BISHOP John Mambo says President Edgar Lungu misdirected his ministers to illegally stay in office in 2016 for which they have been penalised.
He prays that 2021 brings about renewal.
The Constitutional Court has ordered ministers who stayed in office illegally to pay back the money they obtained within 30 days.
President Lungu has since indicated that he expects all the ministers to respect the law and pay back the money.
Commenting on the development, Bishop Mambo, a former Church of God overseer, said although the ministers were misdirected by the Commander-In-Chief, they must respect the Constitutional Court order for them to pay within 30 days.
He said the order to the ministers should serve as a warning that “the law is the law”.
Bishop Mambo said he had a problem with those advising the Head of State.
“But I give credit to the current Attorney General Likando Kalaluka because he did come out and said the new Constitution demands that they vacate office or else this will follow but the President came out and said ‘I am a lawyer, if that be the case, I am ready to be taken to court’. But now we must simply say you misdirected them,” he said.
Bishop Mambo said he was given a week to pay K25,000 for contempt of court even after he apologised.
“No one says how you will arrange it, I had to go and sell village chickens and I paid within one week,” he said. “This goes for the President also. And people, we should not be emotional, let us respect the law of the land. If we don’t, there will be no Zambia, it will just be in name, we shall turn into a Banana Republic. My prayer is that 2021 let’s bring about renewal. We tried in 1991 but we brought shame to the Kaundas; a minister today says to have ‘K2 million in the pocket, that’s just pocket money – if your children didn’t have it that time then you are useless’. Now those who have a lot like my young man Bowman Lusambo should help these people to pay, no one should cry that ‘we do not have’.”
Bishop Mambo expressed surprise that some of the ministers were complaining that they do not have money to pay back when not too long ago they were distributing money and mealie-meal.
“And they knew that these are mistakes they are making because some of them are lawyers,” he said. “I am looking forward to a day when in Africa and in Zambia someone will say I am paying because I made a mistake and at the same time I am resigning.”
Bishop Mambo advised the former ministers not to mock Zambians by presenting themselves for elections in 2021 because they had broken the law.
“You are not trusted already, you failed the law, you broke the Constitution so the best is to join me in planting maize and doing other things,” he said.
Bishop Mambo advised judges to always remember that their job was a calling and should put their feet down on many other cases.
He said anyone who comes into conflict with the law must be punished regardless of their relationship.
“To my understanding, the courts, the judges are in the firing range. People are beginning to lose confidence because whenever a judgment is passed in favour or against, it is never respected unless you have no name like me and you are given a week to pay or you go to prison,” Bishop Mambo said.
He said citizens must be law-abiding.
He said things would work well in the country if the rule of law was respected.
Bishop Mambo noted with indignation that even some investors disrespect the law on account of their associations with those in power.
“I am praying and waiting for a day when the judges and the courts are never a playground, whether people have money or no money. When the courts rule, all respect the law,” he said. “Let us live having learnt from Nelson Mandela who said the supreme law of the land is the constitution…we should never be governed by emotions, we should not see a person’s company or property being appropriated or closed down even after the court has ruled all because this person is viewed to be opposition. That must die. And this is where we are urging ECZ to register as many young voters as possible, even extend the days.”
Bishop Mambo advised Zambians never to repeat the mistake of 1991 where they replaced the one party state with multipartism but making one party supreme.
He said the ECZ must respect the law and ensure that more people register as voters.
“The law says there should be continuous voter registration. If there is no money they should allow us to sell our chickens to see to it that as many people are registered,” said Bishop Mambo.