that there were no case suitable for consideration atfull hearing and that permission to applyfor judicial review should not be granted.

Chimkango was skeeing to effectively have a judicial review of the decision of the High Court, which the judge pointed out is “not  legally appropriate”, saying judicia review is not available against the decision  of the High Court.

In his determination, Judge Tembo  said Chimkango should have applied to be joined as a party to the appeal that was lodged by UTM party to the court on the rejection to register it as a party.

“The rule of procedure  in this court allow a person affected by a proceeding to apply to this court to be added as a party to that proceedings,” reads the ruling.

The judge said the administration of justice  would be brought into disrepute because  the court would have a judicial review before the High Court and an appeal before the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal on the same issue running contemporaneously.

The court said the application by lawyer Chimkanho was “frivolous, vexatious and hopeless” and declined it.

Government last  Friday succumbed to courts’ orders and registered the United Transformation Movement (UTM) as a political party under the name UTM Party in line with Section 6 of the Political Parties (Registration and Regulation) Act 1993

As ordered by the High Court in Blantyre on November 2 2018, the party’s certificate of registration is backdated to September 21 2018, the day UTM of Plot No. 43/2/40, C/O P.O. Box 30390, Capital City, Lilongwe 3, filed its application.

In a letter reference number RG/TECH/10, dated November 9, 2018 and addressed to Ritz Attorneys at Law, deputy Registrar of Political Parties Chikumbutso Namelo said the registration was in accordance with the court order made by Justice John M. Chirwa on November 2 2018.

In  attempts to foil the registration, the State suffered its third successive loss in the case when the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision to reject its application to suspend enforcement of an order to register UTM as a political party by close of business on Friday .

In the ruling Justice Frank Kapanda, sitting as a single Supreme Court Judge, argued that the High Court was right in its reasoning and its decision.

On November 2, Judge Chirwa gave Registrar of Political Parties seven days to register UTM as a political party and described his decision to reject the application as “unreasonable and unjustifiable”.

The State then applied to the court to set aside the order, an application which was dismissed before it revived its legal battle with the party through an appeal against the November 2 order which was for the second time thrown away.

Until registration, UTM was a political movement formed in July this year and had been canvassing for Vice-President Saulos’s presidential bid in next year’s Tripartite Elections.