NOT HOLDING BIBLE DOES NOT INVALIDATE MP’S SWEARING-IN – LAW
LUSAKA — Debate has erupted on social media following the swearing-in of newly elected Member of Parliament for Chingola West Hon. Chipoka Mulenga, with some questioning the validity of the ceremony after he did not physically lift or hold a Bible while taking the oath.
However, Zambia’s parliamentary rules provide a legal distinction between the taking of the oath or affirmation and the traditional practice of physically holding a Bible.
Under Standing Order 14 of the National Assembly Standing Orders 2024, a Member of Parliament is required to take and subscribe to the Oath or Affirmation of Office before performing the functions of office.
The Standing Order does not expressly require a Member to physically hold, lift or touch a Bible while taking the oath.
The Official Oaths Act also provides for an alternative to the religious oath by allowing a person to make a solemn affirmation.
This means that the legal validity of the swearing-in principally rests on whether the Member properly took and subscribed to the prescribed Oath or Affirmation of Office, rather than whether the Member physically handled a Bible.
The Bible, while carrying significant religious and symbolic importance, is therefore not in itself the legal requirement for a Member of Parliament to assume office.
Parliamentary records similarly refer to Members having “taken and subscribed” the Oath of Allegiance and other prescribed oaths, rather than making the physical holding of a Bible a condition of validity.
Consequently, the fact that Hon. Chipoka Mulenga did not lift or hold a Bible during his swearing-in does not, by itself, render his oath invalid, provided he complied with the prescribed parliamentary procedure.
The ongoing social media debate therefore highlights the importance of distinguishing between parliamentary tradition and the actual legal requirements governing the assumption of parliamentary office.
The issue is ultimately whether the required oath or affirmation was properly administered and subscribed to—not whether the Member physically lifted a Bible.
National Assembly of Zambia
Hon. Chipoka Mulenga MP