By Chisomo Phiri
The High court judge, Howard Pemba, has on Friday afternoon granted an injunction stoping former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from summoning its Vice President for the Southern region, Kondwani Nankhumwa, to a disciplinary hearing.
Nankhumwa was summoned to a hearing by the party’s disciplinary committee following a whistle stop tour he conducted in Blantyre a fortnight ago without seeking approval from the party leader Peter Mutharika.
Nankhumwa earlier avoided appearing before the disciplinary hearing in Lilongwe after his lawyers wrote the committee that their client was unable to appear before it as he was attending to Parliament business.
But his lawyers later applied for the injunction.
Meanwhile, in court, Judge Howard Pemba said Nankhumwa will not appear before the disciplinary hearing until the matter is concluded in court.
According to Nankhumwa’s lawyers, the disciplinary committee itself is being challenged for being constituted contrary to the DPP constitution.
The constitution allows for five members to be in the committee, but Nankhumwa, who is also Leader of Opposition in Parliament, is arguing that the recently held DPP national governing council (NGC) appointed seven members instead.
The court, according to lawyer Daniel Sato representing Nankhumwa, is expected to give directions and the date for hearing.
Cracks and divisions have refused to leave DPP since it got booted out of government in the June 2020 presidential elections.
And according to several political analysts, the party leadership should forget returning into government after the 2025 general elections if the differences persist.
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