🇿🇲 BRIEFING | Kabesha says constitutional reform will follow law as UPND figures raise debate over presidential term limits
Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha says Zambia’s next constitutional reform process will be determined through lawful procedures and public participation, as statements from figures within the governing UPND fuel debate over whether presidential term limits could become part of the discussion.
“The reform process will not be dictated by political commentary,” Kabesha told Phoenix News, according to the report shared with The People’s Brief. He said Zambians would have an opportunity to participate in determining proposed constitutional changes and Government would consider views expressed by citizens and their elected representatives.
His statement comes as UPND Proportional Representation MP Florence Chileshe Chama has publicly argued for President Hakainde Hichilema to remain in office beyond 2031.
Chama was quoted saying women “don’t want democracy but development,” which she linked to continued support for Hichilema beyond the current constitutional limit.
She is among the women who entered the National Assembly through the new proportional representation system.
The remarks have added to an emerging debate inside governing-party circles. UPND official Michael Chuzu recently argued that Hichilema is currently completing what he described as the political term of late UPND founder Anderson Mazoka and would begin his own term in 2031.
Mazoka never served as Republican President, making Chuzu’s proposition a political argument rather than the present constitutional position.
Kabesha has sought to separate such statements from Government’s constitutional reform programme. He said comments from both ruling and opposition politicians should not create unnecessary fear or uncertainty, maintaining that any amendments would have to pass through the processes required by law.
Earlier this week, he similarly said Government would leave citizens to make proposals on the direction and substance of constitutional reform.
The distinction is important. Statements by individual UPND officials or MPs do not themselves amend presidential tenure rules. Any proposal affecting the Constitution would have to move from political advocacy into the formal amendment process and satisfy the constitutional requirements applicable to the provision being changed.
For now, the calls for Hichilema to remain beyond 2031 are political proposals, while the Attorney General’s stated position is that the coming reform process will be subjected to public participation and the law.
-The People’s Brief | Ollus R. Ndomu