Bowman Lusambo Will Win Kabushi By-Election……..Unless
Dear Editor, Kindly publish my analysis
The Constitutional Court has delivered a ruling to the effect that Bowman Lusambo’s election as MP for Kabushi was neither free nor fair and consequently is invalid. The Concort was hearing an appeal from High Court which had nullified the election. The grounds for nullification are that Lusambo had engaged in multiple practices that breached electoral and other laws.
What’s important to note is that Lusambo was vying for position of legislator or maker of laws. It sounds like Putin vying for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Like most compatriots, I too get worried with entrusting lawless citizens, like Bowman, with the responsibility to make laws in our country. My bigger worry however, is with the PF and the electorate of Kabushi. His party says Bowman is eligible to recontest the Kabushi seat and they are willing to readopt him. Opinion polls in Kabushi also suggest that Bowman is likely to win back the seat with probably a bigger margin.
It looks like democracy and morality are on a collision course in both PF and Kabushi. The onus is now on UPND to resolve some dilemmas and apply common sense. If they adopt the losing candidate from 2021, they will lose the election again. However, if they fail to adopt him, they risk losing the support of some party faithful in Kabushi, who fought the petition battles. Zambian politics are interesting. Kabushi politics are probably more interesting. Kabushi Constituency is one of the smallest in Zambia by surface area, but probably the largest and in the Copperbelt by population. It comprises Main Masala, Mine Masala, Kabushi, KX, Lubuto and Skyways.
These are primarily former council and mine townships that are predominantly habited by retirees, unemployed adults or informal sector youths. People like Lusambo are role models and behaviours like his are SOPs of how that society functions.
It will be interesting to see how UPND will read the radar and strategize to win Kabushi. It’s also worth remembering that HH beat ECL in all the constituencies in Copperbelt, but Kabushi. It’s too early to write off Lusambo in Kabushi. The surest way to make him lose is to find a clause in the law which complicates his participation in the elections. …but I guess his lawyers will fight that.
SM