RULING PARTY SEEKS RB PARENTAGE CASE DISMISSAL

Ruling MMD President, Rupiah Banda's Lawyers are seeking the dismissal of a case against his parentage in the Lusaka high court.

The opposition Patriotic Front's Secretary-General, Wynter Kabimba has sued the Attorney-General, the MMD as well as the Electoral Commission of Zambia seeking the court to bar Mr Banda to contest the 20th September 2011 presidential elections due to his parentage problem.

According to the Zambian constitution, any presidential aspirant must be Zambian and further have both parents Zambians by descent.

In his affidavit, Mr Kabimba says Mr Banda cannot contest in the elections and cannot be adopted by the ruling party as a presidential candidate because his parents are not Zambian.

However, Mr Banda's lawyers have contended that the case be dismissed because the high court is a wrong forum to hear the matter.

the lawyers have argued that the matter can only be rightly be heard at the Supreme court is by law the only body to hear matters of presidential candidate qualification

This matter comes in the backdrop of the start of the filing of presidential nominations for this year's general elections.

Mr Banda, who has been adopted by the ruling MMD is expected to file in his nomination on Wednesday, Meanwhile, the Lusaka high court has set Monday, 8th August 2011 as the date for its ruling over this matter.

High court judge-in-charge Jane Kabuka made the decision yesterday when all the parties in this matter agreed to make written submissions when the case came up for hearing in camera.