BILL 7: THE POISONED CHALICE THAT THREATENS ZAMBIA’S DEMOCRACY

BILL 7: THE POISONED CHALICE THAT THREATENS ZAMBIA’S DEMOCRACY

By Brian Matambo – Lusaka, Zambia

On Sunday, 21 September 2025, the Emmanuel Mwamba Verified show exploded with one of the sharpest warnings yet on the dangers of President Hakainde Hichilema’s Bill 7.

The guest was State Counsel Musa Mwenye, a man whose pedigree is unrivalled: former Solicitor General, former Attorney General, former President of the Law Association of Zambia, and former Anti-Corruption Commission Board Chair. What he said was nothing short of a bombshell.

Mwenye reminded viewers that the Constitutional Court has already spoken clearly: the process leading to Bill 7 is unconstitutional. He tore into the Ministry of Justice for attempting to bulldoze constitutional changes without the broad-based consultation that has defined Zambia’s tradition since the days of the Chona and Mvunga Commissions. In his words, process is what protects content. Without consultation, without legitimacy, any amendment is nothing more than an illegal shortcut to entrench power.

He drew a chilling comparison. Apartheid was legal. Slavery was legal. But both were illegitimate. In the same way, a constitution pushed without the people is not only illegitimate, it is dangerous.

ISAAC MWANZA ENTERS THE DEBATE
Then came a call that electrified the broadcast. Civil society activist Isaac Mwanza dialled in. He declared himself one of those who supports constitutional amendments to clean up the many flaws in the current law. Mwanza argued that there is a difference between making a new constitution and amending an existing one. He insisted that amendments must begin with proposals on the table, which can then be discussed. In his view, the Constitutional Court confused constitution-making with constitution-amending. He accused the judges of overreaching by demanding a wholesale consultative process for every amendment.

Mwanza’s challenge was sharp, but Musa Mwenye’s reply was even sharper.

MWENYE: WOULD YOU EAT RICE WITH POISON DROPS?
Mwenye fired back with a metaphor that stunned listeners. “If I give you a bowl of rice with carrots, peas and beef, but I add two drops of poison, would you eat it?” he asked. Bill 7, he said, is exactly that poisoned chalice. It may contain some clauses that look progressive, but hidden within are toxic provisions designed to tilt the playing field and secure political advantage for those in power.

He warned that Zambians must not be fooled. Increasing nominated MPs from 8 to 10, handing the Electoral Commission the authority to allocate proportional representation seats without clarity, extending Parliament’s life by 90 days during which MPs do nothing but continue to get paid, and manipulating delimitation without transparency all point to one thing: power grab.

COURT DECISION CANNOT BE DEFIED
Mwenye was categorical. The Constitutional Court ruling on Bill 7 is binding. To attempt to reintroduce the bill in Parliament without correcting the process is to spit in the face of the rule of law. “When government disobeys a judgment, it leads in promoting anarchy,” he said. It sends the message that ordinary citizens need not respect courts either, and it tells investors they cannot rely on Zambian law to protect their investments.

DEMOCRACY UNDER DIRECT THREAT
The State Counsel went further. He accused the government of sowing the seeds of democratic regression. “If we are not careful, our democracy may be endangered,” he said gravely. He reminded MPs that one day they too may fall out of favour with the very government they are defending, and only the courts will stand between them and persecution. If the precedent of ignoring judgments is set today, tomorrow no one will be safe.

THE VERDICT
Bill 7 is not just another amendment. It is a direct assault on the foundation of Zambia’s democracy. It is a cynical attempt to bend the Constitution to the will of a few. It is, in the words of Musa Mwenye, a poisoned chalice.

Zambians have seen this before. We endured the one-party state. We fought for multiparty democracy in 1991. We know the pain of living under unchecked power. Bill 7 drags us back towards that abyss.

The question now is simple: will Zambians swallow the poison, or will they reject it and defend the democracy that generations before us bled to deliver?