Lubinda happy with Bowman’s seat loss
By Mwaka Ndawa
GIVEN Lubinda says the Patriotic Front will put up a splendid show in the Kabushi parliamentary by-election.
He says the Constitutional Court judgment to nullify the election of Bowman Lusambo as Kabushi PF member of parliament is a God sent opportunity to test whether the ground is still the same as it was on August 12, 2021.
“We live to fight another day. You win some, you lose others. As the party we respect the sanctity of the judiciary. And we still hold firm the position that the judiciary in Zambia is still autonomous which makes decisions based on facts and based on law. We accept the judgment that has been handed down by the ConCourt and we don’t bemoan anything,” Lubinda, the acting PF president, said. “We are just delighted that some of the grounds on which the seat was nullified [by the High Court] have been disqualified by the ConCourt. We are also happy that this has come. And I’m not being sarcastic but saying it in truth. We should have been very happy had we retained the seat. Nonetheless we are also happy that we are being given an opportunity to test the ground. One year after we lost the elections, an opportunity has been given to us by God for us to go and test whether the ground is still the same as it was on the 12th of August 2021. This is a God sent. And I have been speaking to the people from Kabushi some of whom came to escort their member of parliament. And all of them are enthused, they are feeling energetic and are ready to hit the ground running.”
He called on PF members to set their eyes on the ball.
“All of us now must cast our eyes on Kabushi. Let’s go to Kabushi and ask people of Kabushi whether indeed they’re satisfied with what they have been given by the UPND over the last 11 months. This is the time for the people of Kabushi to answer the question whether this is what they expected when the people of Zambia voted on the 12th of August 2021. We are resolved to continue to mobilise. We are resolved to continue to regroup. And we are resolved to go and put up a splendid show in Kabushi,” he said. “I want to appeal to the leadership on the Copperbelt. My dear friends here is an opportunity for you to prove that the Patriotic Front is still strong and is getting stronger by the day as we prepare for 2026. So we will take this as a golden opportunity and we thank the court for the judgment they passed down today.”
On who will contest, Lubinda said it is a decision to be decided by Lusambo and the party.
“There are many others out there who may wish to contest. And as acting president I cannot preempt anything. We have to wait and see whether Bowman will apply and whether there are others who will apply. The good thing I can say is that the judgment did not bar Lusambo from recontesting,” noted Lubinda. “As far as the judgment is concerned Lusambo is eligible to recontest. But I cannot say whether he is going to recontest or not. I have not spoken to him over the matter. But obviously if he reapplies, the party will consider him together with all the others who have put their names up. And naturally Lusambo being the person who was holding the seat would be given one or two points ahead of the rest. But for now let’s leave it for the party to decide.”