DIRECTOR of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lillian Siyuni has said she feels great despite the move by the Republican President Hakainde Hichilema to suspend her from her position.
Ms Siyuni said she was happy and in high spirits even after the decision made by President Hichilema.
“I feel great and happy,” Ms Siyuni said.
Meanwhile President Hakainde Hichilema yesterday suspended Ms Siyuni with immediate effect.
Presidential spokesperson Anthony Bwalya in a statement said that Mr. Hichilema had acted on the recommendations contained in the report presented to him by the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC).
Mr Bwalya said the suspension of Ms. Siyuni was in exercise of the powers vested in the President pursuant to Articles 182 (3), 144(2) and 144(3) of the Constitution of Zambia.
He said Mr. Hichilema has since appointed Katongo Waluzimba as acting DPP for administrative convenience.
Ms Siyuni has for a long time been embattled after a number of individuals reported her to the Judicial Complaints Commission for gross misconduct.
Her attempts to get the oath of office lifted so that she could defend herself before the JCC were denied by the President through the Attorney General.
Protesting aquaculture stakeholders invited
By Mwansa Pintu
THE Fisheries Department has made a last minute u-turn to invite key stakeholders to the Fisheries and Aquaculture Conference to be held at the Mulungushi Conference Centre today.
But many acquaculture farmers feel betrayed that they were not invited but the big foreign companies which are destroying small-scale farmers were invited.
Kasama-based fish farmer Dr. Faustin Mwape confirmed to the Daily Nation Newspaper by telephone yesterday that he had received an invitation from the Department to attend the Conference virtually.
Dr. Mwape was one of the key stakeholders who had complained about being left out of the Conference despite him raising the Fisheries Department’s discriminatory ban of the farming of early maturing niloticustilapia in poorest provinces, a decision which has subjected the farmers in the areas to raring late maturing and unprofitable indigenous species.
Dr. Mwape had accused the Department of deliberately blocking the development of the aquaculture sector in provinces like Luapula, Northern, Northwestern and Western provinces.
He however, confirmed yesterday that key stakeholders like himself has now received an invitation to attend the indaba online from the Department after the story appeared in the Daily Nation Newspaper.
He said that the department had now provided him with a Skype link through which to participate in the Conference.
State Withdraws From The High Court Its Application For Stay Of Execution!
Lusaka – 15th September, 2022.
The Attorney General has withdrawn the application for stay of execution it filed against the ruling that stayed elections.
The State had applied for an order to stay the decision of the High Court suspending by-elections in Kabushi and Kwacha constituencies as it intends to appeal against the ruling.
According to an earlier application filed in the Lusaka High Court, Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha submitted that the court stays the execution of the rulings dated September 13, 2022 in which it granted Mr. Joseph Malanji and Mr Bowman Lusambo their application to suspend the by-elections scheduled for today.
“That I verily believe that if no stay of execution of the impunged ruling is granted, the appeal will be rendered an academic exercise,” Mr. Kabesha stated.
Meanwhile, Mr. Malanji through his lawyers Tutwa Ngulube and Makebi Zulu had opposed the State’s application to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court for determination of constitutional questions.
The State wants the Concourt to determine whether under article 52(4) of the constitution, the High Court can make a determination outside the scope of articles 70 and 71 with regards to qualification of Members of Parliament and validity of nominations, respectively.
Whether regulation 18(7) of the Electoral Process (General) regulations, statutory instrument no.63 of 2016 is consistent with article 52 (4) of the Constitution on issues as to whether a victim of a decision of the returning officer can move the High Court as opposed to another person challenging a nomination, and
And that the reference should operate as stay of proceedings pending determination of the matter by the concourt.
But Mr. Malanji argues that the court gave order for directions and stated that no applications would be entertained after Friday September 9,2022 as time frames for filing of applications had been set in the order of the court.
He said the State’s grounds to refer the matter to the Concourt had already been determined by the High Court in the ruling dated September 13, 2022. He contends that a constitutional reference cannot operate as a stay.
The court will rule today at 16.30hrs whether to grant leave to appeal or whether to refer the case to the ConCourt.
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has clarified that the Kabushi and Kwacha ballot papers could be verified on account of the court matter.
ECZ corporate affairs manager Patricia Luhanga said the Commission floated the tender for the printing and delivery of ballot papers using open international competitive procurement method with 6-8 weeks floatation period in 2020.
She said the bids were received and evaluated according to the Public Procurement Act. Subsequently, Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing LLC emerged as the most competitive and responsive bidder.
“A contract was signed between Al Ghurair and the Commission for the period of two years to print ballot paper booklets, posters, blind voter templates and results announcement forms. This information was shared with the public prior to the 12th August 2021 General Election and it is in public domain.Stakeholders may recall that the Commission has been conducting elections and by-elections after the 2021 General Election as shown in the tables below and Al Ghurair has been printing ballot papers and other election related materials
Stakeholders may wish to know that the process of printing ballot papers starts soon after nominations. Respective candidates and or representatives are given a sample ballot paper to verify and sign off before commencement of printing. This was the case with these three byelections,” she said.
Ms Luhanga said ballot papers for the three by-elections were delivered on Monday 12th September 2022 and verification for the Luangwa Council Chairperson by-election was conducted on Tuesday 13th September 2022 in Lusaka at the Electoral Commission of Zambia Headquarters.
She said all participating political parties and candidates were invited to attend the verification process as per standard practice and in attendance were representatives from the Leadership Movement, Patriotic Front, Socialist Party and United Party for National Development.
She however said ballot papers for Kabushi and Kwacha Parliamentary by-elections could not be verified on account of the court matter.
Ms Luhanga said the ballot papers for Luangwa Council Chairperson by-election were delivered after the verification in Lusaka.
“Another verification was conducted in Luangwa with stakeholders on Tuesday 13th September 2022 in readiness for the by-election on Thursday 15th September 2022.
The ballot papers for Kabushi and Kwacha Parliamentary by-elections were NOT dispatched to Ndola and Kitwe respectively,” she said.
Ms Luhanga said the Commission would like to assure all electoral stakeholders that ECZ is committed to delivering the electoral processes as mandated by law.
John Chiti shares how he was left out of a record deal because of his Albinism condition
I remember about 17 years ago when I was struggling with my music as an upcoming artist. I moved from Ndola to Lusaka searching for music opportunities. It was not easy I tell you.
Well, one day someone shared with me a flyer of a certain studio who advertised that they were looking for new talent and anyone who pass the auditions would be signed and produced at the same studio. I was excited. I walked from kalundu where I was staying with a friend to town looking for that studio. I searched, asked around until I found it. I told them an a musician looking for a record deal. They welcomed me properly and booked a day when I should go back and audition. They assured me that as long as am talented they would sponsor me.
This was good news, I went home excited and I spent the rest of the week preparing the song I would sing during auditions. My friend had an uncle who had a guitar so I borrowed it for some days as I practiced. I learnt how to play guitar way back in high school
The big day came, I was nervous but ready.
Again I walked to town with my guitar because I had no transport but this time at least i had a guitar to keep me company. At the studio I found other artists who were scheduled for auditions also. We wished each other good luck as we went in one by one. I was the last person to be auditioned. Others were coming out frustrated, some disappointed. I went in and I did my best. Singing and playing guitar gave me advantages among all the other artists. After the first round some artists were sent away. We only remained 3 people. We went in for the final round and we were told only one of us would be picked. This time they gave us an instrumental to sing a free style.
Again I hammered it. I heard the one guy singing off key the other went off beat like thy didn’t had any studio experience. For me I had enough experience because I had recorded before so I knew how to follow a beat.
When all was done , we were told to wait for the results . We sat patiently and hoping am picked. Now the studio was not very big so I could hear the judges discussing us. The first guy was dropped because he sang off key as well as the other one who went off beat. They spent much time discussing me and I could hear them from the other room.
“John is really good, he has a nice voice and he managed to follow the beat” one of them said. I was smiling telling myself this is it. My time has come. Am picked. But my smile started fading as the conversation continued
“ yes, this guy is good but there is just one problem “ the other said.
“ what problem? I didn’t see any problem with him”
“ the guy is albino, it will be difficult for us to sale him”
There was silence in the room for some minutes then the discussion continued.
“ no that doesn’t matter, weather he is albino or not this guy has what we are looking for” said another
“ he has what we want but his image is the problem. In music the image matters , people won’t associate with him because of his condition “
“ I think you’re right , have you ever seen an albino singing? We may loose money if we invest in him”
The discussion went on for about 30 minutes. One of them kept supporting me telling the others that they should signed me up regardless of my condition but he was overruled by the 2 other judges who said my condition would hinder me to sale in music. They ended up picking the guy who sang off beat. The producer said he can work on him and help him follow the beat
I went home really sad didn’t even had the strength to play my guitar. The next few days I kept on reflecting on their words.
I almost gave up in music but the same reasons why they rejected me soon became the reasons why I couldn’t stop pushing. I told myself if these people have not seen a person like me singing I will become THE FIRST PERSON WITH ALBINISM TO COME OUT IN THE LIME LIGHT IN ZAMBIA.
Don’t Give Up!!!
#SayNoToDiscrimination
#SunFmZambia
Reuters reports that Zambia’s international bondholders have criticised the International Monetary Fund’s debt restructuring framework as “arbitrary” and for excluding the country’s domestic debt, sources involved in the process have told Reuters.
Zambia has been in default for almost two years and an IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis published last week called for its debt-service-to-exports ratio to be cut to a 140% “threshold” from 153% quickly and to 84% by 2027.
“Now, all of a sudden, they have an arbitrary 84% number,” said Kevin Daly, head of emerging market debt at Abrdn, who chairs a committee of bondholders estimated to hold around 45% of Zambia’s $3 billion worth of international market debt.
“How did you arrive at that number? It’s such a different figure than the (140%) threshold,” he told Reuters, calling on the IMF to meet with bondholders, who have complained of being left out of the loop as the IMF and bilateral creditors worked out a plan.
IMF spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zambia’s much-delayed debt restructuring is seen by analysts as a test case for what are expected to be a spate of defaults in poorer countries that have borrowed heavily not only in the capital markets but also from countries including China.
David Malpass, president of the World Bank, the IMF’s sister organisation, said last week that “a deep debt reduction of 45% in net present value (NPV) terms… is essential.”
Relief of that magnitude “would not be acceptable (to) creditors”, including Chinese lenders, Daly said.
He declined to say what other bondholders would agree to, but said that from his perspective, “If it was something more in the… 20-30% range, I think that would be acceptable.”
A bond recovery value of $65 to $75, with an exit yield of 11-12% was “realistic”,” he said.
Bondholders are also unhappy that $11.6 billion of local currency debt, $3.2 billion of which is owned by foreign investors, is being excluded from the restructuring, a second source involved in the process said.
The person, who is familiar with the committee’s position but spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it implied that such debt would effectively then have precedence over the Eurobonds, which are governed by international laws.
He also questioned whether it would be right to include local currency debt not subject to restructuring in the debt targets, as it “squeezes the amount of debt service that’s available to service external debt.” Still, he said, bondholders were “mindful” that restructuring local debt could cause issues in Zambia’s banking sector.
American TV host, Nick Cannon, has made an announcement that he had welcomed his ninth child while awaiting the birth of his 10th and 11th kids.
The actor, 41, shocked fans as he took to Instagram on Wednesday night, September14, to announce that he had welcomed a child with 40-year-old, model LaNisha Cole.
He shared an adorable photo of the proud new parents with the bundle of joy, a daughter, who they named Onyx Ice Cole Cannon.
American TV host, Nick Cannon, welcomes ninth child with model LaNisha Cole while awaiting birth of 10th and 11th kids
The proud father wrote in his caption:
Introducing ONYX ICE COLE CANNON… Once again Today I am in Awe of the Devine Feminine! God has given me and @MissLanishaCole the privilege of hosting an Angel here on earth. I vow to protect, provide, guide, and love this child to the best of my abilities. In this moment of celebration and jubilee, I wish to mute any low vibrational frequencies and only rejoice with the Highest Class of Civilization who are truly aligned with our purpose here in this dimension. We all learn so much from these Angels we call children. I am learning that it is not the limited amount of time we have on this planet but it’s the limited amount of love that is the issue. And I promise to love this little girl with all my heart, regardless what anyone says…
I’ve given up on attempting to define myself for the world or society but instead, I’m doing the work to heal and grow into the infinite Being God ordained me to be.
Hopefully, I can teach Onyx the same, to not let others shame or ridicule her with their outside opinions, because when they do they are only projecting their own harsh experiences, pain, and social programming onto her unblemished beauty. As we all know I am not easily triggered and have quite tough skin and have always been an open book but not everyone in my family has that same level of strength.
So I pray and ask others to please project all criticism and cynicism towards ME and not the loving and precious Mothers of my children. @MissLanishaCole is one of the most guileless, peaceful, and nonconfrontational kind souls I’ve ever witnessed, and only deserves to revel in this moment of blissful joy of motherhood. Please give her that. She is so loving and pure-hearted. As for me, if you are truly concerned during this time of Spiritual Warfare, my inner struggles with self, mental wellness, and physical health concerns…
Just continue to pray for me and my entire family that God will grant us Peace that surpasses all Understanding.
American TV host, Nick Cannon, welcomes ninth child with model LaNisha Cole while awaiting birth of 10th and 11th kids
LaNisha is an American fashion model who was best known for her eight seasons as a rotating model on The Price Is Right hosted by Bob Barker and then Drew Carey.
Just weeks ago, he announced that he is expecting his 11th child with model Brittany Bell, who already has Golden, five, and a daughter Powerful Queen, one, with him.
The news came as he was awaiting the birth of his tenth child with Abby De La Rosa, due in October, and after his other baby mama, Bre Tiesi, gave birth to the pair’s first child together in July.
Nick already shares 11-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-wife Mariah Carey; one-year-old twins Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir with De La Rosa; and one-month-old son Legendary Love with Tiesi.
Cannon is also father to a child with Alyssa Scott – son Zen, who died at five months old in December 2021 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
Vladimir Putin’s chief envoy on Ukraine told the Russian leader days after the war began that he had struck a provisional deal with Kyiv that would satisfy Russia’s demand that Ukraine stay out of NATO, but Putin rejected it and continued with his military campaign, according to a report by Reuters.
The Ukrainian-born envoy, Dmitry Kozak, told Putin that he believed the deal he had hammered out with the Ukranian government removed the need for Russia to pursue a large-scale occupation of Ukraine, three people close to the Russian leadership who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the publication.
Before the war, Putin had repeatedly asserted that NATO and its military infrastructure were creeping closer to Russia’s borders by accepting new members from eastern Europe, and that the alliance was now preparing to bring Ukraine into its command. Putin publicly said that represented an existential threat to Russia, which forced him to launch the war.
But, despite earlier being in support of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Putin made it clear when presented with Kozak’s deal that the concessions negotiated by his aide did not go far enough and that he had expanded his objectives to include annexing large portions of Ukrainian territory and even toppling the Ukranian government, Reuters reports.
Responding to the report,Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied it: “That has absolutely no relation to reality. No such thing ever happened. It is absolutely incorrect information.”
Two of the three sources said a push to get the deal finalized occurred immediately after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. Within days, Kozak believed he had Ukraine’s agreement to the main terms Russia had been seeking and recommended to Putin that he sign an agreement, the sources said.
“After Feb. 24, Kozak was given carte blanche: they gave him the green light; he got the deal. He brought it back and they told him to clear off. Everything was cancelled. Putin simply changed the plan as he went along,” said one of the sources close to the Russian leadership.
Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine is the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II. It prompted sweeping economic sanctions against Russia and military support for Ukraine from Washington and its Western allies.
We shall resist and stop HH when he wants to misrule is, says Lubinda
By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
ACTING PF president Given Lubinda says President Hakainde Hichilema is so desperate to win the Kabushi and Kwacha seats in Thursday by-elections that he has abandoned the role of governing the country to conduct door-to-door campaigns. Lubinda accused the Head of State of having gone into Kabushi and Kwacha pending the PF’s High Court case against the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) in a bid to intimidate judges hearing the matter.
“Whether these elections take place or not, the truth of the matter is we shall not stop fighting for the rights of Bowman Lusambo and the rights of Malanji. We shall fight until the day we are vindicated. To give up the fight is to be willing to be governed under a dictatorial system. We must show that we are going to stop Hakainde when he wants to misrule us. We shall resist,” he said.
Lubinda was speaking shortly after hearing in a case where former foreign affairs minister Joe Malanji and former Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo have asked the High Court to order the ECZ to suspend the August 25 nominations for Kwacha and Kabushi and hold fresh nominations as well as declare the ECZ’s decision to disqualify them from standing in the by-elections null and void.
“I know that President Hakainde is under so much pressure that Kabushi and Kwacha have become more important than the nation of Zambia that he has decided on abandoning governing this country to campaign door to door in Kabushi and Kwacha. When the job he applied for is the number one job in the country, that of governing the country. Now he has decided to go and start gallivanting because it is easier to go door to door and say nothing,” Lubinda said. “The truth of the matter is that whether he likes it or not, the law is very clear. The Constitutional Court already declared that both Malanji and Lusambo are eligible to contest these elections. Whether by going there he thinks he is going to intimidate the judges and so on, that is a matter that we shall handle at a later stage. My message to the Zambians and members of the Patriotic Front is we are not going to win the fight and lose the battle. We are going to make sure that whatever breaches he puts in our way, we are going to overcome them until we win the battle.”
He said the PF would not abandon Lusambo and Malanji because President Hichilema was fearful of them. Lubinda said even if Lusambo and Malanji do not participate in the elections, the PF would ensure the courts declare that ECZ was wrong in disqualifying them.
“We shall stand by them until this matter is brought to its fair conclusion and a fair conclusion for us will be even just a declaration that the ECZ were wrong. Then we will be vindicated. If we throw in the towel and say let them just go ahead then we will set a very dangerous precedence for the future,” he said. “No matter how long it takes, we shall make sure that the whole world is made aware of the fact that there is one President who has come to rule Zambia with the intention of destroying democracy. With the intention of entrenching one party politics in the country. This is the reason why he is so happy. He is going into Ndola, into Kitwe, to try and send a message to the courts that what they are doing here is irrelevant.”
Lubinda said it was unfortunate that the government had failed to protect the rights of Lusambo and Malanji. “Your saw what happened with the Minister of Justice (Mulambo Haimbe), going into court to pass notes to lawyers to argue a case involving citizens. Meaning that on that day that minister stopped being a minister responsible for Malanji’s rights and for Lusambo’s rights. He became a minister only for the rights of those who are in his political party,” Lubinda lamented. “This is exactly what Hakainde Sammy Hichilema has done but I want to remind him, be reminded that your lies will catch up with you one day. And once they do, you shall be left all by yourself. People will call you for what you are doing, going out there and trying to destroy democracy.” Lubinda pleaded with PF members not to relent in the fight for justice.
“Members of my political party stand firm, stand strong. Don’t relent. Whether these elections take place or not, the truth of the matter is we shall not stop fighting for the rights of Bowman Lusambo and the rights of Malanji. We shall fight until the day we are vindicated. To give up the fight is to be willing to be governed under a dictatorial system. We must show that we are going to stop Hakainde when he wants to misrule us. We shall resist,” he said. “Depending on what the courts say I will come and give you the next course of action. For now be resilient. Let us allow Bally to walk around door to door, let him bus people from all parts of the Copperbelt to try and create an impression that he is getting rallies when actually everyone knows that those people are hired. We lose no sleep over this.” And Lubinda said he was shocked that the Anti-Corruption Commission had been summoning candidates who wanted to withdraw from the Kabushi and Kwacha by-elections.
“ I also want to call out the ACC. Since when has the ACC become so interested in an election where they even call candidates and warn them against pulling out?” wondered Lubinda. “Withdrawing from an election is a right of every person. They file in voluntarily. If the person realises there is no chance of them winning because the ballot papers only has one name, why should they continue? They will pull out. So ACC please follow people if they have corruption cases. Don’t follow people to intimidate them and force them that if they withdraw, they will be under fire. I know of a president who has been told if his candidate withdrawals, they will open cases against him. That is not the way to govern the country. That is governing the country by blackmail. We told Zambians in 2021. We said ‘please don’t you make a mistake of electing a person who has never won an election in his life. He has never been councillor. He has never been member of parliament and you make him President. Look now mwatiletelela manje (what you have caused us).”
LESS than a week in which five pupils were sexually assaulted by their adult fellow pupils, a 23-year-old man of Chililabombwe on the Copperbelt has allegedly been sodomised.
Police have since arrested a 27-year-old pharmacy attendant and another 26-year-old, while the third suspect is on the run.
Copperbelt Province Commanding officer Sharon Zulu said the incident occurred yesterday between midnight and 03:00 hours at a names guest house.
Ms Zulu said that the victim who sustained a painful anus and general body pains reported that he was sodomised by three male persons that he knows and can identify.
“Brief facts are that, the victim who is a DJ at a named bar was at work when three guys entered the bar to buy beers at 20:00hours. Among the three he only knew Mutambo Cephas aged 26, of Mine area Chililabombwe. As they were drinking, around 22:00hours the three told the victim to relocate to another drinking place,” she said.
She said that they all got into a car and went to Mukinga Guest house which has a bar inside and while there one of the three men booked a room.
“Immediately after entering the room the victim slept as he was drunk. Whilst asleep he experienced terrible anus pains. He immediately woke up and found that he was completely naked and the other colleagues were all naked while one of the men was found in the act, his penis was inserted in his anus,” she said
Ms Zulu said the victim stopped the suspect who was in the act and later dressed up and went out of the room heading home around 03:00 hours.
“Whilst home the pain persisted and the victim took it upon himself and started looking for the suspects . He spotted one of the three suspects and alerted the members of the public for help. He was then apprehended and taken to police were the matter was reported and the
accused person led to the apprehension of another suspect Robson Ngambi, aged 27, of C_ Section Mine area Chililabombwe a Pharmacy attendant at Medcorp pharmacy chililabombwe, while the other suspect only known as Kelvin is on the run,” she said.
Ms Zulu added that Police have since instituted a manhunt for him.
President Hakainde Hichilema has said the Lusaka High Court’s decision to stop the Kabushi and Kwacha Parliamentary by-elections from going ahead as planned on 15th September 2022 shows how the New Dawn government has restored Zambia’s democracy.
The court has granted the prayer by former Kwacha PF Member of Parliament Joseph Malanji and his Kabushi counterpart Bowman Lusambo to suspend the by-elections in the two constituencies pending determination of the matter in which they have contested the Electoral Commission of Zambia’s decision to declare their nomination invalid.
Judges Mwape Bowa, Sharon Newa and Catherine Phiri ruled that though the High Court does not have the authority to make a determination on constitutional matters, Article 52(4) of the constitution gives it the power to handle challenges relating to nominations in an election.
The trio said proceeding with the by-elections would be of grave injustice to Mr. Malanji and Mr. Lusambo as there was a likelihood of disenfranchising the duo by the time their petition would be determined.
Speaking to journalists in Ndola on the Copperbelt, President Hichilema said the UPND government has brought orderliness, rule of law, democracy and sanity in the courts.
He said the opposition should thank the UPND administration for restoring fairness and orderliness in court.
“The issue is that in a democracy, in a land of the free, the freedom we fought for. The brutality we took out, the lawlessness we took out, guns, teargas, bullets, we also have brought space, democratic space, rule of law. When a citizen or citizens go to court or the government is involved in that process. There is only one outcome. A decision will be made in favour of one litigant against one another. That is the democracy we fought for. That litigant who has won could be a citizen like you (journalist) over whatever matter. The one who has lost is another citizen or the government or a company. This is normal and I am surprised Zambians are beginning to talk a lot around this issue,” President Hichilema said.
“This is exactly what we fought for. So, the court can decide whether the court made the right decision is a different question. Did they make the right decision? Did they consider all the facts at play? Did they understand that this election was occasioned by the very court that nullified the seat and the Electoral of Commission of Zambia (ECZ) declared the seat vacant and campaigns were opened and I am here to campaign because I came to politics through UPND. I must campaign. How does this become an issue? It shouldn’t be an issue. That is again a normal thing that we created. I think we got used to lawlessness and disorder. When there is an order like this, people get angry,” he continued.
President Hichilema added:”I want to appeal to UPND members; this is what you fought for. Today a ruling was made against you; tomorrow it will end in your favour. Even the colleagues in the opposition, today you are happy but only a few months ago, not even months ago you were not happy when the ruling was made against nullifying the seat, you were screaming at HH. Now a ruling is made in your favour, you are screaming at HH. Finshi nachita ine nemulanda? (What have I done?) What have I done? I am not the one who went to court .I am not the one who made a ruling and I saw someone attacking me twakusuma iwe HH, we have done you in. That is a misplaced position. This is the order we have brought and they are enjoying this order. They must say thank you to the UPND government that has brought fairness and orderliness in court. In the bus stops no violence, in the markets no violence. That is the leadership that this country was missing.”
President Hichilema said the elections will take place in the future. He also reiterated that holding by-elections was a waste of public resources.
“The election will take place here, come rain, come sunshine and all I ask our members to be ready for the elections. In whatever form, whatever shape. In future, we would like to invite you Zambians to amend the laws that are instigated by elections. Let us not waste resources. I have said that you have heard my views before. This money we are wasting here could have sunk more boreholes; we could have bought more desks for our children to seat. We must be a country that is prudent; a country that respects that money is scarce. We must always use them optimally, meaning effectively, efficiently and not waste. This is a waste of resources. Not UPND resources but national resources. Citizen’s resources. It doesn’t matter who is spending here, it is national resources. Let’s protect resources from wastage. That is where we should go and I still hold that position,” Mr. Hichilema concluded.
POSTPONEMENT OF PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTIONS IN KWACHA AND KABUSHI.
BY DR VERNON J MWAANGA GOEZ.
15TH SEPTEMBER, 2022.
It was stated a few weeks ago, that some independent candidates would be sponsored to withdraw from the race just before voting day, to induce a postponement of the elections. The High Court ruling tuesday 13th September, left a great majority of our citizens confused.
The President of the Republic of Republic of Zambia , Mr Hakainde Hichilema spent days campaigning in the two constituencies and he was preceeded by the Vice President Mrs Mutale Nalumango. After the refusal of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), to accept the eligibility of former Members of Parliament whose election had been annulled, went on to announce that elections in the two constituencies would go ahead as originally scheduled on 15th September.
Then came the bombshell ruling of the High Court two days before the voting, which was reported to have stopped the voting on 15th September. This ruling was received with mixed feelings. Money was spent by those candidates and ECZ had spent on preparations and printed ballot papers,deployment and training of officials who would oversee the elections.
We are certainly strengthening our democracy ,judging from some of the irresponsible and abusive statements being against leaders, including the President. We fought for the reintroduction democracy, but democracy is not the equivalent of anarchy. President Hichilema’s reaction to the sudden postponement of elections in the two Parliamentary constituencies, was amazingly calm and mature.
He respected the right of citizens and Organizations to seek redress through our courts of law, when they feel aggrieved. It is their Constitutional right to do so. Democracy does not mean that the laws of our country are no longer applicable. It is the same even in the advanced and older democratic countries.
I fear that most of the values which were left by our founding fathers have been thrown out of the window. Intolerance and evil thoughts have now taken centre stage. In a democracy, disagreements are normal, but even when we disagree, our disagreements, should be civil, temperate, respectful and not become valgar. Politics are not about war or violence. They are about service to the people who are our masters.
Opposing politicians should not treat each other as enemies, but mere opponents with competing ideas. Our political leaders should tame their tongues.
What we urgently need is a postmortem of what has just happened and where we went wrong, to be immediately followed by the appointment of a special commmittee to tide up the mess in the Constitution of Zambia, which was left by the pf government.
In addition to sealing loopholes and curing lacunas, the committee should also look at outstanding issues such as the need for increasing the representation of women in Parliament and Local Councils.
AT FIRST, Fulata Lillian Siyuni did not think her career will involve sometimes issuing a nolle prosequi.
Growing up, she always wanted to be a journalist. But as fate would have it, she ended up studying law and becoming the country’s top prosecutor when she was appointed as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in 2015, the first woman to hold the position in the country’s history.
“I still feel I write more and better than I speak, but I could not pursue Mass Communication at the University of Zambia because it was a direct entry and I was not selected for that,” she says. “Instead, I was enrolled in the School of Humanities and eventually made it with a Bachelor of Laws degree.”
But it is one thing getting a law degree and quite another to be admitted to the Bar. Ask any law student or lawyer, and they will tell you how notorious the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) examinations are. “ZIALE was not much of a struggle for me. I managed to pass because we had a good foundation at UNZA [University of Zambia], it is easy for students to put to practice the theory they learn in school,” she said.
Whilst at ZIALE, Ms Siyuni was attached to the Legal Aid Clinic for Women. There, again, it was relatively easy for her.
“It was easy for me to research and also consult people who were already working and had gone through the institution,” she says. “It is sad that the pass rate [at ZIALE] has gone down but I would urge students to study hard and concentrate on their studies. The other thing I have observed is that, during our time, we were being accommodated at the institution and food was provided at the school dining so all we needed to do was study and concentrate on school.”
With ZIALE done, Ms Siyuni started practising law in October 1996 when she joined the Ministry of Justice as a legal practitioner. “After obtaining my practising certificate, I was appointed as State Advocate in the Attorney General’s chambers. I was also the first female Chief State Advocate during Judge Farai Muchenga`s tenure of office,” she says. She is certainly a woman of firsts. Those who know her are not surprised at her achievements.
Rosemary Nkonde Khuzwayo, the Chief State Advocate and her friend, says Ms Siyuni has always been intelligent and smart although less talkative.
“She is also accommodative and slow to anger, she is a professional person and does not judge people based on hearsay, tribe, and economic status,” Ms Khuzwayo says. “She is my best friend and my best boss.”
Ms Khuzwayo is not alone in praising the DPP. Bank of Zambia legal services director Leonard Kalinde, a former classmate at UNZA, describes Ms Siyuni as a dedicated and mature lawyer who puts her work first.
“I have known Ms Siyuni since 1988; we went to UNZA together in 1992 and in November 1996, we were both admitted to the Bar. I am very proud of her appointment [as DPP] because she is equal to the task,” Dr Kalinde says.
“She has worked in various positions at the institution; she has the experience and understands her job very well. President Lungu made the best choice by appointing her.” Some of the famous cases Ms Siyuni has handled as prosecutor include the People versus David Chitika, a former employee at Barclays Bank Zambia who was sentenced to death by hanging for strangling his wife to death.
“I am still very proud of this case because it was not easy, I had to call even witnesses who were against to the case to testify in the matter, something that we rarely do as prosecutors,” she says.
The other case involves Beatrice Mwala who was convicted of masterminding the killing of her husband’s lover.
“This case was very challenging because the court entered a nolle prosequi because it was discovered that more people needed to be arrested and jointly charged together,” she says. “So, we discontinued the case and resumed it later.”
Nolle prosequi, well, that is something she had to use recently.
Ms Siyuni says the nolle prosequi has been misunderstood by some people.
She says the State enters a nolle prosequi for various reasons and in most cases, the accused and the victim benefit from the same.
“As DPP, I handle a lot of dockets for prominent and ordinary citizens, which I prepare for court proceedings or to undergo further investigations to avoid lacunas. When people hear that the case is with the DPP, it means me and my team are studying the case to ensure that it proceeds with the courts,” she shares.
“People should also know that sometimes cases do not reach me as quickly as they wish, sometimes, I do not even see certain files because they take long to reach my desk and sometimes don’t reach my desk at all.”
She said sometimes, relatives of the accused persons even go to her office to follow up on cases which she may not even be aware of. “The police will prepare a charge. When I receive the docket from an investigator, I’ve to see whether the police placed a correct or wrong charge, I have to see all those things and ask myself what evidence do I have to adduce for me to get to convicting the accused person and find out if there is sufficient evidence for the person to be convicted,” she said.
“We do that here before it goes to court. Even if there is corroborating evidence, this is something written on the piece of paper, we do not go and interview anyone to see whether what she stated in the docket is true or not, before it is taken to court.
“We have a retrial with the witness and sometimes we may have an accused person in custody for murder in January and the case is only coming up later in July when we meet those witnesses.
“Sometimes you find that they start contradicting the statements, at the end of the day, we may find that there is no evidence, what can you do? Sometimes witnesses change statements in court, what can you do?” Ms Siyuni says it is important to note that the police are investigators and they are not expected to know the intricacies of the law.
“When I receive a docket, I have to check whether the police placed a correct or wrong charge. I have to see all these things to get me to convict a person even if there is corroborating evidence,” she said
But how about the issue of political interference?
“There is no political influence as people perceive; we do not look at names and political affiliation when prosecuting, we work to serve both the accused and the victim but people do not know or understand that,” she says. “…Sometimes, I used to become emotional and shed tears in court because of circumstances and nature of cases.”
Ms Siyuni also holds a Master’s degree in International Humanitarian and Human Rights. Former Minister of Justice Ngosa Simbyakula, who has also taught a number of lawyers in the country at UNZA and ZIALE, is her mentor.
Ms Siyuni, 44, did her grade one to five at Ndola Primary School although she was born in Kabwe. She then moved to Mumbwa Primary School and later Chamboli Secondary School in Kitwe. She completed grade 12 at Arakan Secondary School in Lusaka.
She went to different schools in various towns as her father Dickson Allan Shawa, now late, who was a banker at Barclays Bank, was frequently being transferred. Her mother Evelyn Malata Shawa, also late, was a housewife but was always supporting her in her education.
The only woman who holds a degree in a family of 10, her favourite subjects at school were Agriculture Science, English, and English Literature. In primary school, she enjoyed athletics and when she completed grade 12, she even joined a martial arts class.
Some of her former classmates are Judge Bubile Lungu, Judge Mwila Kombe, former Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) director general Maggie Mudenda and Monica Musonda, the proprietor of the famous JAVA foods.
Ms Siyuni has a few concerns regarding her profession including the low pass rate at ZIALE and the sometimes high legal fees that disadvantage the financially challenged persons in society.
“Lawyers should not only focus on defending high-profiled persons, they should get down to an ordinary citizen who may desperately need the services but does not have the capacity to afford legal charges,” she said
“I enjoy solitude because I enjoy meditating. I rarely shop, so if I am not at work I would rather be at home cooking for my children,” she said.
Male nurse working as census enumerator helps deliver baby!
A 28 year old male Registered nurse working as a census enumerator in Kafue District has helped an expecting mother to deliver a bouncing baby in a light truck in Chiawa.
Muhongo Kabutu, a trained Registered Nurse recounts how he miraculously assisted an expecting mother with baby delivery in a Canter truck.
When the day started, everything was smooth just like any normal day. But unknown to him was the drama that was yet to unfold and make his day even more special.
Kabutu was enjoying the drama of monkeys trying to steal his food stuff at his camp site in a relaxed mood, but he could not help to notice a vehicle carrying four (4)women near the health facility who seemed to be in a panic mode as they were busy asking where the nurses on duty are.
“It was a cool day, when I was relaxing outside the facility we are camping, I noticed that the women that were seated behind the vehicle continued to experience uneasiness,” he said. The women’s distress went on for some time as the canter parked.
He observed that there was an emergency which led him rushed to the vehicle. upon arriving the scene he immediately practiced his skills as a professional registered Male nurse.
” after arriving the scene i asked one of the women if everything was okay. But instead of getting a normal response, what came out of the woman’s mouth was a scream. The woman started screaming that the baby is about to come out. “Kabutu said.
He noticed that she was beginning to bleed and all the signs of child birth were now visible and that was enough for him to swing into action.
He had an emergency on his hands and he knew that if nothing was done, the situation could become grave for both the woman and her child. Kabutu quickly requested the women to give him the surgical gloves so that the woman could be given medical attention.
But it was not easy for him to convince the women as they had doubts if he was a trained registered male nurse who can deal with child deliveries.
“I was wearing casual clothes and the women did not believe that I was a medical person because I was not professionally dressed in a white coat,” kabutu said.
Kabutu executed his duties as a health personnel until the safe baby delivery was conducted by him alone. It took 15 to 20 minutes for the in service nurses at Chiawa health center who were not around at a time of the delivery to came.
This made his work easy and it became interesting that the women in the vehicle and on lookers began to participate in helping to save the life of both the woman and her baby. A few minutes later, the woman delivered a bouncing baby girl, an experience kubutu described as a blessing.
“It was amazing to see so much cooperation and understanding among the women, I called my friend to give me the surgical blade I kept inside the room we are using for sleeping so that I could cut the umbilical cord,” he said
And the driver of the motor vehicle where the woman delivered from, thanked Kabutu for the love and passion he has for his profession even when he was left out after applying for the just ended recruitment of 11 thousands health workers.
He has urged government to quickly look into this matter and consider employing Mr Kabutu as he has shown competence and the heart he has for patients.
EVEN before the country comes to terms with the sexual assault of a man in Mindolo, Kitwe, carried out by three elderly women, Ndola-based musician Wiz Bebe has also been sexually violated by two mysterious women.
The 22-year old singer known for his song Panduka Chitete which features Raydee and the salacious Deborah fell in the lap of his victims after they offered him a lift to Ndola after featuring for an interview on Power TV on Monday afternoon.
According to Wiz Bebe real names Wisdom Zimba, he went to Heroes Stadium in Lusaka to hike around 17:00 hours, upon which he met two young ladies who also said they were going to the Copperbelt.
He said the two ladies offered to give him a lift once their Allion-driving colleague arrived.
And true to their words, a white Allion driven by a male pulled over around 18:00 hours and the three hopped in.
As they drove, Wiz Bebe said the ladies were drinking Embe Juice which they also offered him.
He explained that as they got around Chibombo area, the driver stopped at a bar saying he wanted to get some alcohol.
“From there, I can’t remember a lot of things because I just blacked out and woke up around 01:00 hours only to be surprised that I was in some room.
Confused about how I got there, I just got up, found my way to the Great North Road where I hiked again and arrived in Ndola very late,” he narrated.
Wiz Bebe said he was, however, shocked yesterday when he received a short mobile phone video through his messenger in which he was unconscious and laying on a bed while a woman only clad in a shirt was having sex with him.
After seeing himself in the video performing whatever round, Wiz Bebe realised that he had been ‘drugged’ and taken advantage of, upon which he reported the matter to Ndola Central Police.
“The only thing is that the account that sent me the video immediately blocked and I can’t remember their faces or the number plate of the car so I am really disturbed,” he said.
The video and pictures of the assault apparently taken by the perpetrators are now being shared on social media.
An Australian gigolo has opened up on how he rakes in $10,000 a month from sleeping with different women.
Samuel Hunter, from Sydney, says he is often put in five star hotels by his wealthy clients and was even taken on a 10-day trip to Phuket to accompany a woman on an exotic getaway.
Hunter, a proud sex worker, who is in his early forties, says women from all walks of life acquire his services, with his youngest client just 23 and the oldest 70.
Samuel said Stan’s show American Gigolo, starring Jon Bernthal, is ‘accurate’ about how glamorous the lifestyle is, as he really does get treated to luxury hotels by beautiful women.
‘It’s exactly as you’d expect it to be, and exactly the opposite,’ he said to Daily Mail Australia.
He says he been a full time sex worker for two years.
He admitted having hundreds of different jobs, including working for a sex shop and writing blogs for a brothel but his interest in gigolo work peaked when he started working for a charity called Touching Base who put disabled people in touch with sex workers.
‘It kind of built-up to my mind about whether or not I could do it, but it’s been two years now and it’s all I do’.
Male escort reveals how he rakes in $10,000 a month sleeping with women and a quarter of them are married
Samuel also revealed that being a male sex worker, his lifestyle is ‘very different’ to the women in his industry.
‘The biggest difference is women can see multiple clients a day, but I limit it to just one.
‘But women tend to get booked for shorter amounts of time, whereas most of my bookings are for a few hours or overnight.’
He says a quarter of his clients are married, and it’s these ones that tend to book him for two hours – at a rate of $600 for his ‘business package’
‘I’ve got a dad bod, so most women that like me are 35 or older,’ Samuel said.
‘There is some of them five-star hotels in lovely dining involved.
‘In July, I had a 10 day trip to Phuket, which was very glamorous’.
Talking about how he verifies his clients, he said;
‘I can check their socials and their WhatsApp easily to make sure they are who they say they are.
‘Most of my clients are repeats, at any time I have between three and ten regulars, the only ones who aren’t are couples who just want to try something as a one off’.
Samuel is also very open about his lifestyle, with his friends and family.
‘I told my mum,’ he explained.
‘She was a bit apprehensive at first, but now she’s fine with it. She always jokes with me about getting back to the grind. With the emphasis on grind.’
He also argues that it’s ‘absolutely possible’ to have a relationship while being a sex worker, but he chooses not to have one.
‘My clients get the best version of myself. They don’t get the guy that sits around drinking coffee and looking at my phone all morning. And I get the best version of them too, which you don’t see in relationships.
‘Most do want play time, it’s rare that they only want company.’
Piers Morgan has reacted after it was revealed that Prince Harry will not be allowed to wear military uniform during the Queen’s funeral proceedings but an exception will be made for Prince Andrew.
Piers, who is critical of Prince Harry and Meghan, spoke for the first time in support of Harry.
He wrote: “I’m not a fan of Prince Harry, to put it mildly. I think his behaviour since quitting Britain and royal duty has been appallingly selfish, greedy, and damaging to the monarchy.
“But one thing I will never begrudge him is the right to be properly respected for his military service which included two tours of Afghanistan.
Prince Harry?s a selfish brat but if disgraced Andrew is allowed to wear uniform to honour the Queen then so should he – Piers Morgan
“And I don’t think it’s right that he has been banned from wearing his uniform at events to commemorate the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
“I know the ‘rules’ say he can’t because only working royals can wear uniforms. But there are times when such protocol and rules need to be torn up, and common sense applied, and this is one of them.
“Especially when Harry’s disgraced uncle Prince Andrew will apparently be permitted to wear HIS uniform at Her Majesty’s lying-in-state vigil which starts today.
“There won’t surely be a single person in Britain outside of Andrew himself who thinks it’s OK for him to be treated better than Harry?
“One is a man who befriended a billionaire paedophile and recently paid a woman he claims he never met $10 million to avoid a civil court case in which he was accused of sexual assault, the most serious allegations against a senior Royal in my lifetime.
“The other is a petulant brat who, along with his wife, never stops trashing the Royals whilst exploiting his royal status for massive personal financial gain.
“But that is not in the same league of misconduct as Andrew’s shameful settlement, which came after he repeatedly vowed to clear his name in court.
“So, it seems outrageous to me that Andrew will be allowed to wear a uniform, but Harry can’t – not least when you consider that other royals will be in uniform who are far less qualified than the Duke of Sussex to do so.”
Tennis legend, Serena Williams, has dropped hints that her tennis career might not be over during her appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC.
The 40-year-old winner of 23 Grand Slam tournaments was asked by Jimmy, 47, about her future after stepping away following her loss in the US Open.
Tennis legend, Serena Williams drops hints that her tennis career might not be over
Jimmy asked if there was a chance of her pulling a ‘Tom Brady’ and maybe coming back, referencing the legendary NFL quarterback who returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season after announcing his retirement earlier this year.
‘You know, Tom Brady started an amazing trend,’ Serena joked.
Serena earlier spoke about leaving the game as a personal ‘evolution’.
‘I always feel like I feel retirement is something that’s super earned and that people work really hard for and maybe I haven’t,’ Serena said. ‘I just feel like I’m at an age where I definitely feel I have a lot more to give and there’s a lot more that I want to do. So I’m not going to be relaxing. There is so much more for me. I feel it’s more of an evolution of Serena.’
Tennis legend, Serena Williams drops hints that her tennis career might not be over
‘There are so many things that I’ve been wanting to do for so many years,’ Serena added. ‘I have had such a passion for tennis for so long that I have never done it. Now it’s time for me to start to enjoy those things.’
Jimmy told her she should enjoy it.
‘It’s hard,’ Serena said.
Jimmy asked her when she knew about her decision to put down her racket.
‘In the beginning, I literally couldn’t tell anyone,’ Serena said. ‘Verbalizing it meant that it was real and I’m like I don’t want it to be real.’
Serena revealed that she only told her therapist about her decision.
‘I don’t think you really know until, I don’t know, until you say it,’ Serena said.
Serena said she was shocked by her reaction when her story came out in Vogue.
Tennis legend, Serena Williams drops hints that her tennis career might not be over
‘The whole time, I was stressed out, I thought I was going to be really miserable and scared with this whole article coming out,’ Serena said. ‘You have to think I have been playing tennis since I was literally in a stroller. There is a picture of Venus pushing me in a stroller.’
‘For me to suddenly have to be done it was like well this is a big thing,’ Serena said. ‘When it came out, I was actually relieved. I didn’t expect to feel that way but I felt good.’
‘I should have done it 10 years ago,’ Serena joked.
Jimmy said that he read that she was not good at saying goodbye.
‘I always thought that at the end of it, I would just leave quietly and not say anything and just make an announcement on social media,’ Serena said.
Jimmy asked when he saw her at Wimbledon if she had already made up her mind.
‘Yeah, I did,’ Serena said. ‘I was heavy. I was heavy for months. I don’t know if you knew my energy but I was just so heavy, and I just wasn’t even rocking out the way I wanted to rock out.’
Serena said she planned to focus on her Serena Ventures investing business.
‘Giving everyone an opportunity,’ Serena said. ‘Really just investing in founders. That’s the mission that we started and we are keeping it up.’
I find the High Court ruling very inspiring and relieving. I think ECZ and the state should sit back and rework their approach towards delivering their mandate.
I know the staying of the election is a bitter pill for the ruling party and their supporters but it is a very helpful decision by the courts for us to strengthen our democracy. To begin with I think that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) neglected to address fundamental issues that were raised the day they issued a statement bordering on the nominations of Mr Bowman Lusambo in Kabushi and one Bonanza Mr Malanji for the Kwacha constituency. A lot of good minds wondered why ECZ was rushing to express a position that was targeted at the potential candidates for the PF even before the PF had announced who their nominees would be.
The by-elections for the constituencies raised more questions and suspicions than answers. These questions went unanswered and suspicions went unaddressed thereby discrediting the entire election. If the high court had not stayed the elections in the two constituencies, the results would have lacked credibility and legitimacy. It is therefore to claim that the judgment by the high court is in the best interests of our democracy. The integrity of our democratic institutions must be above suspicion for us to retain some measure of trust in their operations. I think the High court managed to stop an election whose results would have affected the image and operations of the ECZ negatively. BUT the high court has demonstrated a number of things, these are;
1) Separation of power- I think the high court decision has demonstrated clearly that the judiciary is independent from the executive. In the past months we saw and heard my big brother Mr Raphael Nakachinda claim that President Hichilema was directing judges to rule in his favor. This claim had the potential to discredit the court rulings and the judiciary in general. The ruling on the Kabushi and Kwacha constituencies demonstrates that NOT EVEN the Republican President had an idea of the judgement that would come from the courts. I remember when we took a case to court a few months ago, we would get would be informed of the court’s position by politicians before we heard it from the courts.
The second observation is that ECZ is an institution therefore, it does not have the privilege to be emotional even on emotional matters. ECZ does not have the privilege to be influenced by hormones but by established laws. Public excitement on a matter is not enough to stir the institution to act outside the law.
It is true that most of us laughed and celebrated the nullification of the two gentlemen BUT that was not enough for an institution as ECZ to act in favor of the public excitement. The mandate to do the right thing is solemn but doing the right thing is not always a popular position.
The last observation is that our constitution is a screaming scandal. The fact that we keep running to the courts for the interpretation of the law instead of justice, is fact that we need to address the constitutional gaps for us to deal with the problems we are faced with. This constitution was signed for political interests than for national good. We need to start from there.
The government should move in fast to address the gaps in our constitution before the constitution widens the gaps in our society.
A LUSAKA-based political commentator Dillion Mayangwa has taken swipe at President Hakainde Hichilema’s political and legal advisors Levy Ngoma and Christopher Mundia respectively saying the duo are sleeping on duty.
Mayangwa’s comment come in the wake President Hichilema’s aborted campaigns in Kabushi and Kwacha constituencies following a High Court ruling in favor of PF candidates Bowman Lusambo and Joe Malanji whose nominations were rejected by the Electoral Commission of Zambia a fortnight ago.
Mayangwa believes President Hichilema would have been better advised.
He said is heartbreaking to see a good President who was trying his level best subjected to public ridicule because of ill advise.
Mayangwa said those surrounding the President were had gone into slumber mode while criminals were getting together to takeover.
Yesterday, President Hakainde Hichilema finished his working visit campaigning in Kabushi and Kwacha Constituency whose by-elections have been put to halt by the Lusaka High Court.
Mayangwa said President Hakainde’s political and legal advisors who would have given him a signal not to proceed with campaign until the matter is dealt with.
He said Presidential advisors must wake up to political realities.
“UPND sloppy political strategists are costing President Hakainde Hichilema’ s good leadership. Despite all the Excellent works the President is doing, no one is going back to the people to explain what the government is doing what it has done and what it has achieved. All the time it is taking the President to explain on what government has done or doing. The UPND Secretary General Batuka Imenda is fast asleep while the party is being destroyed politically. It is very embarrassing what is happening in Kabushi and Kwacha Constituency,” Mayangwa said.
“How do you embarrass a Head of State like that? How? It is because Levy Ngoma the political advisor, and Christopher Mundia his legal counterpart are sleeping on duty.”
He said people around the President must wake up and do the job they are paid for.
“Just look around and see how criminals are moving freely, because they are let loose. Yes, while the President is promoting the rule of law, criminals are now gathering confidently mocking him. What I have learnt in the school of thoughts is that governance and politics should move together, that is Government should be ruled with a firm hand,” Mayangwa said.
“A political party’s stay in government depends on how good they are managing governance and politics as a unit . But people assigned to play politics are not doing the right things. The failure to manage politics will give an opportunity to Criminals to bounce back to power with full force. I must add, these two people, the political advisor and the legal advisor are the worst in the history of this country.”
IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS [The Unfortunate Case of Hakainde HICHILEMA’s Reign]
DANGER ahead! The lives of over 1, 150, 000 citizens are now in clear and present danger.
This is unprecedented. This is new. This is as bad as it gets. Death for these citizens now looms. The UPND has now made their future uncertain.
ARVs have run out. Yes, ARVs.
The already beleaguered leadership of Hakainde HICHILEMA, premised on lies, is now falling apart. The fate is in the foundation.
You see, Hakainde HICHILEMA, using public resources, goes to launch a book for his friend Greg MILLS but he doesn’t go to China, our chief creditor.
Hakainde HICHILEMA talks to Volodymr ZELENSKY, a Western stooge, but he doesn’t talk to Vladimir PUTIN, a member of the BRICS plus.
Hakainde HICHILEMA supports The Queen, THEIR Queen, but he doesn’t support William RUTO, an African, even snubs his inauguration.
See the pattern? This clear lack of geopolitical sophistication of the UPND government will cost Zambia. The level of naivete in this government borders on treason.
You see, Zambia has more gold than Britain but most Zambians will now suffer economic austerity because of a paltry USD 1.3 billion from the IMF, their Fund.
Fuel will soon become more expensive. Electricity will soon become more expensive. Soon not all farmers on FISP will be supported. The poor in Zambia will soon become poorer, their livelihoods will deteriorate.
Now is this what Zambians voted for in August of 2021? Clearly NOT.
Isn’t the role of government to improve the living standards of people? Why should a government remain in power when its actions are at variance with the expectations of the prople?
Zambians are still waiting for fertiliser at K250 maximum. Zambians are still waiting for mealie meal at K50. Students are still waiting for the suspension of their loan repayments as promised.
And with no money in their pockets, the cost of living remains unaffordable for most citizens in Zambia today.
But, dear citizen, if you thought that this was bad enough, then think again. It gets worse.
First ARVs. Because of the ill-inspired, bad leadership, yes inept and bad leadership of Hakainde HICHILEMA’s, Zambia has now run out of lifesaving ARVs.
Yes, kulibe mankhwala. Yasila.
Because of bad leadership [poor forecasting, poor quantification, poor order placements, poor procurement planning, etc] the supply-chain has now failed to perform/deliver. It has collapsed.
A key combination of ZIDOVUDINE and LAMUVUDINE, a combination many Zambians take, a combination keeping many citizens alive, has now run out. These are drugs that must NOT run out, drugs which must be taken several times a day, non-stop.
The government has stopped this adherence. Bad politics has intervened.
This vital combination is now NOT there. For the first time in the history of its use in Zambia, it is NOT available.
But Hakainde HICHILEMA is available, busy harassing citizens and giving speeches, and like ‘house negroes’ of old during slavery times, saying strange things like ‘our IMF, our World, Bank.’
Because of measures taken by the MMD and the PF, Zambia’s National HIV program is one of the best in the world, and, over the years, it has saved lives. It is exemplary, many other countries have picked its best practices.
But under Hakainde HICHILEMA’s watch, this program is now in danger of crumbling. This program is now unwell, critically ill.
By 2020, of the 1.3 million Zambians known to be living with HIV, over 1, 150, 000 were on ARVs, nearly all, a most remarkable achievement.
Zambians now rarely die from HIV disease. The UPND might soon reverse this key national gain/achievement.
In health, a prescription is usually changed because of a patient’s non-responsiveness to a treatment choice, poor treatment outcomes.
As examples, done as a matter of science and not politics, this drug change is done in cases of treatment failure because of germ resistance or severe, life-threatening adverse drug reactions.
But now LEADERSHIP FAILURE is causing drug regimen/prescription change. Bad leadership is now an indication for regimen change, utterly unprecedented.
Facing this critical shortage, and inspired by their profession of saving lives, medical doctors have now been forced to use whatever is available. Desperate times indeed call for desperate measures.
Hakainde HICHILEMA said lies kill. Hakainde HICHILEMA said that liars must be punished.
Well, here we are, my man. What say you now?
As if the Kasompe disaster was not bad enough, now actual lives and NOT houses, face demolition. Some people will soon die, Hakainde.
You see, not everyone will respond well to these drug combination changes.
Some citizens will encounter germ resistance.
Some citizens will encounter adverse drug reactions.
Some people will just NOT adhere to these new, supply-chain-failure -nduced treatment changes.
Some people will develop treatment failure.
Yes, some people will die.
Why isn’t the West helping you, Hakainde HICHILEMA? Why are these friends of yours allowing you to, and watching you fail, my man?
Indeed, it never rains but it pours. Mvula ikakuona litsilo siyikata!
Come December, Zambia will be in the dark, as no citizen will be able to afford electricity.
Umati udziwa uchita, tsono chita! Strangely, the fixer is now fixing himself.
Why, Lord? Where is our David?
Aluta continua! The struggle must indeed continue!
BOWMAN AND MALANJI WILL NOT FILE IN THEIR NOMINATIONS – UPND YOUTHS VOWS
….. WE WILL NOT ALLOW BOWMAN LUSAMBO AND MALANJI TO FILE IN.
By Edward Roy Makayi.
Lets just be clear on one thing here with all due respect the Constitution court rulling is foolish in strongest terms, may I be quoted with interest at heart I will not allow to live in a banana republic where educated people with proper ressoning can be passing useless judgements and we are quiet about it.
What is so difficult about law that we can’t understand we have solved intense equations that cracks heads can you compare that with sentences written that anyone can read, re-read and recite already written sentences?
Simple logic sure no one needs a masters degree in law to understand that a person found wanting is barred from enjoying full privilages. You are fired at work for having a bad conduct then the same company advertises for your replacement then you re-apply again and vow without you the company can’t run its business and rush to court to get useless rullings honestly if you are innocent why then was the point of firing you and advertising for your position to other job seekers if all is well??
Does this statement needs any white grey matter to understand to the point where we should be held at ransom like this? Who the hell is Bowman Lusambo and Joseph Malanji first of all? Who are they that even after being found wanting can still force the law to their side?
Some of us where quiet we thought politics is done but it seems the kindness of HH is being taken for granted. You won’t dare HH in this manner without going through us.
So listen up ba Constitution Court, High Court and anyone concerned am saying there will be chaos in Kabushi and Kwacha should these courts allow Bowman and Malanji to file in. We are set to fight battle of the damned its better there are no MPs in these two constituencies untill 2026 otherwise Bowman and Malanji will not file in at our watch. I REPEAT Bowman and Malanji will not file in it will be war. Ni chibeleshi manje ichi.
Its not us who nullified their seats the same grounds that caused their vacancies are the same grounds others will use to replace them. Judges at constitution court will have to face us beginning with me this is bulshit and nonsense to tell you the truth. Am in Copperbelt here.
No one is afraid of Bowman or Malanji they are just quarks ans swines like any other one without a G12 and another with a militia group called NATO forces if they are innocent there was no need for us to be here in the first place.
The High court nullified their seats and Constitution Court upheld the decision how then can same courts again blame ECZ for not allowing Bowman Lusambo and Joseph Malanji? This is stupidity. Is it ECZ that nullified their seats?.
We will mobilize and face the courts physically foolishness is foolishness Bowman and Malanji are not standing if the courts wants violence in Zambia they can tell us high soon they want it.
President Hakainde Hichilema has brushed aside assertions suggesting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal will come with harsh conditions that will result in the privatization of some public companies and subsequent loss of jobs.
The Zambia-IMF deal of the early 1990’s came with the privatization of many government firms that led to job losses in the public sector.
The IMF Board recently approved about US$1.3 billion – a 38-month ECF arrangement for Zambia to help restore macroeconomic stability and foster higher, more resilient, and more inclusive growth.
Zambia had been pursuing an IMF-supported economic programme since 2016 and it became the first African nation to default on its debt in November 2020.
Featuring on a Radio Icengelo Interview in Ndola on Monday morning, President Hichilema assured Zambians that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal will not come with privatisation of public companies as alleged by government critics.
The Head of State, who is visiting the Copperbelt Province, said it is propaganda to allege that the IMF deal will come with privatisation of public companies and job losses.
President Hichilema said the interest free IMF loan will be used for investment in the education sector, health sector and social protection sector.
He said the New Dawn Government is not borrowing for consumption like the PF government.
President Hichilema added that the IMF deal is an outcome of homegrown solutions to the current economic challenges that have ravaged Zambia.
“We do not want to borrow for consumption. Mwaya mwakongola ulupia mwashita ka motoka tamwakwata ng’anda ba Valentine (interviewer Valentine Mukuka) mulechita rent nomba Mwaya mukongola ulupia mwashita ka BMW instead ukushita akayanda pakuti muleke ukulipila rent. You think you are happy you think you are clever? You are not smart. So, the first thing is to say don’t borrow to use money to eat. When you access money, access it to invest so that you can generate more money. That is why I keep cattle; instead of buying a BMW when I was young I bought cattle and they reproduced. Then they gave me more money. As simple as that, the economy is like that,” President Hichilema.
“There is nothing like that (privatization and job losses). No no. Ba Valentine tulanda ati e propaganda ii. When a person fails to think, destroys the economy then some people come to fix it like we promised that Bally will fix it. As we fix some people are thinking what are we going to say now? Let us say this to confuse the people. There are no such conditions. I said this is our programme. It is not the IMF Programme. The IMF comes to support our own home grown programme and we cannot set conditions like that, we cannot agree to those conditions. How can we agree to those conditions if we want to grow the economy, if we want to create jobs? That is our agenda to create jobs ba Valentine wesu,” Mr. Hichilema responded.
Meanwhile, President Hakainde Hichilema has pleaded with Copperbelt residents to be patient as the Government looks for solutions to address challenges affecting the mining sector.
President Hichilema said the Government will soon announce new developments regarding the way forward on Mopani Copper Mines that need capital investment.
The Head of State said the Government is restoring sanity in the mining sector which was left in shambles by the previous Patriotic Front regime.
Mr. Hichilema said the PF regime made a big mistake by liquidating Konkola Copper Mines and when buying Mopani Copper Mines from Swiss firm Glencore.
“We are working rapidly to unlock the Glencoe problem. You know there is a Glencoe problem in Mopani there? Where 1.5 million dollars by our friends in PF. I don’t know..Kushipula ndelanda uku, how the transaction was done I don’t understand but it’s our duty to unlock it now. We have brought in everybody on the table and very rapidly ndelomba abena Kopala, we have demonstrated to you that we can unblock things. Let us continue working together in that direction. Let us not be despondent. Let us not go and do wrong things. We are on the right path to unlock KCM and Mopani and everybody will benefit from that. What benefit will it be to say now tatulefwaya ukubomba, no we down tools when the solution is coming,” he said.
Some miners working for contracting firms under Mopani Copper Mines recently down tools over salary arrears.
Mopani has not been consistently paying its contractors and suppliers as it struggles financially due to lack of capital investment.
On 31 March 2021, ZCCM-IH acquired 90% of the shares in Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) from Carlisa Investment Corporation, owned by Glencore and First Quantum Minerals, following approval by ZCCM-IH shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
The amount negotiated was $1.5 billion to be repaid annually over a period of 10 to 17 years.
Human rights defender Brebner Changala says Director of Public Prosecutions Lilian Siyunyi has been unfairly treated.
And Ms. Siyunyi says her life is in danger after the government withdrew all her security. Speaking on the Red Hot Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Mr Changala said the office of the DPP is under siege by President Hakainde Hichilema and his close allies.
“We know they have always wanted her out, infact, they approached her through some emissaries that she vacates office and haver her appointed as a Judge in the Court of Appeal but before that process was concluded, they started scandalising her over the Milingo issue which they themselves caused when they agreed to meet Ms. Siyunyi and Milingo and offered him immunity,” Mr Changala said.
Mr Changala said withdrawing security from Ms. Siyunyi when she is still in office is unfortunate.
“The fact remains that Ms. Siyunyi is still the DPP and she should be allowed to enjoy the full benefits that come with that office until such a time when she vacates the office.”
Mr. Changala has since advised Ms. Siyunyi to go ahead and testify before the Judicial Complaints Commission in order to protect her name.
In a BBC interview, Ms. Siyunyi, who was appointed by the previous government, has fallen out with the new administration and is a subject of complaints against her professional conduct at the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC).
She has refused to appear before the JCC arguing that her constitutional oath of secrecy first needed to be lifted by President Hakainde Hichilema before she could appear before the body.
As one of highest constitutional office holders in Zambia, the DPP swears an oath of secrecy which in part reads: “I will not directly or indirectly reveal or transmit any information or matter as shall be made known to me by reason of my office except as may be required in the discharge of my duties as such or with the authority of the president.”
Ms Siyunyi told the BBC that both the president and the attorney general had denied her request.
She complained that despite the waiver being denied, the JCC had proceeded with the hearing of the complaints against her.
Ms Siyunyi added that if she responded to any of the charges against her before the lifting of her oath of secrecy, she would be breaking the constitution and committing a crime.
“I have had to escape from home on more than three occasions” after threats from known ‘operatives’.”
“I am not at all saying that I am above the law but that there must be total compliance with the provisions of the constitution of Zambia which we all must uphold if we are to uphold the rule of law and protect human rights for all,” she said.
Presidential spokesperson, Anthony Bwalya in a brief statement said, “The DPP issue is before the JCC for further determinations. We will not allow the President and the Presidency to be unduly drawn into this matter.”
When Bowman Lusambo said there will be the elections in Kabushi unless his name is on the ballot box, he knew what he was saying. He knew he would go to court and get a favourable judgement.
He knew that the systems that the PF left behind would facilitate this. He knew there is a Constitutional Court that prides itself in creating confusion each time it is presented with cases of politics in nature to adjudicate upon. All his moves are well-calculated and spot on.
While the UPND are basking in the ruling party honeymoon, Nebuchadnezzar is out grazing with the cows next door but they can’t see anything. To them, it is the rule of law. To them, it is the methodical way of doing things. To them, it is being smart to a point where even the staunch UPND members are now worried. Some of them have talked and talked about getting rid of systems left by the PF but nothing has changed.
It is simple logic; how many serious cases has the PF lost to the UPND? Almost zero! How do you expect fair trial from the same judges who never wanted you to rule? The same judges who played mickey-mouse over the petition hearing in 2016?
The PF were celebrating even before the previous case in this Lusambo-Joe Malanji saga was determined because to them, it is like expecting a judgment from your lawyers but the biggest question is, for how long will the UPND continue giving its members who suffered so much for the party to win election heartache? Do those in leadership care about the humiliating insults their members are enduring from the opposition?
For example, how do you explain a situation where Constituency Development Funds (CDF) are made available and sent to constituencies but the monies cannot be disbursed? In a functional civil service, should it take the President to summoned those responsible before the money can be released to the public? We don’t think so.
Today, if the PF want, they can shut down this country through the structures they left in Government which the UPND are flirting with. If people think this is a lie, they should just read the PF manifesto and they will realise that no one during their reign could be given any senior position unless they were bonafide members of the party.
Service delivery in the civil service is suffering because of sabotage. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist for you to understand this. Just go to the Passport Office today and see the organised confusion which is there where people have to wait for up to five months without getting a passport all because they are told there is no material for printing them.
We know of some people who have lost scholarships because they did not manage to get passports on time. We know if some patients who died home because they could not be evacuated out of the country to get medical help because their passports could not be processed on time.
Ask the Ministry of Home Affairs on what it has done to rectify the situation, and you will get no answer. The impression is that Government has no money to procure material needed to process passports. The other lie you will hear from Passport Office is that it has run out of material because it is processing passports for our defence teams going out of the country for peacekeeping but is this the first time that we are sending troops out of the country for this mission?
Go to bus stations and markets and you will find that cadres are still in full force trying to collect revenue from these facilities; the same way things were done under PF. That revelation of cadres preventing people from boarding certain buses in Kamwala South is nothing. There are serious cases across the country even after the President made a pronouncement that cadres be removed from these places.
There is just a general degeneration everywhere which has not only impacted negatively on service delivery but also put the ruling party in a very awkward position. The ruling party thinks that it is playing smart politics and can get away with it. Politics is about perception. While Lusambo and Malanji were said to be doing umungulu in Lusaka, they knew where they were standing and just a simple stay, sprung them into wild celebration as if they had won an election because they know that such consistent small gains have a huge impact on their image.
Today, the PF is mocking the party in power that they are clueless hyenas who do not know how to govern. They may have a pointy. How do you govern with the same people you were running battles with just over a year ago? The ruling party looks more clueless than the PF itself and this is the UPND’s undoing.
Under PF, when people were complaining, those close to Edgar Lungu told him everything was okay. It was the same story with RB and it seems UPND has not learnt anything from its unmatched experience in the opposition and is going the same route whose end is disastrous. If not careful, the UPND will go into political oblivion methodically. For now, let the PF celebrate its victories because they have earned them free on a silver plate.
THE WALK OF SHAME BY THE PRESIDENT IS UNACCEPTABLE =====
We still have magistrates and Judges who openly say they will never jail a PF member.
We had almost the entire system that never wanted the President to be closer to the corridors of power.
We have the same Judiciary which dribbled us in 2016 and expect it to be impartial. Its like expecting Satan to Repent.
God doesnt Help those who do not help themselves.
The Zambian people will never be mad with us for acting accordingly becuase thats what they wanted and expected from the one go, clean and clean the system.
We changed Presidency, Cabinet, PSs and DCs.
The entire rank and file is one that is totally soiled in corruption and can’t be trusted to help in the cause.
We talk to the ground on a daily basis, their sentiments are indefensible.
We are core leaders in this and we need to complement each other.
The insulation around Presidency is unfortunately going to cost all of us.
I’m still traumatized by some events in the past and I have never used emotions in my precisions.
This isn’t for HE to act alone, many appointees have the power, in a smart way do the needful.
Some of us do not want any appointment but be of service through the existing Previleges we have and as such, I will not be shy to speak and offer my village advise.
That walk of shame by the President is unacceptable and should have been avoided. You can’t subject the Presidency to such kind of treatment noooo.
Where are the Intelligence Appointees and agencies? Are they with You Sir?
Trust your soldiers who have been with you on the battlefields.
We speak with the less privileged ones, we speak with the true Zambians who are suffering. Their expectations could have been achieve the Ruto way.
PF STRIPPED OFF LUNGU’S INTEGRITY AND RESPECT BY LYING TO HIM THAT HE WOULD RULE FOREVER
By Sikaile Sukaile
This comment is specifically to respond to a post by former ambassador my brother Emmanuel Mwamba yesterday who is attempting to compare the respect Uhuru former Kenyan president is alleged to have been accorded on the handing over power to president Ruto.
Dear Ambassador Mwamba, I like the way you have put forward your arguments my elder brother in the Kenyan case of a former president’s treatment. However, it should be a big lesson for each one of us going forward that citizens deserve to be respected including our political opponents. The case of Kenya and Zambia differ a lot and respect is earned not forced on anybody. You being a senior most man and well educated person in the PF, you should blame yourselves ba (PF) for the ECL situation. Whilst you think ECL is not being respected, I advise you to look at these critical issues that define Lungu’s legacy in our political space which you should not isolate.
1.Hatred. Former president Mr. Lungu is a man who believed in hatred during his reign. Remember his words on the copperbelt suggesting that his rival HH would have died of gunshot if it was in other countries and a few days later HH escaped live bullets on the Copperbelt . Which genuine leader in senior public office speaks like that? Is this worth celebrating someone after he loses power since he is called a former president?
2.Third term. ECL refused to respect the constitution of Zambia and went for the third term whilst Kenyata left power within the stipulated duration of their constitution. Just this behaviour by Uhuru, has earned him respect no matter how many mistakes he made during his term which ECL doesn’t have. A person in the highest office in the country disrespecting the constitution like ECL did is a big insult to the Zambian people. And my advice to you is to be cautious about how you defend the wrong things ECL did because us spectators will assume that you are aspiring for the presidency to be another ECL who became a nightmare to majority citizens.
3. Arrogance and Pomposity. PF led by ECL was an arrogant organisation that did not regard the voices of Zambians including public institutions such as the Judiciary,police etc where ECL used to threaten judges when they ruled against his government and political party (PF). Look at how ECZ was abused to conduct an induced election? Voter registration process was biassed and all forms of political violence sanctioned by the big man himself saw our political space and you seniors watched him. Such behaviour made ECL unpopular and he lost his integrity and respect so, Compare with the Uhuru situation and tell me if they both match.
4. Tribalism. PF you divided our nation by championing tribalism which was again sanctioned by ECL because he watched his seniors and juniors demeaning other tribes and regions without shame, how do you expect such a person to be celebrated by any sane Zambian? This made him unpopular and lost lamentably. As leaders speak unity and not the divide and rule formula PF had implemented. In Fact he too participated in this scheme openly I remember him publicly saying and I quote “One day a Tonga will zambia but not this one” whilst referring to HH. Did it take him( ECL) to know which tribe would rule at what time, all these are reasons why he is guilty and looks sad and he should blame himself together with you people who failed to advice him. Leaders should have a choice of words whenever they speak because political powers comes and goes. Not even HH we can celebrate if he utters such ridiculous words against other tribes. So, tell us what really demands us to celebrate ECL as a former president. Is it because you are not a victim of his misrule and therefore, you cannot see, what about those who lost their beloved relatives? When Matapa was killed by PF cadres who some are in prison, what did ECL say on public media? All these went into his retirement package.
5. Hologanism and Thuggery: PF you solely relied on abuse of public institutions and by doing so you became enemies of majority Zambians. Only those who benefited were and are still loyal to PF today. When we tried to genuinely advise you unleashed police on us and we lived like criminals in our own nation. Is this something worth celebrating ECL? Should we celebrate injustices?
The list of bad things you people watched ECL committing through various agents is endless. So, don’t rush to condemn citizens who will not agree with his misrule and criticise him because you people had a great opportunity to make him secure his respect after retiring from politics. There is no vengeance as far as I’m concerned about correcting the wrongs PF you did.
Wrong things must be corrected. Why has ACC not summoned you? The answer is because you have not probably stolen anything or killed anybody. “The only problem is that PF thought they will rule until Jesus Christ comes back”. Real democrats don’t reason like that because politics is dynamic. Therefore, comparing ECL-Zambia vs Uhuru-Kenya without pointing out big differences is not being realistic. Let ECL apologise for what he did to the Zambian people who became victims of his misrule. If you people want a closest match of ECL maybe try Museven.
One thing I know is that even on the judgment our works will speak for each one of us…..
GBM TELLS UPND TO STOP INTERFERING WITH THE WORK OF THE ECZ
…..as he describes the decision by the Judiciary as a step in the right direction
Lusaka….. 13th September, 2022 (SMART EAGLES)
THE UPND must stop interfering with the work of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) because it will backfire on them as they will not be in power forever, Patriotic Front – PF Member of the Central Committee Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has said.
Mr Mwamba said this today after the High Court granted Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo and Joseph Malanji a stay for the Kabushi and Kwacha Parliamentary by-elections NOT to proceed until the matter is determined.
He has since described the decision as a step in the right direction.
Mr Mwamba said the UPND are trying to stop Malanji and Lusambo from participating in the Kwacha and Kabushi by-elections because duo is popular in their respective Constituencies.
“Justice has prevailed today, the UPND should just leave the matter and meet in the battlefield with malanji in Kwacha and Lusambo in Kabushi. They want to stop them because they are popular. They are annoying more people, even those who did not want to vote for Malanji or Lusambo will definitely vote for them because they are seeing what the UPND is doing,” he said.
And Chairman for Legal George Chisanga has accused the UPND of trying to intimidate other participants in the electoral process.
“If you heard what happened first, the UPND cadres went to the press and threatened the ECZ that if they were going to receive nomination from Malanji and Lusambo they will be taken to task. From that threat, ECZ curved in and issued the statement which has led us this far….,” he said.
Hon Chisanga has expressed happiness that the court has decided to protect the Constitution and the players in the electoral process.
“We are fighting this battle because of posterity for the nation. We are expectant that we are going to be guided. There is no way that a group of people can try to remove other people from the ballot papers because they do not like them. We would like to ensure that the election is credible, fair and free,” he said.
Acting President of the Patriotic Front Given Lubinda has question the prudence of Republican President Hakainde Hichilema to President Hichilema to go and campaign for five days in Kwacha and Kabushi when he knew that the matter was before the court.
Speaking after the decision by the High Court to grant Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo and Hon Joseph Malanji, a stay for the Kabushi and Kwacha by-elections not to proceed on Thursday, Mr Lubinda said that the decision by the High Court will definitely cut short President Hichilema’s five day working visit on the Copperbelt which he has used to campaign for his candidates in the two Constituencies.
Mr Lubinda commended his party members for standing by the decision to maintain the duo despite various statements from some named civil Society Organisations and government officials that the party must find other candidates, adding that never shall any dictator decide on which candidate must be fielded on the ballot papers by opposition political parties.
“Hakainde Hichilema did not want us to have Malanji and Lusambo on the ballot papers, but we have shown him that using the law of the land, he can not do it,” he said.
Mr Lubinda also castigated the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for quickly Printing ballot papers without the involvement of stakeholders. He has since advised the ECZ against being used by a political hand.
“The money ECZ used to print ballot papers is taxpayers’ money. What gave you the speed to go ahead and print ballot papers without stakeholders being involved? President Hakainde you have been telling the entire world that you are going to be governed by the rule of law. Rule of law also entails that the ECZ must be autonomous,” he said adding that Zambians will turn up in numbers to show that they do not want a dictator.
Mr Lubinda also heaped praise on the Judiciary for not bowing to pressure from the executive arm of Government.
“There is no doubt in my mind that there were putting pressure on you. The evidence was seen when the Minister of Justice, came to court and sat as if he was an official of the court. ….As Minister of Justice, you superintend on the justice of everybody. On that day, the Minister of Justice decided to go against the rights of Lusambo and Malanji by sending a Minister to go and sit together with the attorney Generals Chambers. He has no power to do that,” he said.
“We are happy that we still have some judges who hold their oath of office as an important oath. We will always respect the Judiciary unlike what Mr Hakainde Hichilema used to do,” he said
Meanwhile, there has been no official word from the ECZ on the next course of action on the upcoming Kwacha and Kabushi by elections. Reports have surfaced alleging that the ECZ staff held a meeting to go ahead with the elections tomorrow.
According to Radio Icengelo, the Commission held a briefing with the media, election agents and police ahead of the Kabushi parliamentary by-election yesterday explaining how the process would be done despite candidates from both Kabushi and Kwacha withdrawing.
Kabushi Constituency returning Officer Elias Mwalaba facilitated the briefing held at Ndola Primary School and Copperbelt Provincial Electoral Officer McClaude Nyirenda was also in attendance.
JUSTICE SYSTEM: Zambia’s DPP Raises Safety Concerns Over Her Role
Zambia’s chief state prosecutor says her life is in danger after the government withdrew all her security.
Lillian Siyunyi, who was appointed by the previous government, has fallen out with the new administration and is a subject of complaints against her professional conduct at the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC).
She has refused to appear before the JCC arguing that her constitutional oath of secrecy first needed to be lifted by President Hakainde Hichilema before she could appear before the body.
As one of highest constitutional office holders in Zambia, the Director of Public Prosecutions swears an oath of secrecy which in part reads: “I will not directly or indirectly reveal or transmit any information or matter as shall be made known to me by reason of my office except as may be required in the discharge of my duties as such or with the authority of the president.”
Ms Siyunyi told the BBC that both the president and the attorney general had denied her request.
She complained that despite the waiver being denied, the JCC had proceeded with the hearing of the complaints against her.
Ms Siyunyi added that if she responded to any of the charges against her before the lifting of her oath of secrecy, she would be breaking the constitution and committing a crime.
“I have had to escape from home on more than three occasions” after threats from known ‘operatives’.”
“I am not at all saying that I am above the law but that there must be total compliance with the provisions of the constitution of Zambia which we all must uphold if we are to uphold the rule of law and protect human rights for all,” she said.
Presidential spokesperson, Anthony Bwalya, has since last week not responded to a BBC query on the matter.
On Monday, Information Minister and Chief government Spokesperson, Chushi Kasanda, referred all questions to Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe who was contacted by the BBC but has not yet responded.
….as PF salutes Judiciary for NOT bowing to pressure
FIMBA UPOKE, Lubinda tells UPND
….as PF salutes Judiciary for NOT bowing to pressure
Lusaka……13th September, 2022 (SMART EAGLES).
ULYA WINE AFIMBE APOKE, Patriotic Front – PF Party Acting President Hon Given Lubinda has told the UPND.
Hon Lubinda said this following the decision by the High Court to grant Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo and Hon Joseph Malanji, a stay for the Kabushi and Kwacha by-elections NOT to proceed on Thursday.
The decision by the High Court will definitely cut short President Hakainde Hichilema’s five day working Visit on the Copperbelt which he has used to campaign for his unpopular candidates in the two Constituencies.
And Hon Lubinda has questioned the prudence of President Hichilema to go and campaign for five days in Kwacha and Kabushi when he knew that the matter was before the court.
He has wondered if the business of state craftsman has become too busy for President Hichilema that he can start chasing after Hon Lusambo and Hon Malanji who are not on the ballot using state resources to campaign against the duo.
Hon Lubinda has however said the reason for pursuing the matter in court was not about HON Malanji or Hon Lusambo being on the ballot paper but ensuring that Injustice was fought.
The PF acting President has therefore commended the party members for standing by the decision to maintain the duo despite various statements from some named civil Society Organisations and government officials that the party must find other candidates.
He said never shall any dictator decide on which candidate must be fielded on the ballot papers by opposition political parties.
“Hakainde Hichilema did not want us to have malanji and Lusambo on the ballot papers, but we have shown him that using the law of the land, he can not do it,” he said.
And Hon Lubinda has castigated the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for quickly Printing ballot papers without the involvement of stakeholders.
He has since advised the ECZ against being used by a political hand.
“The money ECZ used to print ballot papers is tax payers money. What gave you the speed to go ahead and print ballot papers without stakeholders being involved. President Hakainde you have been telling the entire world that you are going to be Government by the rule of law. Rule of law also entails that the ECZ must be autonomous,” he said.
Hon Lubinda has assured President Hichilema that the weight of Bulldozer and Bonanza he wanted to avoid will fall on him like a tonne of bricks once the duo is given a green light to campaign.
He said the Zambians will turn up in numbers to show that they do not want a dictator.
Meanwhile, Hon Lubinda has heaped praise on the Judiciary for NOT bowing to pressure from the executive arm of Government.
“There is no doubt in my mind that there were putting pressure on you. The evidence was seen when the Minister of Justice, came to court and sat as if he was an official of the court. ….As Minister of Justice, you suprintend on the justice of everybody. On that day, the Minister of Justice decided to go against the rights of Lusambo and Malanji by sending a Minister to go and sit together with the attorney Generals Chambers. He has no power to do that,” he said.
“We are happy that we still have some judges who hold their oath of office as an important oath. We will always respect the Judiciary unlike what Mr Hakainde Hichilema used to do,” he said.
Patriotic Front lawyers representing Bowman Lusambo and Joseph Malanji have been commenting on the Lusaka High Court’s decision that the by elections in Kabushi and Kwacha should not go ahead as scheduled on 15th September 2022 until the main matter under court is determined.
The Court on Tuesday granted Mr. Lusambo and Mr.Malanji a stay for the by elections not to proceed.
ECZ barred the two from re-contesting their old seats on account that they were not eligible, a decision they have challenged in the courts.
The former Kabushi and Kwacha lawmakers have told court that they would suffer prejudice if the by elections went ahead in the two constituencies.
Lawyer Makebi Zulu said after the Tuesday ruling that the solicitor general raised an issue which will be determined on Thursday.
Mr. Zulu expressed confidence that the legal matter and all issues raised by the two arguing parties could be concluded by next week.
“There will not be any elections in Kabushi and Kwacha until the matter is determined. It was imperative on ECZ upon the filing of our application that they stayed or suspended the elections pending the determination of this matter but instead they did not. This proves to us that they are not as independent as they ought to. In this particular case the court has seen it fit that the matter be stayed until they determine this matter which halfway has been done, in that the Constitutional Court has said the nullification is not a disqualification,” Mr. Zulu told reporters outside court.
“We have agreed to proceed with the matter and they have raised an issue which will be determined on Thursday. Then Friday we are coming to have the main matter heard. In which case we expect that by next week there should be a final judgment but for now there are no elections in Kabushi. No elections in Kwacha until the court determines. That is the rule of law and that is the justice that we came here to seek,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Tutwa Ngulube explained the court’s decision made on Tuesday afternoon.
“There are a lot of questions as to what has happened today. Why are you coming back on Thursday? I think you heard. In brief, history is that we went to the Concourt, asking Concourt to stop ECZ from blocking Honourable Malanji and Honourable Lusambo. We presented four questions; the Constitutional Court said they will not get into those other issues, they will just interpret the constitution and they interpreted the constitution to mean Honourable Malanji and Honourable Bowman qualify to stand as Members of parliament in Kwacha and Kabushi. We expected that the ECZ on its own would have cancelled the elections and called for fresh nominations so that honourable Malanji and Honourable Bowman appear on the ballot paper,” Mr. Ngulube said.
“When they (ECZ) didn’t do that we came to the High Court, to ask the court to stop the election and allow us to argue the main matter. Today as we are speaking the high court has stopped the election in Kwacha and Kabushi. The Court has also said they will hear the main petition on Friday. Now, just when we were about to come to court, the solicitor general produced some documents saying that they have made an application for constitutional reference. They want the matter to go back to the Constitutional Court. So, anyway the court has said we will not throw it out, we will hear you on Thursday. What we know is that the Concort has already said the power to deal with members of Parliament and their nominations is with the High Court,” he said.
Mr. Ngulube concluded:”They can only deal with the Presidential candidates so now telling us that they want to go back to the Constitutional Court we won’t comment but we will allow you to judge for yourself, who is wasting whose time. So we will come back on Thursday to hear whether the court should refer back the matter to the Constitutional Court or not and then on Friday we will come back to come and argue the main matter whether the ECZ was wrong in refusing to stop the elections or not.”
WHAT WE HAVE IS A CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS AND WE SHOULD ACT FAST
The Scoop editorial: September 13, 2022
ANY piece of legislation that needs interpretation at every turn is a bad law and the same can be said about the current Constitution.
By legal terms, a bad law may be considered to include unsound interpretation of legal principles, or a proposition of law that is erroneous, or an attempted statement of the law that is inaccurate, or non-law. A bad law is in many instances nothing else than bad logic and this is our view of the current Constitution of Zambia.
We amended the Constitution because we thought we had an archaic, old piece of legislation but we then came up with the worst; one signed with closed eyes and we instead of making progress, we are back to where we started from.
By-elections are costly. The country loses huge resources just to hold a by-election but according to our Constitutional Court, one who caused the country to lose so much resources can still be allowed to recontest the same election for which his or her seat was nullified.
Talking about logic, what logic is there in allowing someone who has caused a by-election thereby causing the nation to lose huge resources to still recontest? If Constitutional Court decisions are anything to go by, then, we should think about amending this Constitution as a matter of urgency so that we have clearly defined clauses which are straightforward and need no other interpretation.
A good law should interpret itself. A good law must be easily understood by the ordinary person on the streets but anything that needs expert interpretation is useless. The creation of the Constitutional Court has even exacerbated the situation. Since it has the final authority to determine all constitutional matters, no matter how illogical its decisions may seem, one has nowhere to go to complain and therein lies the problem.
No long ago, the Constitutional Court was presented with a presidential petition and never made a decision on the matter or even advised when the 14 days in which the petition was to be heard would elapse and only on the last day, the petition was dismissed on account that the 14 days had elapsed.
Here is another classic example; Charity Lumpa, one of the PF aspiring candidates for the Lusaka Central seat in the 2021 elections, resigned from the party after being left out of adoption. She then filed as independent candidate on May 18, 2021 and her nomination was validated by ECZ.
Three days later on May 21, 2022, she announced her withdrawal of her candidature as independent candidate but the other candidates carried on with campaigns but on June 23, 2021, the ECZ announced that Lumpa “resigned”, quoting Article 52(6) of the Constitution of Zambia.
The ECZ went ahead to call for fresh nominations because Lumpa was said to have resigned but resigned from what? Lumpa was an independent candidate and it would have been understood if she had filed under the PF and then resigned from the party but this was not the case.
The withdrawal of candidature is not covered under Article 52(6) of the Constitution but is provided for under the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016 in section 31(2) which says a nomination submitted under subsection (1) may be withdrawn at any time, before the expiry of the period appointed for lodging nomination papers in respect of the constituency concerned, if the candidate delivers to the returning officer a written notice to that effect.
Simply put, withdrawal of nomination can only take place before closure, which was May 18, 2021, in this case. Once that period has passed, you cannot withdraw.
On the other hand, Article 52(6) of the Constitution provides that where a candidate dies, resigns or become disqualified in accordance with Article 70, 100 or 153 or a court disqualifies a candidate for corruption or malpractice, after the close of nominations and before the election date, the Electoral Commission shall cancel the election and require the filing of fresh nominations by eligible candidates and elections shall be held within thirty-days of the filing of the fresh elections.
Now, did Lumpa die? No. Did she resign? No. Did she get disqualified? No! So, what was the basis of ECZ’s decision? Today, we are back with the same situation; one of the independent candidates in Thursday’s Kabushi parliamentary candidate Albert Yombwe has withdrawn from the race citing uneven playing field.
Yombwe simply withdrew from the elections but in his letter, in order to appear clever though dumb, says he has resigned. Resigned from what? Now, because there is the Charity Lumpa precedence, we see the ECZ wadding through its illegality again to call for fresh elections! Just how did we get here?
These are the challenges of a Constitution signed with closed eyes as someone said and all these lacunas mean one thing; the Constitutional Court will continue having a field day, either by advancing personal interests or otherwise.
We can debate day and night but it is only the Constitutional Court that has the exclusive right to make determination as it deems fit over Constitutional matters and we will continue complaining about some of these bogus decisions until we remedy the poison in the Constitution.
The decision that has come out of High Court of Zambia today ordering the Electoral Commission of Zambia to postpone parliamentary by-elections in Kwacha and Kabushi and hold fresh nominations allowing Mr Joseph Malanji and Mr Bowman Chilosha Lusambo to contest was expected. It is not a surprise, the opposite would have been a surprise, a shocker. And the Electoral Commission of Zambia and its political masters knew very, very well that they had no reason, legal or otherwise, to stop Mr Malanji and Mr Lusambo from being candidates in these parliamentary by-elections. But they still went ahead to issue an precedent press statement that no nominations will be accepted from Mr Malanji and Mr Lusambo. And indeed on the nomination day they refused to accept their nomination papers. There’s no doubt that the Electoral Commission of Zambia was working on instructions from its political masters.
Mr Malanji and Mr Lusambo took the matter to the Constitutional Court and got a favourable decision confirming their right to contest these by-elections. But still the Electoral Commission of Zambia, together with their political masters, decided to proceed with the by-elections minus Mr Malanji and Mr Lusambo in total disregard of the Constitutional Court decision. Ballot papers, which now have to be thrown away, were printed at a very high cost to the taxpayer. And Mr Hakainde Hichilema, at a very high expense to the taxpayer, went on an expensive five-day door to door campaign in Kwacha and Kabushi.
In more accountable societies many would lose their jobs at the Electoral Commission of Zambia for the damage they have done to the institution’s public standing, credibility and the money they have wasted. Oh what a web they have weaved themselves into through trying to be lawless, crooked, dishonest, vindictive! And can Mr Malanji and Mr Lusambo reasonably expect this Electoral Commission of Zambia to ran free and fair by-elections in which they are candidates? Will they level the play field and ensure that the by-elections are postponed for a reasonable time to allow Mr Malanji and Mr Lusambo to catch up because they deliberately disadvantaged them? Again, we ask: why all this intransigence, desperation?
We all know that one of the hardest things to do in life is to do the right thing. What we think are the right things. Not what our friends, family and bosses think are the right things. What is the right thing? That’s up to us to decide. Often we have a little voice in our heads that tells what the right things are. Or a gut feeling. God expects each one of us to play our part in helping to make this country a better place than we found it. We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to ensure that everything we do is done right and for the benefit of citizens and all who live here. Doing right is not a sign of weakness, it is however a sign of maturity, integrity and responsibility. It’s only mature, responsible and people with integrity that are always doing what is right.
Doing the right things in every situation has many benefits. Doing the right things gives us peace of mind. When we are on the right side of the law we are at peace with ourselves. We go to sleep knowing that all is well with us. Knowing that we do not expect the unexpected. There is nothing more uncomfortable than going to bed with an unsettled mind. Everything we do has a way of catching up with us. What goes around comes around. In this life we tend to get what we give. By doing the right things we tend to get the same things back. Do the right thing, put in the extra effort.
When we don’t do the right things we are not only sending out signals out into our world. We are also sending signals to ourselves. When we don’t do the right things we don’t feel good about ourselves. We may experience emptiness or get stuck in negative thought loops. Its like we are letting ourselves down. We are telling ourselves that we can’t handle doing the right things. To not do the right things is a bit like punching ourselves in the stomachs.
A powerful side effect of not doing the right thing is that we give ourselves a lack of deservedness. This can really screw up you and your success. If you don’t do the right thing in your life then you won’t feel like you deserve the success that you may be on your way towards or experiencing right now. So you start to self-sabotage, perhaps deliberately or through unconscious thoughts.
Doing the right thing increases your integrity – and integrity matters. You become more trustworthy and respected. And don’t forget: the truth will come out.
Independent candidate in Thursday’s Kabushi parliamentary by-election in Ndola candidate Alfred Yombwe has denied allegations that he was paid to withdraw from the race.
Mr Yombwe, whose campaign symbol was an umbrella, has since written to the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Returning Officer in the Kabushi by election over his decision to withdraw from the election.
According to the Electoral Process Act under Section 31(2), the law requires the cancellation of elections and calling for fresh nominations whenever a candidate withdraws.
The ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) has alleged that some candidates in Kabushi and Kwacha Constituencies have been bribed to withdraw from the by elections.
But Mr. Yombwe said he made the decision to withdraw from the Kabushi race without any external influence.
The young politician said he has a constitutional right to withdraw from the by-election.
Mr. Yombwe also complained of being disadvantaged by the ruling UPND in the campaign period leading to the by-election in Kabushi.
Mr. Yombwe said he has not been able to campaign properly because the Electoral Commission of Zambia halted the campaign when Vice President Mutale Nalumango and President Hakainde Hichilema separately visited Kabushi Constituency.
He also alleged that his supporters have been intimidated by UPND supporters and are now scared to go out and campaign.
He added that the UPND had been dishing out money to homes and churches that have been visited by President Hichilema and Mrs Nalumango.
“There is no amount of money which can buy my constitutional right. There is no amount of money which can buy my constitutional right which I have committed myself to uphold by virtue of me being a citizen of this country. So, there is no amount of money which can buy my constitutional right. Whatever will happen I have resigned, I have withdrawn. The constitution will guide us on the way forward,” Mr. Yombwe said in Ndola.
“You remember last week, the Vice President (Mutale Nalumango) was in the constituency (Kabushi). The ECZ called all the candidates and stopped us from campaigning saying we needed to give space to the Vice President. She was there for three days and we were not campaigning. Just after she left, the President was here again. We were called by the ECZ and they told us not to go for campaigns until the president leaves after five days. And you know politics are like football we have got tactics we can employ toward the end of the game but if we are barred from camping how are we going to execute those tactics? It is very unfair for us candidates,” Mr. Yombwe said.
He continued:”Then we were complaining in PF that the government was using public resources to campaign for their candidates. We had the Vice President coming here using taxpayers money to campaign for their candidate. The President and the Vice President campaigning for their candidate using public resources disadvantaged me as an independent candidate. So, we cannot move on with this nonsense going on around the country. We can’t keep on massaging the same injustices we were complaining about in PF. What has changed? Is there any justification? Then we had someone from plot one (State House) who visited that family with triplets in Kabushi, he left some money amounting to K10, 000. Is that not malpractice? Then the second authority in this land, she was worshipping in Lubuto UCZ (United Church of Zambia). She dished out some money to Churches, are these not the allegations that led to the nullification of that seat? So we can’t continue massaging the same things. Then we had some incidents of political violence, UPND were beating the PF who are not even contesting for this seat and my campaign team feared for their lives. It is not fair at all so the best way is just to resign and withdraw from the race.”
Four candidates successfully filled in their nominations for the Kabushi Parliamentary by election in Ndola on 25th August, 2022.
The successful candidates were Osius Telela of the Leadership Movement, UPND’s Bernard Kanengo, Richard Kalasa an independent candidate and Alfred Yombwe another independent candidate.
Earlier on Monday Mr Yombwe wrote to ECZ: “I write to inform you that pursuant to Article 52 (6) of the Constitution of Zambia, I have resigned and withdrawn my candidature from the forthcoming Kabushi Constituency by election scheduled for September 15th 2022 due to unfair practices on the part of other candidates in the campaign which includes distribution of money to the electorates as seen in some videos and beating up of people by the UPND. My campaign team has since been afraid to freely campaign.”
The Kabushi Seat fell vacant after the Constitutional Court upheld the High Court’s decision to nullify the election of Patriotic Front (PF”s) Bowman Lusambo over violence and bribery.
Mr. Lusambo attempted to re-contest the seat but ECZ rejected his nomination, the decision he is fighting in the courts of law.
… A very sad time for democracy- Antonio Mourinho Mwanza
Lusaka…. Tuesday, September 13, 2022 (Smart Eagles)
PF Media Director Antonio Mwanza says democracy has failed to thrive under the New Dawn Administration.
Speaking during the “Interview Program” on Millennium Radio today, Mr Mwanza lamented how President Hakainde Hichilema openly boasting about “hammering” the Electoral Commission of Zambia on a pretext that they were PF.
“The Electoral Commission of Zambia, I feel sorry for them…..it is understaffed. The President fired the chairman, they forced out the Chief Electoral Officer, they fired the Deputy Chairperson,” he said.
“And this President went to the Copperbelt, had a rally and at the public rally he was even celebrating and saying have you seen how I have hammered ba ECZ? So I will continue hammering them. Tibachosa bonse niba PF.” He added .
Mr Mwanza said the people that remained at ECZ cannot make decisions.
And Mr Mwanza said it is not the duty of the ECZ to interpret the Constitution.
“So we have an Electoral Commission of Zambia that is constrained because the Policy makers are off…..kwasala bana kuja, they can’t make decisions. So I feel sorry for the ECZ that they had to do the role for the political party called UPND by trying to interpret the Constitution of Zambia,” he said.
“The role of the Electoral Commission of Zambia is to conduct elections and not to interpret the Constitution. The Constitution is interpreted by the Constitutional Court. They went ahead and banned Bowman Lusambo and Joe Malanji illegally. And we thank God that the Constitutional Court has ruled that it was illegal what the Electoral Commission of Zambia did.” He added .
Meanwhile, Mr Mwanza charged that the ECZ, using the Anti-Corruption Commission and Drug Enforcement Commission are summoning members of the public who are contesting elections in Kabushi and in Kwacha to intimidate them.
He said this is so because they fear that some of them might withdraw, “already I have seen somebody who has withdrawn. And according to precedence and according to the law is that when there is a withdraw, the Electoral Commission of Zambia must conduct fresh nominations.” He said .
He however urged ACC to stop being used government to fight the political wars for the UPND.
BA-HH MWASEBANA BWANGU, YOU ARE A DISGRACEFUL LEADER, WITH YOUR DICTATORSHIP, LOOK AT WHAT YOUR SUPPORTERS (WESTERNERS) ARE READING ABOUT YOUR LEADERSHIP
Zambia’s chief state prosecutor says her life is in danger after the government withdrew all her security.
Lillian Siyunyi, who was appointed by the previous government, has fallen out with the new administration and is a subject of complaints against her professional conduct at the Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC).
She has refused to appear before the JCC arguing that her constitutional oath of secrecy first needed to be lifted by President Hakainde Hichilema before she could appear before the body.
As one of highest constitutional office holders in Zambia, the Director of Public Prosecutions swears an oath of secrecy which in part reads: “I will not directly or indirectly reveal or transmit any information or matter as shall be made known to me by reason of my office except as may be required in the discharge of my duties as such or with the authority of the president.”
Ms Siyunyi told the BBC that both the president and the attorney general had denied her request.
She complained that despite the waiver being denied, the JCC had proceeded with the hearing of the complaints against her.
Ms Siyunyi added that if she responded to any of the charges against her before the lifting of her oath of secrecy, she would be breaking the constitution and committing a crime.
“I have had to escape from home on more than three occasions” after threats from known ‘operatives’.”
“I am not at all saying that I am above the law but that there must be total compliance with the provisions of the constitution of Zambia which we all must uphold if we are to uphold the rule of law and protect human rights for all,” she said.
Presidential spokesperson, Anthony Bwalya, has since last week not responded to a BBC query on the matter.
On Monday, Information Minister and Chief government Spokesperson, Chushi Kasanda, referred all questions to Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe who was contacted by the BBC but has not yet responded.
ARE WE STUCK …where are we missing it, asks Kaingu
By Fanny Kalonda
FORMER education minister Michael Kaingu has wondered what is wrong with African countries that they are stuck and cannot develop on their own with all the resources around. He says countries like Japan and Singapore have developed without natural resources but just human resource. Dr Kaingu wondered whether it was Zambia’s educational system, laziness or comfort zone from America and Europe that the country cannot develop using its resources. “I have been in politics for quite a long. I have been a member of parliament for 10 years and a cabinet minister for eight years. I know and I have seen how rich our country is and how our policies have failed to dig out the abundant resources we are endowed with. Zambia is a vast country divided into 10 provinces and each province is rich and endowed with natural resources. In fact, each province has a capacity to determine its own destiny. Each province has a capacity to deliver more than $1.3 billion as contribution to the national treasury. What is then the problem?” he wondered. “Maybe before we answer this question, let’s look at the economies of selected small countries like Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia. What natural resources do they have other than human resource? How did they manage to transform themselves into the first world? Japan for example, is a mountainous island with completely no or few natural resources. How did it become so rich? Going back to our question: what is really the problem? To answer this question, we have to ask several questions. Who has developed each of those countries mentioned above? Is it the Americans or Europeans? The answer is, their own nationals. How much money was borrowed by those countries from the IMF or the World Bank? If it’s true the nationals of those countries built their economies then what is wrong with us? Is it our educational system? Is it laziness or comfort zone we get from our big sisters (America and Europe)?” Dr Kaingu noted that countries with less tourism than Zambia are surviving on tourism and wondered where the country was missing it. He said even with the water and land, agriculture is not being capitalised on adding that African countries should look at the good examples of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and late Tanzanian president John Magufuli. “Do we have the capacity on our own to transform our natural resources into wealth? Where is the problem? Honestly, can’t our copper mines give our national treasury $1.3 billion per year? If they can’t then what are we in it for? What about other minerals (cobalt, emeralds, gold, manganese etc), can’t we get $1.3 billion from them yearly? If we can’t then how much do we get? Where does the problem lie? We have the land and water, what is happening to our agriculture? Are we scratching? If we are why?” asked Dr Kaingu. “Countries with less tourism resources live on tourism. What is wrong with our tourism? Where are we missing it? I will not touch other sectors like transport, construction and trade. What is wrong with African countries? What is wrong with the nationals of African countries? Are we stuck and what makes us stuck? Is Paul Kagame and Rwanda or late president Magufuli and Tanzania a good example!”
Why did Alfred Yombwe withdraw from the Kabushi Parliament by election as an independent candidate?
The remaining candidates in the Kabushi race are Osius Telela of the Leadership Movement, UPND’s Bernard Kanengo and Richard Kalasa, an independent candidate.
Mr. Yombwe has spoken to Radio Icengelo News in Ndola.
There is no amount of money which can buy my constitutional right. There is no amount of money which can buy my constitutional right which I have committed myself to upholding by virtue of me being a citizen of this country.
So, there is no amount of money which can buy my constitutional right.
Whatever will happen I have resigned, I have withdrawn. The constitution will guide us on the way forward.
You remember last week, the Vice President (Mutale Nalumango) was in the constituency (Kabushi). The ECZ called all the candidates and stopped us from campaigning saying we needed to give space to the Vice President. She was there for three days and we were not campaigning. Just after she left, the President was here again. We were called by the ECZ and they told us not to go for campaigns until the president leaves after five days.
And you know politics are like football we have got tactics we can employ toward the end of the game but if we are barred from camping how are we going to execute those tactics? It is very unfair for us candidates.
Then we were complaining in PF that the government was using public resources to campaign for their candidates. We had the Vice President coming here using taxpayers money to campaign for their candidate.
The President and the Vice President campaigning for their candidate using public resources disadvantaged me as an independent candidate. So, we cannot move on with this nonsense going on around the country.
We can’t keep on massaging the same injustices we were complaining about in PF. What has changed? Is there any justification? Then we had someone from plot one (State House) who visited that family with triplets in Kabushi, he left some money amounting to K10, 000.
Is that not malpractice? Then the second authority in this land, she was worshipping in Lubuto UCZ (United Church of Zambia). She dished out some money to Churches, are these not the allegations that led to the nullification of that seat? So we can’t continue massaging the same things.
Then we had some incidents of political violence, UPND were beating the PF who are not even contesting for this seat and my campaign team feared for their lives. It is not fair at all so the best way is just to resign and withdraw from the race.
ECZ HAS NO CAPACITY TO INDEPENDENTLY MANAGE ELECTIONS
At the climax of this discussion is a conclusjon that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has reduced capacity to independently manage elections, in its current state. Now we dealing with Kabushi and Kwacha as experimental project and next it will be Lumezi and other constituencies.
But first let us get this clear.
What is the difference between withdrawal and resignation?
Under our Electoral Law, a withdraw is when a nominee (a person who applies to be a candidate), whether sponsored by a political party or independent, decides, before close of nomination withdraws his or her nomination paper [See Section 31 of the Electoral Process Act]. The person is not yet a candidate but has applied to be nominated as a candidate and has actually lodged in the nomination paper.
Under our Constitution, a resignation of a candidate takes place after close of nomination and before the election date. This person surrendering is not a nominee at this point but a candidate. [See Article 52(6) of the Constitution]
The debate has now been on what the word resignation means. The matter of interpreting Article 52(6) was before the Constitutional Court in the case of Michael Mbuyu Mutwena (a lawyer) v. Attorney General [2021/CCZ/0038] decided on 19th January, 2022. There is nothing much in the judgment except the arguments advanced by both the Attorney General and the suing lawyer. The court decided it would not intepret Article 52(6).
The only place we find the Court stating what resignation means can be found in the Judgment between Isaac Mwanza v. Electoral Commission of Zambia and Attorney General [2021/CCZ/0008] in which the Court cited, with approval, the Canadian Court case of Templeton v. RBC Dominion Securities Inc in which the Court said:
“A resignation is the decision to terminate a relationship or, equally, a fact, or circumstances which unequivocally reflects that decision.”
Another definition can be found in Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Edition, in which a resignation is said to be when one surrender any of these three things: (1) an office or (2) a right or (3) a claim.
There is no doubt that when one becomes a candidate, a relationship exist between the voters and the candidate himself or herself which can be terminated by a candidate surrendering a right to being a candidate or a claim to being a candidate. This is exactly what has happened in Kabushi.
Question now is: do we expect ECZ to act by cancelling that election and calling for fresh nominations? At the moment, ECZ has continued to lose public trust and confidence and I doubt they have the courage to perform their obligations.
ECZ has no substantive chairperson and no CEO but people who are performing duties in an acting capacity. They can’t take bold and independent decisions without being afraid of being fired. The Commission has also, by Gazette Notice No. 1123, been placed under the Office of the Vice President, thereby compromising its independence.
How Edgar Lungu Run a Corrupt Mafia State, That Looted & Bankrupted Our Coffers.
To gain access to national resources, Edgar Lungu created an environment which allowed many of his trusted lieutenants to loot without being questioned, it is also believed that he got a cut of every big deal that was made by government. In essence, he created a mafia state. Rumor has it that he owns properties dotted across the country and one such property is Ndozo Lodge which he registered in a proxy’s name
By Daimone Siulapwa
Unbeknownst to most people even now, the elections of 2016 placed the patron of criminals into State House. Prior to these elections, Edgar Lungu’s campaigns were financed by criminal elements because then acting President, Guy Scott had, rightly so, locked out government resources. This was the beginning of the State capture as Edgar Lungu’s allegiance was not to the State but to the criminal elements he was indebted to.
Institutional malaise then ensued where the arms of government, such as the judiciary, that should ideally promote the rule of law got compromised as the then President Edgar Lungu publicly threatened them thereby affecting the efficient delivery of justice.
By his own necessity, Edgar Lungu opened a Pandora box that ensured that power evolved around his personal bonds as he had crippled the Judiciary and law enforcement agencies. This is how Lungu and his PF created the all-powerful cadre movement that brought about their downfall among other issues.
As figures of the grand national heist and corruption begin to emerge, one is left to wonder how much money members of the former ruling party (PF), their children and associates are in possession of. If you put the pieces together, it is clear that ECL turned Zambia into a mafia state and allowed, knowingly, the looting of our country’s coffers by his criminal associates which was inimical to the country. Inarguably, there are pointers that indicate that he actually was in the forefront of looting and all the red flags where there for all to see, but I alas, he was too powerful to be challenged!
In the first 15 months of his presidency, President Lungu, according to a declaration of assets which he filed with the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), grew his fortune from K10.9 million to a whooping K23.7 million, representing a magical increase in his wealth of about 120 percent.
Additionally, as of May 31, 2016 President Lungu indicated that he had slightly above K491,000 in his bank account and he also declared that he owned a Toyota Land Cruiser GX V8 worth K450, 000; a farm at no. 919/50 in Lusaka valued at K2.5 million and a piece of land in Kanakantapa area valued at K150, 000.
Further, President Lungu declared that he owned a plot at stand No 12676/m in Chalala valued at K800, 000; Lex House suit No.1 worth K2 million; Lot No 211 Njalwe valued at K1.5 million and another on 38479 valued at K4.8 million and five real Estates plus shares in three private companies.
If President Lungu could grow his wealth by over K10 million in just one and a half years after ascending to power, how much wealth is now under his wraps?
However, one question begs answers. From what legitimate business activity did President Lungu generate that income when his official remuneration was only about K417, 000 plus another K117, 000 special allowances amounting to a gross of K534, 000 per year?
To gain access to national resources, Edgar Lungu created an environment which allowed many of his trusted lieutenants to loot without being questioned, it is also believed that he got a cut of every big deal that was made by government. In essence, he created a mafia state. Rumor has it that he owns properties dotted across the country and one such property is Ndozo Lodge which he registered in a proxy’s name.
During Edgar Lungu’s rule, criminal entities (both local and international) successfully infiltrated and compromised government institutions at all levels. Cadres became more powerful than the police, ministers became more powerful than the Judiciary and thus the rule of law was thrown into the gutter.
One year down the lane after being kicked out of government, the cruelty of the PF regime against its own people is still being felt and it will be felt for many more years to come. The PF regime was so gluttonous and selfish, such that while they were looting millions of dollars, bathing in milk, honey and champagne, and all sort of glamor, the masses whose money they where looting were wallowing in poverty. This self-entitlement caused them to neglect paying for the services they had acquired from innocent citizens both at party and government level and this sent many businesses and individuals to their early grave.
It is an open secret that criminals penetrated and infiltrated the PF government at all levels. All lucrative government deals where either given to non-existence businesses or businesses with questionable backgrounds and hefty amounts of bribes where paid to government officials to secure those deals. It is agonizing to note the amounts of the unexplained wealth the ACC is now exposing.
How did we economically go bust after borrowing millions in loans? Staggering incompetence, corruption and kleptocracy is at the core of it all. The state coffers were pillaged on an industrial scale by the PF elitist and their close criminal associates. With no transparency or public accounting of state budgets or expenditure, it is hard to calculate how much was looted from our coffers, but the Auditor General’s report for the last five years gives an insight of what was happening.
The ACC would do the country a good service by conducting a financial and lifestyle audit on all citizens who held a position of influence during the PF rule, from senior technocrats like directors all the way up to the level of minister.
As citizens, we need to know how much was really looted from our coffers. Without hard data, all we can do is to recognize the scale of the corruption from the terraces knowing that all this is a consequence of greediness and lack of transparency among others.
If nobody knows how much the state is earning and how it is spending it, then there is no accountability and therefore officials who control budgets can easily divert funds into their own pockets or those of their friends. This kleptocracy during Lungu’s rule is certainly one of the main factors that has brought Zambia to the edge of economic collapse and bankruptcy.
During Lungu’s rule, cadres became the new police, they could do anything they pleased without repercussions. They grabbed land and assets from innocent citizens, they beat and stripped naked police officers and usurped military power. They become a law unto themselves and most senior police/security officers become their ponies to the extent that senior military officials were saluting civilian PF cadres. If anything, the cadres became the biggest threat to the PF rule and in the end, they where the main cause of the fall from grace of PF.
The concept of mafia is omnipresent but very poorly understood in Zambia. A reason for our lack of understanding of this phenomenon lies in the inherent danger that there is an approaching the underworld. Undoubtedly, this is because a deeper investigation in this field is likely to severely reduce the researcher’s lifespan.
The key feature of the mafia state is that, favors are only given to a few loyal cohorts and their trusted associates. To this end, politicians-turned-godfathers must centralize protection payments, chiefly by ensuring that they receive a share of all commissions paid to access public procurements.
All and all, they must remove any challenge to their rule, so that their clients of protection understand that they need not pay anyone else but themselves. This, was the kind of governance that Lungu subjected Zambians to, during his seven-year rule. In the end he paid a high price and lost power and most importantly, he is yet to face the law for the grand abuse of office.
