Dec 10 Edgar Lungu Judgement: Lessons for Zambia and Democracy

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Dec 10 Edgar Lungu Judgement: Lessons for Zambia and Democracy

By Amb. Anthony Mukwita

A new crop of ‘lawyers’ has emerged in Zambia since the Constitutional Court of our nation on 10th December ruled the sixth President of Zambia Edgar Lungu out of contention in a poll slated for 2026.
Real lawyers called this the most consequential  court case in the modern history of Zambia having the power to make or break democracy as we know it today and the future. 
I suppose this is because the case involved two national political heavyweights, in the red corner, incumbent Hakainde Hichilema and the green corner Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the immediate past President.


The stakes were high, the adrenaline was running out of control while the main contenders were on a proverbial cliff-hanger as their future political lives lay in the hands of seven men and women in robes on the bench.


For the sixth President the stakes were even higher because the decision to bar him at this stage aged a spry 67 could mean the last time he may vie for the most coveted job in town.


For his arch rival and nemesis, however, perhaps not that bad based on age because if he lost the case he would just dust his coat and jump back in the ring again, business as usual.


What we saw, however, is that the newly constituted Concourt barred Lungu from running because apparently, he did not legally qualify to compete against his rival HH in 2021.


The same court, however, excluded President HH of the ‘mistake’  or transgression of 2021 because he has been allowed to run and seek re-election in 2026 and not his rival ECL.


Do you see what I am getting at here as a Main Street Lawyer?
I am saying according to my humble understanding of the law, *One candidate has been treated more favorably above another*, therefore justice has not been seen to be done and therefore democracy as we know it has come under question, I could be wrong.


Respected lawyers I have spoken to, some of them State Counsels, tell me that the proverbial dice was loaded from the start, there was no way this newly constituted ConCourt was going to act judiciously looking at the way they came on the scene after three others were removed.


*Edgar Lungu was swimming against the tide or flying against the wind*.
My counsel advisors, because I aint no trained lawyer, also tell me that *ECL has no chance of getting back on the ballot come 2026 using the same court that barred him because it will not at any cost vacate its 10th December decision just to please an opposition leader* when the consequences for them could be dire.


“ *The best thing President Lungu can do at this point for the sake of democracy in Zambia as a big player is join forces with a ‘flawless’ ferocious candidate from the opposition* and face 2026 through that avenue,” a lawyer and political commentator told me.


He said if democracy is to thrive, we will need a strong opposition because in the absence of one, a dictatorship shall emerge and take our country back to the stone age.
Remember that the stone age did not end because we ran out of stones but because men started to sit around the table to iron out differences and not stone each other.
I wrote in this column as a lover of democracy that “it ain’t over until the fat lady sings” and gave examples of Senegal where the main contender was knocked out of the main race but tapped a younger colleague to run and win.


I am also aware of the role the former President of Botswana Ian Khama played in regime change in the diamond rich country or how John Dramani Mahama made a miraculous come back in Ghana after being written off as old scrap metal.
The thing in politics like second President Frederick Chiluba said is “twenty four hours is a very long time, almost a lifetime because anything can happen to tip your fortunes up or take them away.”


There’s nothing I love most, myself as “ do unto others as they would do to us in love and politics”  because what you do in the political arena today in order to hurt your foe could be used against you in future.
My call has always been that for a small country like Zambia with a paltry population of some 20 million people, 60 pc of them wallowing in miserable shameful poverty under the belly of the beast, more unites us than divides us.
Instead of fixing each other using lawfare or anything harmful for that matter, barring perceived enemies or bumping them off the ballot allegedly, we must start fixing the economy.


We must create jobs and stop exporting them the way we do raw materials such as copper or maize, we must live and let live and not live and punish perceived enemies.


We must heal our land like Michael Jackson said and make it a better place for you and for me and the entire universe because there are people dying from starvation as their leaders fight.
I always say an injustice meted upon Dr Edgar Lungu today is the same injustice that could be meted against Dr HH tomorrow, so what is the point if I may ask? 


The elephant in the room as Christmas sneaks in around the corner in my view is the expensive out of reach 25kg bag of mealie meal presently priced at about K400, the K33 per litre petrol, K200 loaf of bread and K220 per 1.5litre cooking oil.
If Don H took care of these basics it’s my considered view that the Don would never need to lose sleep over Edgar Lungu, Harry Kalaba, KBF or Dr Fred M’membe.
My ultimate pedestrian view is actually that the biggest mortal enemy for Don H is poverty not Lungu and all opposition leaders put together.


Employing some green horn journalist’s, some of them really talented cannot undo the poverty narrative.
When you are hungry or poor, a public relations officer cannot change that, you just want your lunch.


In five days time Zambia joins millions in Africa to celebrate Christmas, I hope your mother has already secured a loan to buy you that samptuos chicken curry and fanta that was characteristic of Christmas back in the day.


God bless you Zambia and happy Christmas as we inch fast towards 2026, make love not war.

..
Anthony Mukwita is a former Ambassador of Zambia, an International Relations Analyst and published author. Ambassadors Mukwita’s books are available in Bookworld, Grey Matter and Amazon.

8 COMMENTS

  1. What a useless write up from Anthony. So Anthony your poverty narrative is that UPND or HH is the cause of poverty being experienced in Zambia?? Is poverty a new phenomenon in Zambia?? When your PF led the country to default on its debt, you didnot see this as contributing to poverty and hunger the new government is making efforts to address?? Your biased narrative is fit for the dust bin!!!

  2. Is the title Ambassador an Academic or Military title so that even when someone is no longer in the Diplomatic Service it must be glued to ones normal names. Kwena Zambians love Titles, a Mental Inadequacy Syndrome (MIS)?

  3. What can we expect from a hungry PF cadre who has lived all his life from friends’ pocket? Short handed boy who likes drinking expensive beverages off friends’ tabs. Akaso too much!!!! Lungu will never come back so that he can post you to Germany and eat freebies off poor people’s sweaty. Hear this loud and clear: He will never bounce back. He’s burried. All his budy buddies are going to jail and there will be no PF after September 2026!!!

  4. Antony Mukwita is a puppet and his appointment as Ambassador was not based on merit, professional experience or level of education and awareness but rather it was based on bootlicking and political patronage. He is not a distinguished a career diplomat as he portrays him.

    He is among PF cadres who were misleading Edgar Chagwa Lungu and championing political propaganda. With his partner in spreading falsehood Emmanuel Mwamba during the August 2021 General elections they left their duty posts and came to Zambia to spread propaganda and falsehood but their evil plans did not work and the PF was humiliated.

    There is no genuine analysis that could come from Anthony Mukwita. His articles and statements lack political level-headedness to provide a balanced analysis. The PF while in government committed human rights abuses and atrocities but people like Antony Mukwita did not say anything.

  5. In my many writings & comments, I’ve always challenged, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the custodian of this Ambassadorship matter, to come out,to comment & clarify to Zambians,
    Who? In the true sense of the word (Ambassador) is entitled to use such title,,but ,they ve gone mute…..
    Since the time of our independence, Dr kaunda,,sent many of our people, all over the World as High commissioners & Ambassadors, and many stayed for ages ,and many came ,back home ,,none was known by their diplomatic titles,
    VJ ,is one typical example, sent into diplomatic service at the age of 19, He stayed ages & came back as VJ,,so we’re many..
    I vividly recall ,only One, Man, whom even KK, bestowed the title of Ambassador, a,Mr AKAPELWA,
    there was in an investure ceremony for him at State house,,
    But not these titles of nowadays, just someone who goes into Foreign Service just for TWO HOURS,,,& comes back with a big title, ati, Ambassador,
    This title, has even become, stale & over diluted,,if one looks & checks the true Characteristics, of Our so called, Ambassador,,,some have manifested into, Liars,propagandist, some have unceremoniously divorced, they have even given a noble & dignified Title a very bad, name..No wonder, bonafide true Ambassadors, are even ashamed to use the title of AMBASSADOR

  6. This is the unfortunate low grade calibre of individuals Lungu sent to represent our nation at embassies abroad.

    The reconstruction of the Constitutional Court had legal grounds that anyone including those judges who were dismissed is free to challenge. We all know that the dismissed judges were heavily oiled by Lungu to have Lungu appear on the ballot paper when he was clearly NOT eligible. Lungu launched a shameless attack on the constitution that he swore to uphold. A brazen act of treason. If this fool of a former ambassador is only listening to his stomach, he will obviously read the matter wrongly. As he has done in this useless article. People should recognise when they have a bias or interest in a matter, which same bias does not allow them to give an objective opinion or view of the matter.

    How anyone can try to infuse economic challenges that citizens are facing with a constitutional matter demonstrates thinly disguised malice and bitterness. The current economic challenges are largely due to Lungu’s financial recklessness. Trying to cook the narrative differently will not work. Zambia would have been a failed state after defaulting twice on sovereign loans. The kwacha would have been in free fall and mealie meal would have been costing k2000. The military would have overthrown Lungu and citizens would be suffering under military rule.

  7. The beauty is, we all had the opportunity to listen to the judgment in real time. Thank you to the Judiciary and ZNBC and other media outlets for according us this opportunity.

    Those who specialize in propaganda have nowhere to run. Mr. Lungu didnot qualify to stand in 2021. A mistake was made and it has been corrected. Let us move on. The country won’t collapse because of the political misfortune of one man. After all, he had his chance and he messed up big time.

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