By Staff Writer
The legal battle surrounding Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman’s push to form 12 parliamentary committees to investigate operations of several statutory corporations has taken a dramatic new turn after Attorney General Frank Mbeta made a surprise move to join the case.
Mbeta has joined the matter as an interested party in the case where Speaker Suleman is challenging an injunction obtained by concerned citizen Austin Mkoka stopping the formation of the committees.
Initially, it was expected that the Attorney General would represent the Speaker, but by yesterday there had been no formal commitment from the government’s chief lawyer to be part of the proceedings.
However, during a virtual court session held this morning, presiding Judge Allan Muhome informed all concerned parties that Mbeta had filed an application yesterday to be enjoined in the case not as a lawyer for the Speaker but as an interested party.
The development caught the Speaker’s legal team off guard. Lawyer Bright Theu who is representing Suleman expressed shock at the move, describing the AG as a stranger to the proceedings since there had been no prior documents indicating that he would be joining the case in that capacity.
On his part, lawyer Chikosa Silungwe called for strict adherence to procedures and timelines regarding filing of documents to avoid delaying the matter.
Following his application to join, Mbeta requested the court to grant him ten days to file his documents, while Noel Supedi, who is representing Mkoka, said he would need at least seven days to respond to whatever the AG will file.
Judge Muhome has since adjourned the matter to November 5, 2026, when the case is expected to continue.
