LAZ: Reopening Courts "Does Not, By Itself" Fix What Three-Day Closure Broke

Lusaka: The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) says the reopening of courts and court registries nationwide on Thursday does not resolve the questions raised by the three-day closure that preceded it, as the country waits to find out whether a presidential election petition was validly filed before courts shut their doors. Courts and registries were closed from Monday, 24 August to Thursday, 27 August 2026. Speaking on behalf of its Council, LAZ said it welcomed the reopening as a restoration of access to justice, but said the closure had raised "serious issues" that reopening alone does not address. LAZ said it spent the closure period trying to get answers from the judiciary on why the courts closed, what the closure covered, how long it would last, under what authority it was ordered, and what arrangements, if any, were in place for people who needed the courts urgently. The association said it did not get "a meaningful and comprehensive explanation." LAZ also noted State House's public position that the Executive did not order the closure, and said it had "no reason, at this stage, to doubt" that. That position came from Clayson Hamasaka, State House's Chief Communications Specialist, who said the closure followed nationwide security risk assessments covering the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, the National Prosecution Authority, the Attorney General's Chambers and other government departments, not the courts specifically. He described the operation as "intelligence-led and preventive, aimed at safeguarding Government institutions, public officers and members of the public accessing those premises," and said the President "has neither the constitutional authority nor the power to determine when, how or from whom the courts receive filings." Police Inspector General Graphel Musamba gave a similar account, describing the exercise as security risk assessments at "selected key government premises" carried out with law enfor