LUSAKA lawyer and PF presidential hopeful Kelvin Fube Bwalya says those in the ruling party can go to the apex of Mount Everest and sing ‘sole candidate, sole candidate’, in support of President Edgar Lungu, but makes a caution that he’s not eligible for 2021.
Bwalya is popularly known as KBF.
The caution is that: “the PF should avoid finding itself in a catch-22 situation where you can elect a president under the PF constitution who automatically becomes a republican presidential candidate but can’t stand because the Constitution will bars him.”
“That’s a catch-22. Why do you (President Lungu) want to get into that? Why do you want to go to the convention when you know the Republican Constitution will tell you ‘no, bwana you cannot?’ Why put the party into that inconvenience? Why?” Bwalya wondered when he featured on a special interview programme on Prime TV on Thursday night. “You can sing all you want, at the top of the mountain…. Go to mountain Everest and sing ‘sole candidate, sole candidate’ 20 times, a hundred times, the rule of law is what we are discussing – respect the Constitution. I’m still pleading; I do know that the Patriotic Front possesses internal mechanisms and I know that when tabled and argued in a proper, calm manner, this matter will be resolved.”
Bwalya profusely explained that President Lungu was not eligible to contest next year’s elections.
He said a President was allowed, by the Constitution, to rule for two terms of five years each.
Bwalya, however, noted that it was not mandatory that one must serve those five years in full.
“You cannot argue that the President (Lungu) did not hold office as I have heard some people arguing. The Constitution is a practical document – it speaks life into the nation… He cannot say that he has not been elected twice; he has. Therefore, he is caught by Article 106 (3). He cannot run again; let’s be very clear,” Bwalya explained.
“People have been saying ‘but the Constitutional Court said…’ No! The life of the presidency as an institution has always been attached to the life of Parliament. Parliament has power to prolong its life but in special circumstances, for instance, if there is a war. Once you are elected twice, kwamana badaala (it’s finished, old man).”
To the best of his ability, Bwalya does not believe that: “my older brother, my President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, will impose himself on the people if he feels that he might not go in line with the Constitution, let alone just the embarrassment of having to be disqualified under a Constitutional Court decision.”
“It is unnecessary; he has done his best. We are not short of leaders in this country. It is best to just step aside and I have made this pronouncement to the Patriotic Front in very clear, humble terms. Step aside, ba President – you’ve done your best…” he noted.
On rule of law in Zambia, Bwalya, a one-time PF elections committee deputy chairman, said the best Constitution in the world would count for nothing, as long as the players who were running office did not respect that Constitution and the other laws that that Constitution bred.
“Once you have laws, respect the laws. Once the rule of law breaks down, the economy automatically suffers. Why? Because one of the pillars of economic development is that the rule of law gives confidence to investors – local and foreign investors. Once you are in political office, you are the torchbearer to the economy of the country, more so if you are vying for the highest office in the land,” he said, stressing that the kind of people elected to political office must be those who think and respect the Constitution.
“One of the biggest cornerstones of the rule of law is that you need a disciplined, committed leadership that will follow the rule of law. Once that is not there, in terms of character of the person running a country, you have a problem.”
Bwalya pointed out that without the aspect of the rule of law, “no investor or the IMF would listen to you.”
“You can go to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] on your knees and tell them ‘our people are suffering, we have mealie-meal shortages’, they will tell you ‘ah, but there are corrupt people in your government, but you are not following this; how do we help you?’ That is a very big litmus test that we are failing as a nation,” he said.
“So, governance for me, within one year, you must turn it around. There is no question about that; anybody who is going to be undisciplined, fire them. First of all, before you even pick them to become part of your Cabinet, scrutinise them. Mu cibemba tutila amano ayamfumu nibakabyo (in IciBemba we say a chief’s wisdom is dependent on his company). You cannot be a good leader when you have bad advisors!”
Asked if that was the case with the current government, Bwalya told the interviewer, Alexander Musokotwane: “do you live in Zambia, Mr Musokotwane? If you do, you know what I’m talking about.”
“We should not fear brains! You discard people with brains and you bring around you people who are seemingly not going to add value to you. What impression are you giving to the outside world?” Bwalya wondered.
About current policing in the country, in relation to the rule of law, Bwalya explained that the Zambia Police was a very vital department to enforce the rule of law and maintain law and order and good governance.
He, however, indicated that it was ill-fated that the Zambia Police were ill-funded and that training of officers had not changed, from colonial days.
“Sometimes you must move with the times! In the colonial days, the police force was used as a mobile unit to curb riots. Part of the training today at Lilayi still is about curbing riots! When you have got democracy, people are supposed to express themselves, they are supposed to be free…” he noted. “When you have a policeman who is trained and he feels that the only way he can enforce the rule of law is by beating people, you have a problem. Over-interference in the police and abusing the police to do political issues, instead of doing a professional policing job is another problem. The police need to be reviewed, in terms of its training. It needs to be re-educated, re-trained and all the syllabus at Lilayi must change to conform to the democratic dispensation that we have accepted politically. We cannot be teaching the police 1965 tactics today and expect them to enforce the law on people in 2020. It doesn’t make sense!”
Bwalya also said when the citizens don’t trust the police, there is a clash because: “the police have got guns and sometimes live bullets.”
“The gassing itself, [we had] 46 deaths but we don’t know the number of people who were shot by the police. That’s the kind of policing we don’t want,” noted Bwalya.