PF: Morgan Ng’ona loses, as Appeal Court dismisses bid to stop Miles Sampa from effecting leadership change

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by Patriotic Front factional Secretary General, Morgan Ng’ona seeking to maintain an interim injunction that barred party president Miles Sampa from removing him or altering PF office bearers. A full bench comprising Justices Chalwe Mchenga, Kelvin Muzenga and Betty Majula ruled the application was improperly filed, citing procedural irregularities. The court discharged the ex parte order that had temporarily restrained Sampa from making changes to PF leadership structures.

The judges held that while both the High Court and Court of Appeal have concurrent jurisdiction to grant such relief, litigants must first apply to the High Court unless exceptional circumstances exist. “Where there is concurrent jurisdiction, the application must first be made in the High Court and only come to this court in exceptional circumstances,” the bench ruled. On that basis, the court declined to consider the merits of Ng’ona’s arguments and dismissed the application outright.

The interim injunction, granted on March 9, 2026 by a single Court of Appeal judge, had prevented Sampa from effecting changes at the Registrar of Societies, it was now discharged. Ng’ona had sought the injunction after his earlier High Court case was dismissed for want of prosecution, then appealed and requested interim relief to preserve his position. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.