13 June, 2017
Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini has suspended 48 UPND Members of Parliament (MPs) for boycotting President Edgar Lungu’s address to parliament in March 2017.
The MPs have been suspended for a period of 30 days effective today 13th June 2017 without pay.
The Speaker stated that the 48 will not be allowed access to the Parliament Buildings during this period of suspension and that they will not have access to Parliament motel.
Dr Matibini also ruled that the affected MPs will not be part of the deliberations by their respective parliamentary committees nor will they be given allowances and or salaries.
He said the conduct of the MPs to boycott the presidential address was a gross misconduct adding that the MPs cannot claim not to recognise President Edgar Lungu when they swore allegiance to him (Speaker) who was sworn in by the same President Lungu.
Dr Matibini challenged the UPND MPs to resign if they continue not to recognise President Lungu.
“I therefore challenge the UPND members that if they still maintain that they do not recognize the President, they should resign on moral grounds,” Dr Matibini said.
UPND MPs were then asked to leave the house through the front door of shame to start their 30 days suspension without pay.
Meanwhile, Dr Matibini has directed the Inspector General of Police to investigate Hakainde Hichilema for possible prosecution for insulting the Office of the Speaker.
UpND is bigger than this please. The article should just remind those that use Public offices that you can not coherse people to do what you want. We as humans are endowed with free will. If (for example) Muri Zulu wants to behave badly. Let him be willing or excercise that right, but know that others have rights as well. And his behaviour should not be disruptive and self serving. That isnt not what the people that elected him do when elected to Parliament.
PF can exercise whatever antics they want. As long as its within the law. But that also demonstrates what they really stand for. Who they are. Self serving interest or the interest of the electorate that they pledged to serve. We the voters are watching and asking if we voted to watch “Mpali” in Parliament or watch our leaders work for us and our well being.