LUNGU IS STAGING A COUP BY MASQUERADING AS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE – SICHINGA…when he is not qualified to stand again having served two terms
By Patson Chilemba
Edgar Lungu is staging a coup d’etat by masquerading as a presidential candidate for 2021 even when he is barred by the constitution, says former commerce minister Bob Sichinga.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on President Lungu’s insistence that he will stand as candidate in 2021, because he was finishing late president Michael Sata’s term the first time he was elected and held office in 2015-2016, Sichinga said Zambians would fight President Lungu’s lawlessness, in the same manner they fought late president Fredrick Chiluba’s attempts to go for a third term of office.
He urged the President to be a responsible citizen by desisting from fomenting anarchy and instability in the country with his actions.
“He is masquerading and this is not even a constitutional issue, it’s not a legal issue. This is a political issue. He is masquerading and you see he wants to make people believe that he’s entitled to this. He does not qualify. This is exactly what is happening in Ivory Coast…you go and altar a constitution and now you say you are qualified after altering the constitution,” Sichinga said. “This is a recipe for unrest in the country. This is what it is. This is a recipe for upheaval in the country because the moment you don’t uphold the constitution okay then what are you governed by? You have noting to hold on to, so to be honest with you we have to tell Mr Lungu in no uncertain terms that he is risking the security and the peace and the stability of this country because we will fight him, we will. The Zambian people will fight him, we are not going to allow this lawlessness.”
Sichinga said President Lungu is a lawyer, who knows very well that he does not qualify to stand again, and he cannot claim ignorance over the matter.
“This is a coup d’etat. He wants to stage a coup d’etat So he has to be challenged with all the legal means at our disposal, but also political we have to say to him sorry sir you do not qualify. I have been saying this he does not qualify,” Sichinga said. “Whether he was going to declare or not declare he is risking the security of and indeed the peace and stability of this country. So as far as I am concerned we will fight him just we we fought Chiluba when he wanted a third term.”
The former commerce and agriculture minister in the Sata administration said he was disappointed to see Vice-President Inonge Wina, whom he traveled with to Kasama to fight Chiluba’s third term bid, was today in cahoots with Lungu’s attempts to shred the constitution.
“We will say to him sorry sir you have served your part, you chose by your own words, decisions. You chose to serve a shorter term and a full five term and now your time has come to go,” Sichinga said. “He himself from his own mouth was talking at some public meeting and said when my time comes to an end in 2021, he said that, why would he have talked about that if he was convinced, having passed the amendment in 2016, that in fact he has provided for an extension to that? Why would he have said what he said?”
Recalling several instances where the president has acted in a lawless manner, Sichinga said President Lungu has acted lawlessly from the very moment he was being selected as a presidential candidate in Kabwe through the show of pangas, after the other candidates had been barred from participating.
He said President Lungu also refused to cede power to the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini when his election was being challenged in the courts of law by the UPND during the 2016 general elections. He said now the President was acting lawlessly by insisting on going for a third term.
“Did Lungu stand as a candidate in 2015? Yes. Did he win elections? Yes he did. Was he inaugurated into office? Yes. As what, finishing a term or in his own right? If he was finishing a term why hold elections?” Sichinga asked. “He served as President, received a salary as president. He served his term…has he held office twice? Was he paid for the first term? So under what circumstances is he seeking another term? If he goes for another term according to what he is saying it will have meant that he has served almost 12 years. The constitution says two terms of maximum 10 years. How does that stand with the constitution? He is disqualified.”
Sichinga said there was a clear example from South Africa where the ruling party recalled former president Thabo Mbeki so that they could replace him with Jacob Zuma, but the latter did not take over immediately, but instead had Kgalema Motlante act for the one year that was remaining on Mbeki’s term so that he (Zuma) could enjoy the two full terms afterwards. -Daily Revelation