PAMBASHE PF member of parliament Ronald Chitotela says the ruling party is destined for victory again in 2021 as its preferred candidate, President Edgar Lungu is still popular and will win by over 70 per cent.

And PF deputy secretary general Mumbi Phiri has challenged the Zambia Police Service to ensure that they arrest anyone involved in violence ahead of the 2021 elections.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey Mwamba has assured the country that government will ensure mealie meal prices are brought down in the next two months to.

Speaking at a PF youth rally to mark this year’s Youth Day celebrations in Lusaka yesterday, Chitotela who is also Tourism and Arts Minister said those insisting that President Lungu was not eligible to contest next year’s elections were just scared.

“I want to say this to Madam Mumbi Phiri; there is this one person that has taken it upon himself to make sure that President Lungu should not stand in 2021, but tell him that for us in PF, we are not going to have leadership change. Our President is Edgar Chagwa Lungu. So tell that gentleman [State Counsel John Sangwa] that he’s just making noise because we won’t change our candidate as PF. So if there is something fooling him, we as PF supporters from Pambashe will write a petition to say our President is Edgar Lungu,” Chitotela said.

“And we want to also appeal to the Central Committee to open nominations for the party Presidency immediately [Provincial] elections are done so that we can see those that are ready to challenge the President. The elections for President Edgar Lungu should happen before we go to the convention. The people in Pambashe gave me this message for the central committee that nominations for our Presidential candidate should start in May and be completed by 30th May so that in June, we would have known those who would like to challenge President Lungu. We want to see what those people are made of.”

Chitotela said the ruling party would not be changing its Presidential candidate just because some people were scared of him.

“They are telling us to look for another candidate, that President Lungu is not eligible. But they’re not supposed to be celebrating if Lungu is not eligible. Why are they so worried? If there is one person they (those opposing) are scared of, from North to South and East to West, is President Lungu. They know that President Lungu on the ballot paper in 2021 will win with more than 70 per cent. That is why they have risen the way they have baleti teti eminine (he can’t stand). But if he is not supposed to stand, shouldn’t you let him go ahead with the nominations so that he gets rejected properly? Why are you scared of him? It’s because you know very well that he will win,” said Chitotela.

Speaking at the same event, Phiri who was the guest of honour at this rally challenged the police to end violence in the country by arresting anyone involved in the vice.

“Dear youths, if you really know what you want, say no to being used as tools of violence. If anybody comes to you and asks you to engage in violence, tell them to go and bring their own children. I also want to challenge the police; the President who is your Commander-In-Chief has already directed you to act on people who are doing violence. The President has told you to arrest wrong doers; please don’t wait for anybody to give you instructions because the powers are in your hands,” said Phiri.

Meanwhile, Mwamba who is the party deputy chairman for national mobilisaion told Zambians that mealie meal prices would start reducing in the next two months.

“Don’t just to listen to PF who are saying ‘we need regime change’, regime change because of what? What has gone wrong? We know the economy is not doing very well. But it’s not only here [in Zambia]. For us who move around, just today the South African Rand has hit R16 against the US Dollar. Our Kwacha is also around K16. But just compare, which country is more advanced between South Africa and Zambia? But our currencies are at par; can’t you surely clap for President Lungu for what he’s doing? Then this issue of mealie meal, let me promise you, within two months, mealie meal prices are going to come down,” said Mwamba.

Twenty twenty-one Presidential candidate, Kelvin Fube Bwalya, has advised President Edgar Chagwa Lungu not to be trapped by some people that are telling him that he is eligible to contest the 2021 presidential elections.

Discussing the Rule of Law on Prime TV live debate last night, Mr. Bwalya, who is commonly known as KBF, appealed to President Lungu to be wary and not to be cheated and used by some deceitful lieutenants who are pushing him to go for his third time presidential contest.

The prominent Zambian Lawyer and political strategist warned that doing so would be going against the republican Constitution.

He agreed with two other discussants, John Sangwa and Mulambo Haimbe, both lawyers, that President Lungu is not eligible to stand for elections in 2021 because he has already held the office of the presidency twice and elected to as President of Zambia twice as the Constitution prescribes.

Mr. Sangwa is a Constitutional lawyer and law tutor, while Mr. Haimbe is a practicing lawyer and parliamentary aspiring candidate for Lusaka Central constituency on the United Party for National Development (UPND) ticket.

The trio humbly appealed to President Lungu to respect clauses of the law of the land, which he personally accented to.

Mr. Bwalya further wondered why some learned lawyers would mislead the public by suggesting that President Lungu never held office after his election in 2015.
“President Lungu represented Zambia at international fora as republican President many times. So, why should someone argue that President Lungu did not hold office,” Mr. Bwalya wondered.

He warned that those insisting that President Lungu never held office could land the President into serious trouble with the law.
“If you say President Lungu never held office, are you saying he deceived the people of Zambia when he was representing us on international assignments? Let’s be serious when we are discussing national issues,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bwalya reiterated his respect and love for President Lungu.

“My opinion on this eligibility issue is based on facts and respect for the rule of law. I have nothing against President Lungu. He’s my President and older brother. But all am saying is that the law does not permit him to stand for the third time because he has already been elected twice and held office twice,” Mr. Bwalya said.

Mr. Bwalya said the PF was still a viable political party and had done remarkably well in some aspects of national development. He, however, noted that the party needed a change of leadership to win the confidence of the people if it were to win 2021 elections.

“I have traversed the country and I know what the youth are saying. They are calling for new leadership of the party if we were to retain political power in 2021,” he said.

And Mr. Sangwa said he was not being political or partisan in expressing his strong opinion that President Lungu is not eligible to contest the 2021 presidential elections. He said his interest was to ensure that the rule of law was respected by all, including the President.
“Rule of law simply means no one is above the law. Not even the President. The Zambian law says if you have held office twice and elected twice, you are not eligible for a third time, period. Nothing personal. Even if it were another person, not necessarily Mr. Lungu, the law would still apply,” Mr. Sangwa observed.

Mr. Sangwa also thanked the PF Government and President Lungu for allowing free debate on the eligibility issue and Bill 10. This, he said, was as it should be in a democracy.

And Mr. Haimbe said the PF risked not having a candidate for 2021 presidential elections if the insisted on the candidature of President Lungu.

The UPND member said the opposition party would be so glad to partition President Lungu’s nomination because the incumbent is barred by current law.

Trade Expert Trevor Simumba has predicted that a third force will emerge in Zambian politics If Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND fail to up their game and provide a visionary roadmap towards 2021 elections.

Mr Simumba predicted that a third force will arise in Zambia that will bring together all the disgruntled upright Zambian citizens from progressive members of PF, UPND and MMD if the UPND fails to up its game.

He charged that there is no sane right thinking Zambian today that believes another five years of President Edgar Lungu is the best option for Zambia.

”Everyone agrees he has been the worst President of this country supported by cowardly selfish corrupt Ministers and civil servants that have completely run down the treasury and the economy of Zambia,” Mr Simumba said.

”However, the longer UPND fail to galvanise a new leadership team around HH the more likely we will see a similar movement as we had in 1991 arising from the ashes and choosing a single candidate with the best chance of defeating the incumbent ruling party. You do not need to be a seer I to prophesy.“

He said Zambia is in serious jeopardy and there are many in PF and UPND that see the coming implosion if the country continue on this path.

“I say to those of my friends and relatives especially in the PF remember the courage of the late MCS, get out of your comfort zone and show your patriotism to the nation of Zambia. MMD get back to your ideals and unite for the sake of Zambia.“

Mr Simumba said Zambia needs a credible balancing third force in the country.

“UPND, Zambia needs a vibrant strong opposition that is focused on transforming the lives of all Zambians not just focused on making HH President. We are in deep trouble this is not a time for personal egos it is a time for genuine leadership to rise to the occasion.“

He added, “I know that RB, ABC, VJ, Magande and many other Zambian leaders who I know personally and have discussed issues with them before, are not happy with the current status of Zambia. Only Uncle VJ has spoken publicly the others are still talking quietly at their golf clubs, homes and churches. Stop it. Without real action you will doom this great nation of Zambia to disaster in your lifetime. Come out and speak truth to power.“

”Everyone including his own cadres know that President Lungu has failed and he must bow out peacefully and ensure the Zambian people have a free and fair election to make their choice. We cannot continue in this manner,” he said.

GOVERNMENT Chief Whip Brian Mundubile says whether or not Bill 10 is enacted, President Edgar Lungu is standing in 2021 because he is eligible.

And Mundubile has asked citizens to abandon the debate on President Lungu’s eligibility and concentrate their energies on much more productive things like contributing positively to the development of the country.

In an interview, Mundubile wondered why constitutional lawyer John Sangwa State Counsel was still advancing the same arguments which the Constitutional Court disagreed with during the President’s eligibility case in 2018.

“Those assertions are not true! We all know that the questions of President Lungu’s eligibility were settled in the ConCourt and I think that ruling is out and people can have recourse to it and understand what the Court has said. I think what was an issue that time was whether the time that the President served from the 25th of January, 2015 to September, 2016, as a term. That was what had to be established, and if you look at what was said in that judgement, clearly, that argument was put to rest. So, I don’t think that our focus has been on that particular matter. It, therefore, is not true that we are trying to bring up Bill 10 to make the President eligible when he is not because, according to the ConCourt judgement, he’s actually eligible,” Mundubile argued.

“Allow me to read part of the judgement. It says, ‘…it, therefore, follows that in the current case, the term served, which sits as tried to the pre and post-2016 Constitutional amendments and having looked at the intention of the legislature as we’ve done and the holistic approach we have taken in interpreting Article 106 of the Constitution in its entirety, our answer to the question that we have rephrased is that a Presidential term of office that runs from 25th January, 2015, to 13th September, 2016, and straddled two Constitutional regimes cannot be considered as a full-term…’ So, the question was whether he served a term or not; if he had served a term between 25th January, 2015, and 13th of September, 2016, and coupled with the current term, it means he would have served two terms, in which case he would have been ineligible. Now, the fact that the first question was answered not to be a term, it only goes to show that he has only served one term by the end of this term and, therefore, the Court didn’t even find it necessary to answer the second question. So, maybe that is where senior Counsel (John Sangwa) is trying to confuse people!”

Mundubile asked Sangwa to accept the ConCourt judgement as final and move on from President Lungu’s eligibility, saying there was no need for him to try and appear as a champion at “lesser platforms” when he failed to argue his points in court.

“I think the Court was very clear by the very fact that the Court ruled that the President didn’t serve for a term, it means that, that term doesn’t exist. So, I think there is no need to confuse ourselves on that because if you read the full judgement, you will realize that all the arguments that John Sangwa’s advancing now were also advanced in court and the Court didn’t agree with him. So, I think it’s not exactly prudent for him to find lesser platforms to try and advance the same arguments when you took them to court and the Court didn’t sustain you. You can’t then get the same argument and go to a lesser platform like the media where nobody is going to question you then you become a champion. I think that it was easier to become a champion in court by winning the case. So, when you lose a case and the courts don’t sustain your argument, it’s prudent to just accept and move on,” Mundubile added.

He urged citizens to ignore President Lungu’s eligibility issue and focus on developmental matters.

“If you look at some of these discussions, they’ve overshadowed everything else for the past five years and I think it’s not progressive. Let’s not position ourselves as a people that have nothing to do, people that will just want to pick on dead stories and revive them for purposes of relevance! I think we can be relevant in many other spheres that can contribute to human development. But if we are going to pick on dead topics, topics that have been resolved and want to appear as champions because there is no one to challenge us at that particular platform, I think it won’t help us in any way. I feel that this country is facing a number of challenges where many intelligent Zambians that we have, like State Counsel John Sangwa, can apply their minds and contribute to the development of this country. I think at individual-level, let’s begin to ask ourselves: ‘what am I doing to improve the livelihoods of people even in my private capacity? So that whatever we do every day should point in that direction. But if we are going to employ negative energy day-in, day-out, I think that posterity will judge us. Let’s not forget that our children are watching,” said Mundubile.

The debate on whether President Edgar Lungu qualifies to contest in the 2021 elections has put Zambia’s respect for the rule of law to test, reports Zambian Eye Correspondent.
President Lungu’s Patriotic Front party has resolved to have him as its sole presidential candidate for the much anticipated 2021 polls.

The matter was subject for discussion in a televised programme yesterday (12th March 2020) and constitutional experts unraveled the matter.
During the phone-in session of the programme many callers were asking as to what the country’s constitution say regarding the issue.

Conditional Lawyers maintain that he is no longer eligible, after having had been voted into the office of the president on two occasions.

After the death of President Michael Sata in 2014, Lungu was nominated as the PF Presidential candidate for the 2015 by-elections to determine who would finish off Sata’s term.

He won the election and was sworn into the highest office of the land on 25th January 2015.
He was then elected (again) for a full term in 2016, and assumed office on 13th September 2016.

According to law experts, on the technicality of having had been elected twice, Lungu does not qualify to seek a third term in 2021.
Background of the matter, political commentator Brebner Changala once told a local publication the other day, that the ruling party should search for someone who is eligible to contest in 2021 on its ticket.

He said the PF is misguided in thinking that Lungu qualifies banking their argument on a Constitutional ruling saying the very judgement they are basing on does not clearly states that Lungu is eligible.

According to the judgement whose verdict the PF is basing on, a president may only serve two terms. But, sections of the Constitution state that a third term of less than three years served as stand in president do not amount three terms and only applies to a Vice president who assumes office in an event of a vacancy.

The court could however not give ruling in the case of President Lungu who was not Vice president. It just interpreted what constitutes a term of office. That a person can occupy the office of the president for a period which is less than a full term (less than 3 years) in addition to two full terms.

In that regard, a person can take over an unexpired term and as long as the person do not serve more than three years in that unexpired term, it is not regarded as a full term which applies to the Vice president.

Meanwhile, Constitutional lawyer who has ignite the debate after a ConCourt ruling John Sangwa has maintained that President Lungu does not qualify to stand for another term.
He said Lungu was elected twice to the Presidential office and therefore according to the Constitution, he cannot seek a third term.

“You can’t have a third term, you can’t go for a third term. There is no provision for a third term in our Constitution,” he said during Television discussion where he was hosted together with a PF member who is also a lawyer Kelvin Bwalya Fube.

He urged the Electoral Commission of Zambia to reject Lungu’s nomination papers when he files them seeking to be elected for a third term.

He added that the other way to stop Lungu from contesting is by rejecting Bill 10, this bill has a provision that seeks to repeal the right to challenge the nomination of the Presidential candidate.

Fube who played a big role in Lungu’s election in both 2014 and 2016 also said he does not qualify to contest in 2021. He said LUNGU must think twice and avoid embrassing himself when his papers are rejected in nomination.

Fine who is also running to be adopted by the PF at the convention said there is still room for the party to rebrand by getting a new candidate.

ZCCM-IH chief executive officer Mabvuto Chipata says talks with various companies outside Zambia are at an advanced stage to secure a viable market for the off-take of gold that will be due to be sold.

And Chipata has announced that ZCCM-IH will be offering a competitive price for gold from the local market, pegged at a starting price of K550 per gramme.

Meanwhile, Consolidated Gold Company Limited have invited all interested stakeholders to utilize a new, state-of-the art gold testing laboratory to ascertain the quantity and quality of gold mineral they may have as personal holdings to secure a market and the best possible sale price.

Addressing journalists following a media tour at the Consolidated Gold Company laboratory in Lusaka, Wednesday, Chipata said talks with various companies outside Zambia were at an advanced stage.

He was responding to a question on what progress ZCCM-IH had made in securing a viable market for the off-take of Zambian gold once the company was ready and in a position to commence sales.

“The aspect of off-takers, yes, as you know, as we buy the gold, we will need to sell. So, we are partnering with a number of companies outside Zambia, whom we are talking to already. I think we are near conclusion in terms of contracts for buying. And then, our partnership with Karma Mining, they are experts as well in this market. So, this is work that is ongoing, and we hope that we will be able to close a number of transactions very soon,” Chipata told journalists.

“We are also working with banks in this (gold) project. The whole value chain requires that you start from where you are buying; you need to look at the logistics; you need to look at the security; you need to look at the storage of the gold; the buyer and financing structure…so, this is a big project that we think that all the stakeholders, really, have got a part to play in this process.”

Asked how confident ZCCM-IH was at achieving their projected target of securing 40,000Kgs of gold, or 40 tonnes, in view of the security threats that halted the scoping exercise, Chipata expressed optimism given the progress made so far.

Teams comprising of ZCCM-IH, Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development and the Ministry of Home Affairs personnel were deployed to eight gold mining and panning sites across the country to undertake a scoping exercise, according to Chipata.

The exercise was, however, temporarily halted due to the fragile security situation over the last few weeks following the recent spate of gassing attacks in various areas of the country.

“How confident are we at achieving the target? You will appreciate that this is a project that we are doing for the first time. We know that Kansanshi Mine produces about 4,000-5,000Kgs of gold as we stand. The work we are doing now in terms of exploration will help us ascertain the quantities of gold that are on the ground, particularly, in Mwinilunga area (North-Western Province). In Rufunsa (District) as well, once we start exploration work, we will be able to ascertain the quantities that are there,” he replied.

“The information we have now is based on the information we have informally. So, we think that once we have done exploration work, we will be able to announce how much quantities we will discover in each of the areas as we go on during the year.”

And he announced that ZCCM-IH would be offering a competitive price for gold from the local market, pegged at a starting price of K550 per gramme.

“I must say that so far, our moving into the market to buy the gold, has been received favourably by the artisanal miners. We are offering a competitive price, starting from K550 per gramme, and depending on the purity using thorough technical assaying methods, the price may be higher. Compared to prices found on the ground ranging from K350 to K500, the price range we are offering compares favourably to this, but also to market prices as well, once the purity or gold content is determined,” Chipata announced.

Meanwhile, speaking earlier, Consolidated Gold Company Limited chief executive officer Faisal Keer invited all interested parties to utilize the new, state-of-the-art gold testing laboratory to ascertain the quantity and quality of gold mineral they may have as personal holdings to secure a market and best possible sale price.

“This laboratory is targeted at the operations we are setting up starting with Rufunsa where we are working with small-scale and artisanal miners there from the surrounding area. We have so far invested about US $250,000 in setting up this lab that will be able to process about 30 samples per day. The lab will also be open to the general public for them to come and have their samples tested from here,” said Keer.

“The next step in the project, as you saw, we have procured 10 milling plants to be set-up on the Rufunsa site and also some earth-moving machinery. The gold milling plants have a capacity of processing 30 tonnes per day and will be operational by the first week of April, 2020.”
The media tour was organized as part of efforts to sensitize all stakeholders of progress ZCCM-IH had made in the ongoing gold value chain project.

The company has started buying gold from artisanal and small-scale gold miners as one of the steps towards the formalization of gold mining and trading activities.
ZCCM-IH’s national target for gold from both primary and secondary sources is 40 tonnes or 40,000Kgs.

HOME Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo says it is not up to John Sangwa State Counsel to select who will stand as PF presidential candidate in 2021.

And Kampyongo says belonging to the ruling party is not an insulation from the law, warning those who want to protest against the arrest of a jerabo popularly known as Spax that they will be dealt with.

Meanwhile, Kampyongo says plans to move a motion to impeach Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini are mischievous and will not see the light of day.

Speaking when he featured on PF’s interactive Forum, Sunday, Kampyongo said Sangwa had taken a self-destructive path.

“This kind of hypocrisy must not be tolerated. Because when you get a person who is learned as a lawyer to mislead the nation on such matters, it should not be taken lightly, an ordinary citizen it can be tolerated. In the ConCourt where these matters were deliberated on and decided upon, why does he want to come and create another court in the jungle? And start presenting the same issues that he was presenting when he was representing his colleagues? It is political interest. Learned Counsel Sangwa has taken a self destructive path and I think if we had a credible LAZ, these are matters they should tackle objectively and not selectively and not what their political emotions tell them, that should not be the case,” Kampyongo said.

“If SC Sangwa feels he is more learned, he should go back to court and make his argument because now he is politicking and that is why those of us who are politicians have taken him on. To try and start saying the President is not eligible, it is not his job. If he thinks that we who passed this Constitution do not understand it, it is only him who understands it, and he will be in his own world. All these schemes won’t help them. John Sangwa’s constitutional qualifications and interpretation of the law are his and solely belong to him and his family and his single vote. Mr Sangwa has not right whatsoever to decide who will stand as PF presidential candidate.”

And Kampyongo said there was no way police could have left Chingola residents to continue living in fear when suspects were known.

“I want to supplement the statement that was issued by the Inspector General to those on the Copperbelt and particularly Chingola who are agitating saying they want to protest over the arrest of one of the suspects in Chingola. Just as you thought that that suspect couldn’t be touched, the departure point for us is when someone engages in wrong doing even if they are our relatives, no one will be shielded. There are so sacred cows. The President made this very clear during his address. Party membership is not an insulation against the law. How many times have you heard the police say this murder suspect has murdered this one? Just wait, you will be told. We have to hear the cries of the people. People in Chingola lived in fear, why should we allow people to live in fear when the suspects could be known?” Kampyongo asked.

Meanwhile, Kampyongo said those scheming to impeach Dr Matibini were wasting their time.

“Those attempts to try and suggest that the Speaker must be removed is Brought In Dead (BID), it is a motion we regard as BID…The Speaker is required to make such pronouncements, it is not the first time that he is declaring a seat vacant. The fact that other institutions acted on those pronouncements, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) they must have looked at the various pieces of legislation. So one interpretation must not be the one used to start suggesting and start politicking to say ‘no he exceeded his powers, he should be removed’, not that we are challenging the decision of the Constitutional Court, we are not. But the Speaker’s office is also insulated,” Kampyongo said.

“How many cases have been appealed against? For example, a decision made by the High Court to only be turned down by the Supreme Court, would you say the judge that passed the judgement at the lower court must then be removed from the High Court? How many judges would we have removed? So in making petty and emotional decisions like that cannot be tolerated in the governance system. And so the Speaker stands on firm ground, he has our support and like I have said that motion will not see the light of day because it is frivolous and mischievous…Go and tell those who are scheming that they are wasting time.”

Kampyongo insisted that the UPND MPs would be shocked that the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 10 would pass.

“We are telling them to come on board, they didn’t come on board and some of them have been consistent with their participation in the constitution making process like our colleagues in the UPND, when we teamed up with our colleagues in the MMD and came up with the current constitution, they were still saying it would fail. Because they don’t understand how Parliament works, during the first part of the deliberations, they went celebrating that the constitution has failed. I was deputy chief whip then and I could see that this is what happens when people are ignorant. We stayed through the night and the following day they were shocked that the constitution had passed. And they will still be shocked so it is up to them to redeem themselves this time around. It will still be done,” said Kampyongo.

And speaking during the same forum, Chembe PF member of parliament Sebastian Kopulande said the will of the people expressed in Bill 10 would pass.

“I am confident having sat on the Select Committee that scrutinized Bill 10 and interacted with 87 witnesses, over a period of seven weeks, in 27 meetings, I am confident that the will of the people as expressed in Bill 10 and the amendments that shall come will pass in the House,” said Kopulande.

Outspoken Movement for Multi-Party Democracy Youth Prince Ndoyi has advised Dr. Nevers Mumba to be grateful and stop exhibiting high levels of hatred, envy and jealousy to a man who picked him from the Country’s Political dustbin and made him Ambassador to Canada after being unceremoniously fired by Mwanawasa.

Reacting to Nevers Mumba’s Secretary Winnie Zaloumis who said the former Republican President Rupiah Banda was destabilizing the MMD, Ndoyi said Dr Mumba should desist from using his mouthpieces to attack the former President because when no one was willing to look at him it was Rupiah Banda who gave him a second chance by appointing him Ambassador to Canada.

“After Dr Mumba was fired by President Levy Mwanawasa as Vice President and expelled from the party for gross indiscipline, treachery and disloyalty to appointing authority he became a lepper politically. No one wanted to associate with him, but in 2008 when Mr Rupiah Banda became President of Zambia after the unfortunate demise of President Mwanawasa out of pity and with the help of the likes of Lameck Mangani appointed Nevers Mumba ambassador to Canada giving him a second chance at life. This is a man who was finished politically. Today Nevers Mumba has the audacity to smear insults at a man who recacitated his career and image in society.

“He will submerge and drown in his own hatred. Let him guide his workers the likes of Chitika and Zaloumis to refrain from including Rupiah Banda in thier narrow political rhetorics as that only robs him a chance to be taken seriously in his newly found political space,” he said.

He advised Dr Mumba to advise Ms Chitika and Ms Zaloumisi to refrain from including former President in their political discourse because it will force the youths to react.

“We have warned before and we want to warn him again, if that’s the route he has chosen to villify former President Rupiah Banda, he will force us to take him on politically and sadly he will not recover. Today they have gone on a spineless rampage harrasing everybody for vehicles they know not how they were bought and by who.

“How can a former President whose politically inactive destabilize the MMD. Why has he always lumped his failure to run MMD on an innocent man? Why has he held so much hatred and enmity for a man who picked him from the political dustbin with so much contempt. Let him reflect and desist.

“Instead of seeking retribution he has chosen to be confrontational and that will continue to bury him. Before it was Rupiah Banda and Edgar Lungu have hijacked MMD from me. Now it’s Rupiah Banda again. Let him face his real opponents Raphael Nakacinda, Gaston Sichilima and the group of members across the country,” he said

ZAMBIANS will be better after the PF has left government, says chief Hamusonde.

In an interview chief Hamusonde of Bweengwa, west of Monze, said nearly all sectors of governance have been brutalised by the PF thus making the livelihood of citizens unbearable.

“If you look at the youths, they are a volcano boiling and may soon explode. Signs are already there of this boiling volcano. Look at women; they have been abused left, right and centre making their lives more miserable. The women are being chased even for selling free God-given mushrooms on streets in town. Look at the working society, look at civil servants, they are now scared to even mention their surnames for fear of being transferred or worse fired in the now PF popular ‘national interest’ clause,” he said. “Civil servants can’t even afford to effectively educate their children due to poor salaries. We, in the traditional leadership, have been divided by the PF because as long as you praise sing for President Edgar Lungu or bootlick some PF senior cadre then a GRZ VX lands at a palace with a heavy brown envelope. But I have all hope in that God does not let His people suffer for too long and I see Zambian lives becoming better and more prosperous without the PF in government. I see youths getting more jobs, I see a united and respected traditional leadership that will be empowered to help develop rural Zambia and the agriculture sector.”

Hamusonde (r) added that rural Zambia has vast potential but has been ignored by the PF which has turned some traditional leaders into beggars.

“Let them (PF) not get me wrong. I don’t hate them, there are some good leaders in that party but it’s the corruption that I hate, it’s the corrupt that I hate and I want all well-meaning Zambians to do the same for the sake of our children and posterity,” he said.

Hamusonde called on youths to resist being used by what he described as evil politicians who only reward them with beer after using them as tools of violence.

“As you celebrate your day (Youth Day) please say no to those who want to divide you against your own brothers and sisters on tribal lines. Say no to those evil politicians who just give you beer to gas or hack another innocent soul. We are all one and let’s remain so,” said Hamusonde.

When the UPND and other progressive citizens and organisations called on President Edgar Lungu to tame his violent Patriotic Front cadres as they were a danger to the rule of law, he accused us of being bitter and ignored our cry.

When we told Edgar Lungu to start by taking punitive action against his own violent cadres, his cabinet ministers and party officials pointed an accusing finger at the UPND as being violent.

When the Zambia police took action against PF cadres that created confusion in the Sesheke by-election, President Edgar Lungu reacted by firing the police officers that maintained law and order, thus instilling fear in the men and women in uniform.

When we advised President Edgar Lungu and the PF that they were creating a monster that would one day come to bite them, they did not listen but instead encouraged the gun culture among PF cadres.

When the UPND and other progressive citizens and institutions advised the Zambia Police to arrest the thugs that attacked an audience that was debating constitutional amendments at Hotel intercontinental, we were told there was no complainant in the case.

The fights that the nation witnessed during the youth day celebrations in Lusaka between rival PF gangs right in the presence of President Edgar Lungu ,his cabinet ministers and service chiefs just goes to prove our fears right that President Lungu has lost grip of not only his own party but also the security of the nation.

Those clashes in the presence of the Republican President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces only proves beyond reasonable doubt the UPND’s fears that law and order has completely broken down.

We demand henceforth that President Edgar Lungu wakes up from his slumber before his own violent youths place our peace and national security at risk.

Yesterday’s confusion rests right on the President’s back and we expect to see action from him.We expect nothing but either action against police top brass or arrest of the PF violent cadres.

This is unheard of in our country and we demand for immediate action before Zambians lose complete confidence in the man they call their President.

We cannot have cadres shedding blood in the presence of President Lungu and not even a single arrest made. This is absurd and a sign that indeed the police are afraid of the cadres. The police say that they are carrying out investigations. What furthermore investigations does Police Commissioner Nelson Phiri want to carry out when the crime was committed right in their faces. We demand for order and a return to normalcy in our country.

(c) UPND MEDIA TEAM

By Anthony Bwalya – UPND Member

For the record, the regime should either present Spax before the courts or release him.

This is the arbitrary application of the law we have always condemned. The same brutality they applied against Mr. Hakainde Hichilema is the same brutality they are applying against Kabaso Mulenga.

I have a lot of sympathies for Kabaso SPAX Mulenga. I also have a lot of sympathies for many intelligent, enterprising, hardworking young men like him, who push the boundaries of limitations to build a life for themselves and their families.

For the record, Spax and many youths like him are victims of the brutality of the failed leadership of the Patriotic Front. The PF always knew, that youths on the Copperbelt were always going to demand a fair share of the spoils of the earth in that region, and that they were never going to stand and watch corrupt government politicians plunder our national resources while they continued begging for handouts.

That is how they demanded for the #BlackMountain to be given to them, even without the most basic legal protections.

Spax and the youths on the Copperbelt, Chingola and Kitwe to be specific, knew, that because of their appetite for corruption, the PF leadership would always play ball over the Black Mountain.

If the PF had not given Spax and the youths on the Copperbelt, permission to work with the Black Mountain, these youths by now, could have erupted and demanded for their removal from power. These youths could never have stood by and watched the plunder of national resources by PF officials while they got nothing.

In other words, Black Mountain was a bribe to keep the youths silent as government officials stole on a grand scale.

The PF cannot remain in power without the support of Spax and his team. And they know it.

Except now, the PF have amassed too much money from numerous acts of grand, politically motivated corruption, that they now think they can dispense with Spax and the “Jerabos” on the Copperbelt.

This is why the regime can now afford to arrest and detain Spax. The PF do not feel they need Spax anymore.

In the months ahead, the regime, in an attempt to strengthen it’s grip on power, will try and neutralize the command of people like Spax and his team.

But this will also give the youths on the Copperbelt, an opportunity to see that they have been used and played by the regime.

There are members of the regime who want a piece of the Black Mountain. But before they can lay their hands on it, they must first neutralize Spax.

The problem here is not Spax. The problem is the regime.

Minister of Tourism and Pambashe Member of Parliament is, allegedly on behalf of his constituency, petitioning the ruling Patriotic Front’s highest organ, the Central Committee, to open the party’s Presidential Nominations in the month of May for only a period of 30 days so that the party can easily identify those that are opposed to the sole candidacy of the incumbent President Edgar Lungu and only for a period of 30 DAYS

Speaking at the Lusaka Patriotic Front Youth Rally, Thursday, Mr. Chitotela petitioned the Central Committee, through the Deputy Secretary-General Mrs. Mumbi Phiri, to open and close the Presidential nominations way ahead of schedule of the 10th to 12th July 2020 PF General Conference, adding that the opening up will allow the party to know who is behind Lusaka Lawyer and State Counsel John Sangwa’s push to take President Lungu’s eligibility issue to the constitutional court.

Mr. Chitotela said that the opening up of nominations is the only way the party can cleanse itself against those working to undermine the 2021 candidature of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

“I am a bearer of a message from the Patriotic people of Pambashe who have asked me to deliver their message. There is no way you can allow the PF Presidential Nominations to open and close during the General Conference. How else would you expose those who are working with Sangwa(po) to undermine the candidature of His Excellency, President Edgar Chagwa Lungu,” said Hon Chitotela.

“If there is a man the entire opposition in Zambia is afraid of facing in the Ballot, it is President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. And that is why they are working to question his 2021 candidature because had he been a weaker opponent, they would have ignored him all the way to the Ballot. They are very scared! And that is why we should expose them before the General Conference.”

However, Ruling PF deputy secretary-general Mumbi Phiri has said that even those who will declare presidential interests at the 11th hour are free to challenge Presidency Edgar Lungu for the party leadership at the general conference.

Speaking to the media, Ms Phiri said those wishing to challenge President Lungu would not be harassed at the conference. She said, for now, she was not aware of anyone that had expressed interest to challenge the President, but even last-minute announcements would still be welcome.

“It’s their democratic right whether they show interest in the 11th hour, that is their democratic right because the convention doesn’t stipulate as to when you could.

NOMINATION CLAUSE VS IMMUNITY CLAUSE: APPENDING CONSTITUTION CHALLENGE AND DEBATE AHEAD OF 2021 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

WHEN we say our Constitution has so many manipulative gaps in favour of the incumbent and that NDF was a kids’ play, others call us names.

If truly NDF was there to refine the 2016 Constitution and not to incorporate and insulate their interests, such glaring and observable lacunae would not have been left unattended to.

Our Constitution seems to suggest that it is easier to challenge a non sitting president’s nomination than a sitting President who remains President and enjoys immunity even during the nomination period.

For instance Art 52 (4) allows “a person to challenge, before a court the nomination of a candidate within seven days of the close of nominations and the court shall hear the case within 21 days of its lodgement”.

This means that any presidential candidate who files in his/her nominations papers before the Returning Officer can be challenged/sued in the courts of law should any person feel that their nomination is undesirable or the nominee does qualify.

However, Art 98 (1) seems to exempt a sitting/incumbent President from this court challenge.

It guides that ” a person shall not institute civil proceedings against the President or person performing executive functions, as provided in Art 109, in respect anything done or omitted to be done by the President or that person in their private capacity during the tenure of Office as President”.

This is so because Art 106 (2) dictates that “a President (incumbent) shall hold office from the date the President-elect is sworn into office and ending on the date the next President-elect is sworn into office.”

Art 106(2) suggests that the incumbent President continues to be President and enjoys immunity against any lawsuit be it civil or criminal and any court case against him/her triggers the provisions of Art 98 (1).

With the pending nomination challenge against the incumbent President over his eligibility question, isn’t this another area of debate in our country?

To worsen the matters, Bill 10, which intends to repeal Art 52 and remove the nomination challenge clause, is not the panacea to this pending Constitution confusion.

Zambia therefore needs a constitution overhaul to reposition our constitution again.

Let us wait and see how the legal minds will lockhorns at the right time over this issue. This is food for thought for all Zambians.

I submit

By McDonald Chipenzi
Electoral Expert

Constitutional Lawyer and former Justice Minister Dr Rodger Chongwe State Counsel says it is pointless to have a lawyer President who can neither interpret the law nor take advice from his Attorney General.

And Chongwe says Zambia does not belong to President Lungu or his father for him to disregard the Constitution and wish to stay in power beyond what the law dictates.

In this verbatim interview, Dr Chongwe expresses disappointment that President Lungu’s interpretation of the law “is rotten”.

He further wonders why people should be fighting over the President’s eligibility when the Constitution was very clear that a person who has twice been elected President and has also held office twice cannot be sworn in for the third time.

Asked about the Constitutional Court ruling which is argued to have declared President Lungu eligible, Dr Chongwe said sometimes, what comes out of the Constitutional Court is “rubbish” because judges are just humans who can make mistakes.

Below is the full interview with Dr Chongwe:

LUNGU’S ELIGIBILITY IN 2021

John Sangwa explained, didn’t he? Even Elias Chipimo explained what the position is. And the position is that our President has been twice elected as President. And the Constitution says if you have been twice elected President, you cannot again seek re-election. He has had his stay in power as President of the Republic of Zambia twice. The men and women who are saying that he is not fit to stand are not saying that the PF cannot field another person to stand for presidency in 2021, they are just saying that for the election next year, our current President who has held the presidency since 2015 does not have the capacity in law to stand for the Office of President. And that has nothing to do with whether he has performed well or he has performed badly, it is just that the law in this country says ‘ if you have twice been elected, you have twice held the office of the President, you cannot hold it for the third time. It is not because anybody hates Mr Lungu, there is no hatred here for anybody. We are talking about the law that is there, which is the Constitution of this country.

THE CONCOURT RULING

You can’t say ‘because the Constitutional Court said something like this then it means something different’, no! Judges make mistakes, don’t they? They misread the words in the Constitution. The Constitutional Court, there are a lot of things they say which are rubbish. They also make mistakes. They can overlook things. And the Constitution is very clear; if you read the explanation given by Elias Chipimo, it is clear that our current President is not competent at law, does not qualify to stand for elections next year. I am not saying this because I am not a member of the PF, or because I am a member of the party which may be against Mr Lungu, no! I am saying this after looking at the Constitution itself.

ANOTHER PF CANDIDATE

Why should it worry Mr Lungu? If Mr Lungu thinks he is going to win elections next year as a candidate on the ticket of PF, anybody else who stands on the ticket of PF, whether it is [Chitalu] Chilufya, whether it is [Kelvin] Fube, whether it is anybody else, if the performance of the PF has been good as far as the electorates in Zambia are concerned, they will elect him as the next President under the banner of PF. Nobody in this country says the PF should not stand for office next year.

Is President Edgar Lungu telling me that he is the only competent person in the PF today who can stand for presidency? There are others who can stand and maybe win. Let us look at the Constitution. There are so many competent people in the party who would like to be President of Zambia. There is no need for Mr Lungu to insist that he should stand even when the Constitution says no. Even his Vice-President can stand. He has got many ministers who can stand. He can give it to [Prof Nkandu] Luo if he wants. Why not? Beve yayi chasila (It is over for him). Mr Lungu, you have stood for the office twice. You mean everyone in the PF has died and there is no one who has capacity to stand?

LUNGU FAILING TO TAKE ADVICE
Don’t make us look stupid and waste our time to talk about rubbish and nonsense. Our current President does not qualify under the Constitution which is there. Let us not waste time over someone who has already been President twice, and he will still be President up to next year. What is his problem? Wasting people’s time to talk about nothing. Let us quarrel about how we are going to run our country, how we should respect the laws of this country, how we should make sure our people have access to jobs. Right now, our people are saying there are no jobs. Please!

Nobody in this country is above the Constitution, Mr Lungu included. And in any case, he will be there to advise the new president on how to run the country. It is pointless to have a person who is a lawyer and doesn’t want to take advice from his Attorney General, officials in the Attorney General’s office or even from me who has been a Ministry of Justice who brought about political pluralism in this country. In 1990, when we were saying to President Kaunda that we want a change from one state system to a multi- party system, we were not talking against President Kaunda, we were talking about change of our Constitution to allow competition.

ZAMBIA DOESN’T BELONG TO LUNGU

Kodi a Lungu, Mulungu ananena kuti muzankala President wamuyayaya? Dziko ino ana pangila Lungu? Niya atate babo ino dziko? (Did God say President Lungu should rule forever? Was this country made for him? Is this his father’s country?) Muzibauza muchinyanja (tell him in vernacular) if he doesn’t understand English, yet he is a lawyer.

Dr Kaunda was President for 27 years. We never had a problem of the magnitude that we have now under Mr Lungu. Sitifuna ndeo muno, sitifuna nkhondo. Kuya bebele. (We do not want fights, we don’t want war. He has to go). A Lungu has been there twice elected. Chaba kanga ku running’a dziko lino. Anthu ananjala, baliye nchito lomba chamene afunila kuti awelele soti nichinji? Tiliye chakulya, ma bridge akuya, ukawalala wapaka mu boma yake. Awisi Tasila chokaniponi. (He has failed to run the country. People are hungry, bridges are being washed away, theft has increased in his government. Why does he want to run for office again? No, Tasila’s father, step aside).

There is a life anybody can live after being President. A Rupiah sibenze aPresident si apa tuyenda nao mu Cairo Road? A Kaunda sibenze aPresident? Ni same na Lungu, he will come to size noyenda mu musebo ngati seo mu Cairo Road. And we will have a cup of coffee with him as a friend. (Wasn’t Rupiah Banda a President? Aren’t we walking with him in Cairo Road? Wasn’t Kaunda a president? He is no longer one. It is same with President Lungu, we will be meeting in Cairo Road).

Tikoyambana chi document chilipo? A lungu ni a lawyer siteti? Lomba wu lawyer wabo uchita kwati niwo sasa. (Why should we be fighting when the document (Constitution) is there? Isn’t the President a lawyer? His understanding of the law is rotten). The constitution is saying “twice elected”, if we allow him we will actually be committing an offence.

HE HAS FAILED TO RUN THE COUNTRY

Even kuti tichite nabo chifundo, bana basu sanga lute ku sikulu, university lecturers are not being paid. Everything is falling into pieces. Beve bakamba nifuna ku nkala pali uPresident. Nkoyani mukapumule, ntawi yakwana. Achokepo awisi Tasila. (Even if we sympathize with him, our children are not going to school. He is still insisting to stand. Go and rest)!

Not that we hate him. If he wants us to change the Constitution, let us change the Constitution so that he can do what he wants, but for now, the Constitution is not talking about the term, it’s talking about “twice, elected twice”. Mubauze a Lungu kapena afuna muka bapaseko narrations on Constitutional law. Otumvwisha nsoni seo tefuma ku Chipata kuti tili na mwana waku Chipata ni President koma soziba malamulo ( Tell him maybe he needs lessons on narration in Constitutional law. He is embarrassing us from Chipata. We are proud that we have a son who is a President but he doesn’t know how to interpret the law).

It’s better kusiya chipuna naulemu ( It is better to leave the presidency in a respectable manner). He is going to be disgraced. He is far much better to obey the law. And in any case, he will be giving chance to his political party. His attitude is not good for the party. It is ruining the chances that PF has to offer to this country. -ND

By Agness Changala-Katongo

Copperbelt based businessman popularly known as ‘Spax’ has told the Lusaka High Court that police is abusing its powers by continously detaining him without being charged for any offence.

The suspect whose real names are Baba Mulenga Kabaso revealed that the police has still not charged him with any offence since he was apprehended in Chingola on February 26, 2020, but only informed him that he was being investigated over the murder of Emmanuel Mapunda Chibwe.

According to exparte summons for grant of leave to issue writ of habeas corpus filed in the Lusaka High Court, Kabaso stated that after he was apprehended and taken to Lusaka’s Chelstone Police before he was moved to Chilenje and later Ibex Police where he is currently detained.

He stated that while there, no one was allowed to see him and was equally not allowed to talk to any of his lawyers until February 29, 2020, when he was taken into the CIO ‘s office for the purpose of administering a warn and caution statement on suspicions of the murder of a Mr Emmanuel Mapunda Chibwe.

He stated that while in the CIO’ s office, he was advised that he was still being investigated in relation to a case of murder and use of military combat without authority.

“After warn and caution, I was not charged with any offence but was transferred to Chilenje Police Station and further transfered to Ibex Hill Police where I have been since kept without being charged with any offence,” he stated.

Kabaso submitted that the police had informed him that he would not be released until further notice as they are still carrying out investigations and that they have not yet formulated the charge.

“I do verily believe that the second respondent or its servants or agents is vindictive and abusing their powers by declining to release me or charging me and taking me before a competent court because from the time of my arrest and detention, that is Wednesday 26th February, 2020, I have not been charged and /or presented before a court of law to any charge,” he stated.

Kabaso stated that his continued detention without being charged was not only unjustified but also unlawful as it was unconstitutional in that his fundamental and conotational guaranteed rights to freedom and liberty were being blantly violated and unfairly prejudiced.

Kabaso stated that all attempts to have the matter taken to court had been futile as the police insisted that he would remain in custody.

He complained that since detention and before being taken to court, a number of false statements had been issued in various media which keep tarnishing his good reputation.

“The false statements are causing injustice and prejudice to me as I am being prosecuted through the media, thereby likely to cause people to have falsified views of my detention. I crave this honourable court indulgence in granting me leave to issue a writ of Habeas Corpus as my continued stay in police cells not only infrige my Constitutional right but also affects the lives of many thousands of workers who solely depend on me on a daily basis for their livelihood,” he stated.” The granting of leave herein will serve the interest of the course of justice as I am currently detained beyond the time limits provided for by law and there is no legal basis upon which I am still being kept in custody. “

UPND Mazabuka Central member of parliament Garry Nkombo says the PF are delaying to present the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 10 in Parliament because they are struggling to get the needed numbers for it to pass.

And Alliance for Community Action (ACA) executive director Laura Miti says President Edgar Lungu should exercise sobriety in the constitution making process.

During his address to Parliament, Friday, President Lungu said those who will not participate in the Constitution making process should not blame those who will do it on their behalf.

However, Nkombo said President Lungu should pray hard to find weak souls in the opposition who will support Bill 10 because the ruling party is currently battling to get the needed numbers.

“If they think they have packaged this Constitution to the best interest of the Zambians, why are they [delaying] to bring it on the floor of the House? Why are they postponing it? Why are they frightened? Because they are busy trying to cut corners to lure people, coerce people and the representatives of the people are also on red alert. We are aware of maybe one or two that have fallen prey to the PF process but it doesn’t change much for us because we know that in our current state, we cannot award PF the numbers to do what they want to do,” Nkombo said.

He said President Lungu had been “consistently inconsistent” in the way he wished to see the constitution amendment process proceed.

“If you recall in the October address to the nation, just prior to the budget
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, his words were ‘whether they like it or not, we ourselves are going to go through’ because he was thinking that they will manage to gunner the numbers that they require. In as far as we are concerned, our position has been consistently consistent, that we are not part and parcel of that process, we have not [been] part and parcel from the beginning. We don’t see how we can be part and parcel at the tail end,” said Nkombo.

“Let him pray to his God that as they have been trying, there will be some weak souls that they will manage to get but it is a long throw. It will not yield anything and the big question that one really wants to ask when you hear a statement like that is to find out from President Lungu who tells him he will be in government one year later? So how does he know he will not be the one crying to the new government? Because they will be a new government…”

And Miti said the Constitution belongs to the Zambian people and President Lungu must approach the constitution-making process with soberness.

“The President has consistently made statements that suggest he is of the view that the constitution is a document of contestation and power play. The constitution belongs to the people of Zambia and not to the President or his perceived enemies. He needs to be sober in the way he approaches it. Further, in his address, the President cherry-picked clauses that he claims are the reason that Bill 10 should pass, completely leaving out all the poisonous provisions for which the document should be thrown out. It is because of such bad will that Zambians say ‘hands off our constitution’, ” said Miti. -ND

LAFARGE Zambia yesterday handed over the Musamba bus stop worth more than K 150,000 to Chilanga District Council. The idea to build a bus stop and shelter was realized after Lafarge conducted a road safety audit which revealed that there was a need for a bus stop at Musamba junction, as having no bus stop posed a risk to the general public and school children.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the Chilanga Plant Manager Mr. James Kirkpatrick said Health and Safety is Lafarge Zambia’s core value. That means in everything the company does, be it plant operations, on the road and in the community; Lafarge considers health and safety first.

“The bus stop will help the flow of traffic for Musamba and Kafue road users, as well as allow buses to safely stop at the bus stop, unlike before, where the drivers had to stop their vehicles on the side of the road, which was unsafe”, He said.

Mr. Kirkpatrick further said the bus stop was fully funded by Lafarge at a cost of one hundred and fifty five thousand Kwacha (155,000) and constructed by a local contractor Hanex Engineering. The bus shelter consists of a concrete lay by, curb stones, shelter and branding.

Mr. Kirkpatrick also said that the bus stop was evidence that Lafarge Zambia truly cares about the communities and the welfare of the people within our communities.

Receiving the bus stop on behalf of the Chilanga District Council, the Chilanga District Commissioner Mrs Edith Muwana, said she was happy with the strong commitment that Lafarge Zambia continues to create in the community through sharing best practices not only with employees, but more so, with the many stakeholders that the company interfaces with such as Government.

“I am reliably informed that last year, you recorded Zero incidents on the road and in your Plants. This is commendable! Health and Safety remains the Government’s top agenda item, as every month, around 130 people die on our roads. This bus stop will help reduce the pedestrians and motor vehicle conflict which has been happening at Musamba all along. By doing so, we can be rest assured of achieving Zero harm as a country” she said.

Mrs Muwana further called upon other stakeholders to emulate this great initiative by Lafarge.

“Today our district is growing and it is through such initiatives that we will grow the district together as a community, without looking at government initiatives alone. As Government, may I state that Lafarge Zambia’s contribution to road safety cannot be underestimated, Said Mrs Muwana.

This is according to press statement issued by
Communications Department at Lafarge Zambia Plc.

CONSTITUTIONAL Lawyer John Sangwa State Counsel says Constitutional Court judges and President Edgar Lungu acted corruptly by offering and accepting job offers for positions they do not qualify.

In an interview, Sangwa expressed concern that the Constitution Court itself was incompetent to interpret the Constitution because all the judges remain unqualified to hold their positions.

Sangwa argued that President Lungu already negotiated his eligibility to stand in 2021 when he appointed an unqualified bench of judges to the ConCourt.

“Lungu was smart, he dribbled the Zambians. He dribbled us, and this is what I was saying, the ConCourt is a rubber stamp. How did Lungu achieve that? By appointing people that are not qualified, he put them there, simple! It’s like in any other position, you get someone who is not qualified and you put them there, do you think that person will make any ruling against you? They will never because they know that they are not qualified and if they make noise, they may be fired. And for a person who has no experience to accept to do a job which he doesn’t know, it means that they are very desperate,” Sangwa argued.

“So this is why I am saying Lungu dribbled us. Those guys [at the Constitutional Court] are literary in his pocket. They will never rule against him. Our only hope is when Lungu files his nomination within few months before the elections. At that point maybe the judges may be less scared of being impartial.

He charged that appointing people who did not qualify to serve as ConCourt judges was tantamount to corruption, just like it was corruption for those people to accept positions they knew they did not qualify for.

“When you don’t qualify for a position and you accept it, that’s corruption already. You put me in a position that I don’t have qualifications for, you have bribed me. Do you think I can be able to stand up against you? Because you know that you have done me a favour and I know it, I know that I don’t qualify but I have still accepted. So what it means is that both Lungu and judges of the Constitutional Court both broke the law and that is corruption because when you take up a position you have not qualified for, the person appointing you has bribed you and you the person accepting the appointment, you are accepting a bribe,” Sangwa said.

“If you have never done Constitutional law in your life then you are not qualified, so when you take up a position in the Constitutional Court, that’s a bribe! You must have served for 15 years at the bar to be able to qualify. You must have been a legal practitioner and you must have done some work in the area of Constitutional law. You need expertise, it’s not just every lawyer that can work as Constitutional Court judge, no! They require experience there because it’s a special court. But none of [ the current judges at the ConCourt] has the qualifications, none of them qualify and none of them has ever rebutted that. I have never received a rebuttal telling me to say I am lying and that they are qualified, nobody has ever challenged me on that.”

Sangwa emphasised that graduating from law school does not qualify a lawyer to be a judge.

“You know what used to happen? A guy would get admitted today, becomes a lawyer and what happens? He goes and runs a supermarket for 15 years and then he comes back and says ‘because I have clocked 15 years as a lawyer, now I am entitled to become a judge’, but what have you done in between? You were running a supermarket, but what has that experience of running a supermarket got to do with sitting on the bench? Nothing! But this used to happen. That’s when they changed the law to say you must have been a legal practitioner for 15 years. You must have practiced, go to America, go to UK, they take lawyers that have practiced. But how do you put someone who has never prosecuted a case to be a judge? Someone who has never argued a case in court! Look at the ConCourt judges, all those people, they’ve never argued cases in the court room, never! All those! So how do you run a court when you have had no experience how cases are argued before a judge?” wondered wondered.

“So the reason we emphasise practice is because you are just flipping the coin on the other side. But these guys have no coin to flip. If you have never settled a statement of claim in your life, how can you tell me that this is a statement of claim? It’s like you, you’ve been writing articles, you’ve been a journalist all your life. Now since you have learnt the art of writing, you can graduate to become an editor. Even if I graduated from journalism school, I cannot tell you how to edit because I have no experience in writing.”

By John Sangwa

These are Constitutional Judges qualifications,

*MRS JUSTICE ANNE MWEWA SITALI*
CV. Hon. Mrs Justice Anne Mwewa-Sitali as Judge of the Constitutional. The Nominee was admitted to the Bar 1987, and practised law initially as Legal Aid Counsel from 1987 until 1988. The Nominee then joined the Attorney General’s Chambers in 1989, where the Nominee served in various capacities until 2001, when the Nominee took up the position of Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel. If the years spent at Legal Aid are taken into account, the Nominee may be said to have practised law for a period of 14 years (from 1987 to 2001), which is still below the period specified in Article 141 of the Constitution. Furthermore, DURING THE PERIOD IN ISSUE THE NOMINEE DID NOT PROSECUTE OR DEFEND ANY CASE IN THE AREA OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OR HUMAN RIGHTS LAW. The Nominee did not disclose in the CV, the cases prosecuted or defended in the area of constitutional law or human rights. Even the perusal of the Zambia Law Reports for the period revealed no constitutional law or human rights law case that was prosecuted or defended by the Nominee. The Nominee lacks both the fifteen years’ experience as legal practitioner and specialized training or experience inhuman rights or constitutional law. The Nominee does not therefore qualify for appointment as Judge of the Constitutional Court.

*HONORABLE MRS. JUSTICE MUGENI SIWALE-MULENGA* DEPUTY PRESIDENT The Nominee was admitted to the Bar in 1995, having graduated from the School of Law of the University of Zambia, in 1994.The Nominee holds a Master of Laws Degree, which is neither in constitutional law nor human rights law. Soon after admission to the Bar, the Nominee joined the Attorney General’s Chambers where the Nominee occupied the position of State Advocate and later as Senior State Advocate. The Nominee practiced law for a period of two years in the Civil Litigation and Debt Collection Department from 1995 to 1997. There is no evidence that during this period the Nominee prosecuted or defended any case, in the area of constitutional law or human rights law. Between 1997 and 2000, the Nominee served in the Attorney General’s Chambers in the International Law and Agreements Department. The Nominee’s work involved negotiating local and multilateral agreements on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Zambia. For the period of nine years, from 2000 to 2009, the Nominee was the Secretary to the National Water and Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO), where the Nominees’ responsibilities did not involve any court work, but providing secretarial and legal advisory services to the Council. For a brief period, 2009 to 2010, the Nominee served as Acting Director of NWASCO. The Nominee has only practiced law for a period of two years whilst in the Attorney General’s Chambers, a period which is way short of what is stipulated in Article 141 of the Constitution. The Nominee has no special training or experience in human rights law or constitutional law. The Nominee is therefore not a suitable candidate for appointment as Judge, let alone as Deputy President of the Constitutional Court.

*PROFESSOR MULELA MARGARET MUNALULA*

The Nominee was admitted to the Bar in 1982. According to the CV, the Nominee’s court experience is limited to two years spent as Resident Magistrate, though the exact period is not specified in the CV. Thereafter the Nominee spent six years as a Senior Legal Officer in the employ of Development Bank of Zambia and Lima Bank and the Nominee’s responsibilities were limited to drafting loan agreements and security documents. Thereafter the Nominee has taught law for the past 26 years. There is also no evidence of the Nominee having any experience in constitutional law or human rights law. The Nominee has never practiced law. There is no basis for appointing the Nominee to the Constitutional Court.

*LADY JUSTICE HILDAH CHIBOMBA* – PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT
According to the CV, the Nominee was admitted to the Bar in 1982. For a period of four years (1982-1986), the Nominee served as a Resident Magistrate at Kitwe and Lusaka. Between 1986 and 1989, the Nominee served as a Senior Resident Magistrate. The Nominee’s only stint as a legal practitioner started when the Nominee joined the Ministry of Justice and this was only for a period of four years. Between 1989 and 1990, the Nominee served as Assistant Senior State Advocate, in Civil Litigation. Between 1990 and 1993, the Nominee rose to the position of and served as Senior State Advocate. This marked the end of the Nominee’s career as a legal practitioner. Perusal of the Zambia Law Reports for the period revealed no case that was prosecuted or defended by the Nominee. Thereafter, for a period of four years from 1993 to 1997, the Nominee assumed the position of Principal State Advocate in charge of International Law and Agreements Department, in the Ministry of Justice, which position did not include court work. The Nominee joined the Judiciary as a Judge of the High Court on 1st October 1997 and in 2009, the Nominee was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court. The Nominee only practiced law for a period of four years, which is far less than the fifteen year period stipulated in Article 141 of the Constitution. There is equally nothing in the Nominee’s CV, which shows that the Nominee has specialized training or experience in human rights law or constitutional law. Similarly, there is nothing in the Nominee’s CV, which shows that during the time the Nominee practiced law, the Nominee dealt with any case, which arose in the area of constitutional law or human rights. The Nominee does not qualify for appointment as President or Judge of the Constitutional Court.

*AMBASSADOR PALAN MULONDA*
The Nominee was admitted to the Bar in 1995, and joined the Ministry of Justice in 1996, where he served as Assistant Senior State Advocate involved in Civil Litigation and International Legal Agreements until 2000. Between 2000 and 2003, the Nominee served a Deputy Director responsible for Human Rights and Treaties in the Attorney General’s Chambers. According to the Nominee’s CV, the Nominee IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN A PARTNER IN THE LAW FIRM CALLED PALA N & GEORGE BETWEEN 2003 AND 2006. Thereafter the Nominee joined the School of Law of the University of Zambia where he is said to have lectured and tutored in Constitutional Law and Administrative Law. Between 2009 and 2012, the Nominee served as Director of the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE). The Nominee has been Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States since 2012. The Nominee does not mention any case that he has prosecuted in the area of constitutional law or human rights law whilst at the Attorney General’s Chambers or while he served as a Partner in the firm of Palan & George. The Nominee lacks both the requisite number of years as a legal practitioner as well as experience in constitutional law and human rights law matter.

SPAX Sues The Attorney General And The Zambia Police Service In The Lusaka High Court.

Chingola small scale miner Kabaso Mulenga popularly known as Spax who has been in police custody since February 26 without charge has applied for leave in the Lusaka High Court that a habeas corpus be issued for his release or appearance in court.

Mr. Mulenga has sued the Attorney General and the Zambia Police Service through his lawyers Freddie and Company of Kitwe and Iven Mulenga and Company of Lusaka, seeking the grant of leave to issue habeas corpus, saying his constitutional rights against unlawful detention have been breached and will continue to be infringed.

He has said it is only fair and just that a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum be issued forthwith to secure his protection under the law.

He stated that he was apprehended on February 26 by police officers in Chingola who identified themselves as crime one police officers from Lusaka and was brought to Lusaka on the same day and detained at Chelstone Police Station.

Mr. Mulenga stated that whilst at Chelstone Police, he was kept in a cell throughout and no one was allowed to see him and he was equally not allowed to talk to his advocates until Saturday, February 29 when he was taken to the Criminal Investigations Officer’s office for purposes of administering a warn and caution statement on suspicion of murder of a Mr. Emmanuel Mapunda Chibwe.

He said he was also advised that he was being investigated in relation to a case of murder and use of military combat without authority.

Mulenga stated that after the warn and caution was administered, he was not charged with any offence but was transfered from Chelstone police to Chilenje police before being taken to Ibex Hill police station where he has been kept without being charged with any offence.

He stated that he was informed that he cannot be released by the police until further notice as they are still carrying out investigations and that they have not yet formulated the charge.

“I have been prosecuted through the media, thereby, likely to cause people to have falsified view of my detention and I crave this honourable court’s indulgence in granting me leave to issue a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum as my continued stay in police cells not only infringes my constitutional rights but also affects the lives of many thousands of workers who solely depend on me on a daily basis for their livelihood. The granting of leave herein will serve the interest of the course of justice as I am currently detained beyond the time limits provided by law and there is no legal basis upon which I am still being kept in custody,” Mr. Mulenga stated.

Renowned lawyer Elias Chipimo has simplified the eligibility puzzle for President Edgar Lungu saying he has held office twice so can’t run in 2021 polls.

In his article on the debate, Chipimo explains in simple way the two articles being advanced by the anti and pro Lungu’s third term.

The expressions “term of office” and “hold office” (or “held office“) do not mean the same thing.

By Elias Chipimo Jr

Introduction

There is a heated debate over whether President Edgar Lungu can run for president in 2021, having already been elected to this office twice – the first time in 2015 (when he served out the remainder of Michael Sata’s term in accordance with the pre-amended constitution) and again in 2016 (following the general election). The President’s strongest detractors believe that any attempt to justify a further term is a recipe for anarchy and are calling for fire and brimstone responses. I believe there is a calm and rational approach to this matter and I take a leaf from President Lungu himself who has expressed his opinion on the issue and suggested that those who feel differently should take the matter to the Constitutional Court.

The Argument

Those supporting the President’s position appear to rely primarily on the provisions of Article 106(6)(b) of the amended constitution. Their argument can be summarized as follows:

Although Article 106(3) prevents a person who has twice held the office of President from standing again for that office, there is an exemption under Article 106(6)(b) that would make President Lungu eligible to run again. Article 106(6)(b) states that a person who was elected to the office of President shall only be deemed to have served a “term” if he served for three or more years. President Lungu only served for 18 months and did not therefore complete a “term” Under Article 106(1) of the constitution, a term of office lasts 5 years.

To try and settle this matter, we can ask two questions, the answers to which would have to be “yes” in at least one instance in order for President Lungu to qualify to stand again for an election:

Was President Lungu elected into office in 2015, as a result of the existing Vice President being unable to automatically assume the office of President”?
Do the words “hold office” and “held office” in Article 106(2) and (3) mean the same thing as “term of office” in Article 106(1)?
Response to Question 1

In order to qualify under Article 106(6)(b), President Lungu would have to have been elected as a result of the person who would immediately have assumed the office of president (following the death of Mr. Sata) being unable to do so. This was not the case. Elections in 2015 were not held because there was no immediate successor eligible to automatically assume the office of president; they were held because the constitution required a fresh presidential election, regardless of availability of a suitable successor.

To put this response another way, for a person to qualify for the exemption under Article 106(6)(b), that person has to have been elected to the office of president as a result of an election held in accordance with Article 106(5)(b) – an election resulting from the fact that the Vice Presidential running mate could not immediately assume the office of the president without an election. Such a situation has not arisen before and could only arise after the constitutional amendment had taken effect (i.e. after the amended constitution was passed by Parliament and activated). Since, therefore, this procedure was not available under the pre-amendment constitution, the answer to Question 1 would be “no”, meaning those arguing that the President can stand again in the basis of Article 106(6)(b) cannot proceed on this basis because the three year exemption does not apply in this instance.

Response to Question 2

The second question lies at the heart of the confusion surrounding this issue. It is without doubt, the more complex question and is based on an interpretation of the word “term”.

Those that say the President can stand again believe that a “term of office” for a president is five years. This is correct. However, it is not necessarily the same thing as the period when a President is deemed to “hold office”.

To “hold office” is simply to be sworn into office and serve as President until the next person is sworn into that office. This is abundantly clear from Article 106(2) which states:

“A President shall hold office from the date the President-elect is sworn into office and ending on the date the next President-elect is sworn into office”.

We can state this another way: although a presidential term is five years, a person can “hold office” for less than five years. The restriction in Article 106(3) does not use the word “term”; it uses the words “hold office”:

“A person who has twice held office as President is not eligible for election as President”.

Note that the constitution does not say:

“A person who has served two terms shall not be eligible”.

If the constitution had used the words “term of office” instead of “held office”, the President could well stand again because a term of office is at least five years. However, “holding office” is only the period between two swearing-ins. This could be five years or it could indeed be eighteen months.

The restriction on holding office is contained in Article 106(2) which states:

“A President shall hold office from the date the President-elect is sworn into office and ending on the date the next President-elect is sworn into office”.

The question to ask, therefore, is this: did President Lungu hold office from the date he was sworn-in, in 2015 to the date the next President (i.e. himself) was sworn-in, in 2016? If the answer to this question is “yes” then he has already held office once. If he resigns tomorrow and his office falls vacant and Mrs. Inonge Wina is sworn-in, he will have “held office” twice even though he will not have served even one term.

It appears that the expressions “term of office” and “hold office” (or “held office“) do not mean the same thing.

If that is the case, it will not matter that President Lungu did not serve for more than three years when he was sworn-in the first time because he will still be deemed to have “held office”, whatever length of time he served. The restriction in Article 106(3) is therefore not in relation to whether a president has served a “term of office”; it is about whether a president has “held office”, which is an entirely different thing.

For completeness, it should be pointed out that the exemption under 106(6)(b) only applies where there is a vacancy in the Presidency after the coming into effect of the amended constitution and not before so it cannot be relied upon to justify the argument in favour of another attempt at the Presidency where a person held office under the pre-amended constitution.

Conclusion

Based on the above interpretation, the current President, having twice held office (as opposed to having twice served a term of office), cannot stand again for election as President. The constitutional restriction does not refer to a person ‘serving a term of office’. It refers to a person ‘holding office’.

This is defined as being sworn-in and serving until the next person is sworn-in as President. In short, if the President resigned his office today, he would have “held office”, even though he would not have served a term of office and that is the critical distinction.

About the Author, he is a Lawyer by Profession and Former Opposition National Restoration Party Leader.

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu says a woman’s right is a human rights issue.
Commemorating the International Women’s Day in
Lusaka yesterday, President Lungu said gender equality is a human right that is intrinsically linked to sustainable development and vital for realising human rights for all.

“Therefore, the overall objective of gender equality is to achieve a society in which women and men; boys and girls; enjoy the same rights, same opportunities and responsibilities in all spheres of their lives,” he said. “When this is achieved, our country will be able to overcome challenges confronting us, such as gender-based violence, inadequate health care for women and children, climate change, inadequate access to education and productive resources which are critical for enhanced economic growth.”

President Lungu said his government’s vision was to have a Zambia free from gender inequalities.

“However, realising this objective of gender equality has not been easy because our society is still strongly patriarchal and is governed by male values. These patriarchal values which fight a woman must be fought starting with us now,” he said. “Government is committed to ensuring that women and men, girls and boys are given equal value and opportunities in all areas of socio-economic development…. This year marks 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing declaration and implementation of the platform of action. I am happy, but not too happy, to report that progress has been made in critical areas of action on the promotion of gender equality.”

President Lungu noted that gender based violence flourishes in environments of higher gender inequalities.

“You need to know that a woman’s right is in fact a human rights issue so those of us who
perpetuate gender based violence, in fact are committing an affront against human equality,” President Lungu said.

He urged traditional leaders to help achieve gender equality in society.
President Lungu called for striving to realise equity, equality, and non-discrimination as enshrined in the Constitution.
President Lungu added that in 2020, his government had allocated over K10 million for women empowerment.

“The programme for eliminating child marriages in Zambia and offering scholarships to child marriage survivors is going on, targeting to support over 1,200 girls who are survivors of child marriages with scholarships. The programme is being supported by India, Brazil, and South Africa. This initiative is aimed at ending poverty and hunger in Africa,” he said.

President Lungu said the Church had a role to play in gender equality through the spiritual context.

“With this approach, we will be able to achieve our objectives with the support of cooperating partners who have already demonstrated profound willingness to support us in this development agenda,” said President Lungu.

“I wish, therefore, to ask all our leaders, traditional leaders and marriage counsellors to ensure that we address…I have come across traditional counselors who promote gender inequality such as inculcating wrong messages among young girls. Please stop it. You are embarrassing us.”