LAZ Postpones Hearing Of Longwe’s Complaint Against Foreign Affairs Minister Haimbe
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MusicThe Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has postponed the hearing of a complaint brought by United Party for National Development (UPND) member Charles Longwe against Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe. Mr Longwe said the matter was adjourned to a date to be advised, because…
The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has postponed the hearing of a complaint brought by United Party for National Development (UPND) member Charles Longwe against Foreign Affairs Minister Mulambo Haimbe. Mr Longwe said the matter was adjourned to a date to be advised, because both men were out of the country when it was due to be heard. He has since written to the LAZ asking for a new date so that he can appear in person with his witnesses. The postponement keeps alive an unusual case in which a ruling party member is pursuing a sitting Cabinet minister before the legal profession’s own regulatory body.
Mr Longwe said in a statement that the hearing could not proceed because of travel on both sides. He explained that each party was abroad on the scheduled date.
“The matter was adjourned to a date to be advised because Haimbe was away on official business in Moscow, Russia, while I was in Johannesburg, South Africa,” Mr Longwe said.
In a separate email to the LAZ, addressed to Veronica Nyanga, Mr Longwe formally requested an alternative date for the hearing. He said he was still outside the jurisdiction and that his circumstances were not suitable for him to proceed virtually. He also asked for more time to prepare himself and his witnesses properly. Mr Longwe said matters raised in Mr Haimbe’s response to the complaint had only been brought to his attention that same day.
Mr Longwe said Mr Haimbe had retained lawyers to contest the complaint, a step he said he welcomed. He expressed confidence that the LAZ, as a statutory body, was well equipped to adjudicate the matter and give guidance to all parties. Rather than treating the minister’s legal defence as an obstacle, Mr Longwe presented it as a sign that the process would be argued on its merits. He said he was ready to have the issues tested before the association.
The UPND member insisted that his action was not personal. He said the complaint was made in the national interest, with the sole purpose of safeguarding institutions and upholding the integrity of the court. Mr Longwe urged citizens to be law-abiding and to reject hypocrisy and prejudice. He said every individual should operate under the rule of law regardless of status, wealth, political party, religion, region or whether they serve in the current administration.
The LAZ matter is not Mr Longwe’s only action involving the minister. He has also lodged a complaint with Inspector General of Police Graphael Musamba against Mr Haimbe and UPND Secretary General Batuke Imenda, alleging the fabrication and presentation of documents before the Constitutional Court. Mr Longwe’s complaint concerns two purported meetings of the UPND National Management Committee, which he says were cited in a sworn affidavit filed at the Constitutional Court Registry under cause number 2026/CCZ/009. He alleges that the affidavit was filed by a legal team headed by Mr Haimbe on behalf of Mr Imenda, the first respondent in that matter.
In that complaint to the police, Mr Longwe questioned whether some of the people recorded as attending the meetings could have been present. He said Mr Haimbe was in Nairobi at the 2025 COMESA Summit at the time, while Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane was in Brussels attending the 2025 Global Gateway Forum. Mr Longwe asked the police to investigate and take action if any breach of the law was established. He copied his complaint to the Drug Enforcement Commission and the Police Public Complaints Commission.
Mr Haimbe and his lawyers had not commented on Mr Longwe’s latest statement at the time of publication. The allegations have not been tested before any tribunal, and the LAZ hearing will be the first forum in which the minister’s response is formally weighed. A new date for the hearing is yet to be set.
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