After eight years of protracted legal battle between liquidators of the once famous and critical private publication-the Post, the Court in Zambia has reversed the decision, describing it illegal with calls to re-start the process.
In 2016, the Post, a fiery critic of the defunct newspaper was placed under liquidation over claims of unpaid taxes to the country’s revenue authority, although the newspaper management had contended lacked merit. The decision of the earlier court has since reversed with the court arguing it had no legal effect and should be revisited.
“We hold that the action of the liquidator prior to and post the purported liquidation of the Post Newspaper Limited, are of no legal effect whatsoever,” Chief Justice Mumba Malila said in the ruling on behalf of the full bench that sat to review and make a ruling on the matter .
Chief Justice Mumba Malila, as head of the panel of judges, had on Wednesday ordered that the process be re-started in compliance with the law. It further ordered that the newspaper’s liquidator Lewis Mosho to be part of the new proceedings and be made to account, even though he may have finished selling the assets of the defunct publication.
“We note that much time has passed since the purported liquidation. We do not believe, however, that such passage of the time has sanitised the wrongful manner in which the liquidation was conducted,” he said in his 55-page stinging judgement said.”
The landmark ruling by the Supreme Court had labeled the liquidation process a “faux”. The newspaper was critical of the PF and then-President Edgar Lungu, who lost power to opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema in elections last year. Many Zambians on social media have celebrated the judgement.
Eight years ago, the Post Newspaper Ltd had been placed under receivership and the process of placing the newspaper under compulsory liquidation has commences.
Lewis Nathan & Company run Lawyer Lewis Mosho were appointed provisional receiver in respect of all the assets of the company.
This followed an application by five Post newspaper employees-Andrew Herbert Chiwenda, Roy Haabalu, Bonaventure Bwalya, Mwendalubi Mweene and Abel Mboozi to the Court to have the company placed on liquidation in order to recover their terminal benefits.
The liquidation of the newspaper closed the chapter of one of the country’s independent newspapers that emerged in 1989 prior to the historical 1991 elections.
It had changed the destiny of the country-removing Zambia’s first President-Kenneth Kaunda from power after ruling for 27 years less than one party state was received with mixed feeling by many citizenry.
The state and non-state actors that described the act a repression of all perceived enemies of the Edgar Lungu’s reign that ruled the country for seven years until 12 August 2021.
The privately owned Post newspaper-which started as a project became fully fledged and also helped to change the political landscape to democracy and ushered in a new leader and former trade unionist and now late-Frederick Chiluba.
