Payback is Not Enough!
Ministers Who Illegally Stayed in Office Must Be Charged with Treason – Simataa
—————————————————————
By CIC Reporter | 18 Dec 20 | Lusaka
—————————————————————
Firebrand UPND aspiring councillor for Kamwala Ward 5, Mainda Simataa, says he’s shocked that the Constitutional Court had misled the majority of Zambians into thinking that the illegal stay in office of PF ministers during the run-up to the 2016 general elections was a simple matter that could be resolved by charging the errant ministers to pay back the money, when in fact the ministers should have been slapped with the serious charge of treason.
Simataa said that the law was very clear, that anyone, or any group of persons who act individually or collectively, to illegally hijack or retain the executive powers of government, regardless of whatever means they use, commit an act of treason against the state which carries the maximum penalty of death, not refund of K50,000.
Simataa added that the biggest danger facing Zambia today was that citizens, and the media upon which the citizens rely for information and interpretation of events, was more concerned about knowing and reporting on which minister refused to pay, and which one’s family would starve if they refused to pay. “No, the issue here is that the constitution was raped, and therefore, the question should be, what is the maximum penalty for that rape?”
Simataa, who’s also UPND Kabwata Constituency Information and Publicity Secretary, emphasized that respect and fear for the rule of law, and not the rule of men, was cardinal in the course of justice and the direction of all human affairs.
“Fear of punishment when one violates the laws of the land is the glue that binds any civilized society together, it checks the excesses of the people in power, and it deters criminals from killing and stealing at will. But if we are going to be complacent, if we’re going to allow a situation where leaders can rape the constitution without consequence, and then compensate us with small change from the money that they have stolen from us, then we shall be setting a dangerous example where more Lungu’s, Lubinda’s, Chitotela’s, Kapata’s and Nshindano’s will break the law with impunity and laugh at our misery, without remorse nor fear of punishment”.