MUKANDILA URGES GOVERNMENT TO PUBLICIZE TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSTITUTION-MAKING COMMITTEE
Lusaka, Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Constitutional lawyer Celestin Mambula Mukandila has called on the government to make public the Terms of Reference (ToR) for any constitution-making or amendment committee, saying transparency is essential for legitimacy and public trust in Zambia’s constitutional reform process.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mukandila said the recent Constitutional Court ruling in the case of Munir Zulu & Celestine Mukandila v. Attorney General affirmed that any constitutional amendment initiated without broad public consultation is unconstitutional.
He stressed that before any substantive work begins, the Terms of Reference must be made public to clearly outline the scope, powers, process, composition, and accountability mechanisms guiding the committee’s operations.
“The ToR must define what is to be addressed, what powers the committee holds, how consultations and reviews will be conducted, and how members are selected,” Mukandila said. “Such openness ensures that the people of Zambia remain recognized as owners of the Constitution and prevents attempts to fast-track changes without their consent.”
Mukandila warned that failure to publish or adhere to transparent Terms of Reference could expose the constitutional process to legal challenges and potential nullification, citing the Zulu & Mukandila case as precedent.
Millennium Radio
Correct Observation Counsel Mukandila.
We need to know the terms of reference of the Technical Committee on Constitutional Amendment.
During the Swearing in Ceremony of the Members of the Technical Committee, the President went on a Monologue of Irrelevances… Just empty noises. And I made a comment on this.
” Time is Money… Time is a Cost ”
“We are not Malawians or Zimbabweans..We are Zambians, One Zambia, One Nation ”
That was the President swearing in the Technical Committee on Constitutional Amendment!
As to the general objective of the Committee – Secret
The Terms of Reference – Secret
Time Line – Secret
Delimitation report – Secret
National Census Report – Secret
We don’t know whether the Technical Committee is going to Look at Bill 7, the Amended 2016 Constitutional Draft, or the Lacunae in the Amended 2016 Constitution, or all submissions from all Constitutional Reviews Zambia has Conducted …or we are
Drafting an entirely new Constitution.
Why is it so difficult for Mr Hakainde Hichilema and his government to just do things Transparently? .With No Imingalato ? Why is Honesty such a difficult Virtue for this Government?
And when People bring these omissions to the fore, some one cries Hatred, Bitterness and Envy !
Bwafya !
The best way to hide anything from an African is to put it in a book. The idiots simply don’t read.
https://zambialii.org/akn/zm/doc/bill/2025-05-23/the-constitution-of-zambia-amendment-bill-no-7-of-2025/eng@2025-05-23
Don’t hide your malice and refusal to simply read under “terms of reference”.