Kelvin Bwalya Fube

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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