The Gathering Storm:The HH-ECL Case

The Gathering Storm:The HH-ECL Case

By Anthony Mukwita

“Settled by law” means that a ‘body of precedent has been established and is considered to be the law in a particular jurisdiction.’

Judges may use the phrase to ‘indicate that they accept the precedent and will apply it, even if they don’t agree with all of the opinions.”

The above is what senior Counselor Kelvin Fube Bwalya elucidated in an interview ahead of the Concourt final final, final judgement expected in Zambia next week on 10th December regarding a petition against sixth President of Zambia Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Without prejudice, the Counselor aka KBF said he is gobsmacked right now to see the Concourt preparing to settle the matter once again when it’s been ‘ settled by law’.

KBF, like many Zambians asks one question, ‘ what has changed’?

What new evidence has been presented since the last time Concourt judges presided over most consequential legal matter in Zambia regarding whether the sixth President of Zambia Edgar Lungu should run for office again or not?

The consequences of overturning the Concourts decision to allow Lungu to run previously but bar him in 2026 could have dire  effects on the political/judicial landscape of Zambia and by dire, a possible fresh poll could be called according to KBF because unlike sports such as athletics, you cannot transfer ECL’s ‘ flawed’ victory to the runner up HH if it comes to that hypothetically.

And therein lies the dilemma, as many in Zambia and beyond opine that, this time around come December 10, the Judiciary itself will be on trial.
A trial that unlike no other in Zambia’s history shall be beamed live by the state broadcaster for unknown but suspicious reasons according to pundits.

This is the Gathering Storm and Edgar Lungu’s  name is scrolled on it in red vs incumbent nemesis Hakainde Hichilema.

Because a judgement has not been passed yet, I hasten to end here where KBF did and watch the political rod in Zambia being lit.

Allow me to move from the Concourt to diplomacy in reference to the recent unexplained ‘in and out’ visit of the $200 million dollar man Steve Harvey, the renowned American comedian.

THE STEVE HARVEY FACTOR IN ZAMBIA

I cringed and wished the earth would open up and swallow me when I saw Steve acting disrespectfully while seated on the same table as Don HH.

How could we allow the Don’s  handler Jito to sit on the table, such as disrespectful ill-mannered and temperamental   guest, at the Presidential palace and shout to the teleprompter ‘ next next next…’

It was so excruciatingly painful to watch, whether you like President Hichilema or not because, either way, he is President of the republic, voted for by a majority cadre of Zambians across the divide.

I served as the topmost country envoy myself once and shared the same title as the President as an ‘excellency’ and my recollection is that I was treated with utmost respect as an extension of the Presidency, not the way Harvey acted before Don H.

That’s why I find it abominable that Harvey the comic could be allowed to be smug and smirk across the table with Don H, that was a major diplomatic blunder of humongous proportion because as they say, “how you look during rehearsal, is how you come out on stage”,  from my experience and education as a diplomat.

I am wondering yet again, where is the Foreign Affairs ministry on this Harvey scam, should such important diplomatic tasks be left with one Jito?
Don’t you think our big brother Special Envoy Lazarous should have risen to this plate?

My experience is that the Harvey botched PR event should have been carefully choreographed like they do abroad and he should have been told to behave respectfully before Don H, the same way he would before Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron or some such.
In the parlance of Barack Obama, “I wanna know whose ….must get kicked.”

No more Harvey’s no more Neo’s they cannot distract us from immense poverty, power shortages and high fuel prices.

Let’s set up meetings for the presidency, that add value more than those that end up belittling the office, we just have self national pride to risk.

I have no doubt that if Ambassador Lazarous Kapembwa handled this Harvey diplomatic engagement, it would have not ended up in such a super league mess or gaffe as it ultimately did.
I move now to the so-called land of the brave and free, the United States where power is about to change hands next month from Uncle Joe Biden to the Don, Trump.

THE CONTRADICTIONS OF AMERICA POLITICIANS

When  some hombres in Zambia or Africa watch politics unfold in the western neck of the woods, they regard Africa as the ‘ other’  where politicians lie and philander while in the west, politicians are forthright.
Well I hate to burst your bubble but politicians lie in the west as they lie in Africa, it’s just in their nature.
Don’t bother to understand why they lie, you have to be a politician in order to understand it.
So in the US, Uncle Joe Biden told journalists that, even with the immense power he holds to pardon selected criminals as he leaves office, he would never use those super powers to pardon his troubled son Hunter who was awaiting a jury decision on charges of possessing a gun and some murky tax issues but guess what?, he has  pardoned Hunter.
Biden’s decision has been slammed as hypocritical, even shameful by many including his incoming nemesis Donald Trump.
But fast reset back in time, you will find that Trump pardoned his  Father in law Charles Kushner over some real estate problems when he was President.
Trump has presently gone ahead to appoint Charles, the father of  son in law Jared  Kushner, Ambassador to France.
Jared is the husband to the Don’s daughter Ivanka.
The Don is also likely to pardon those jailed for attempting to ‘ overturn’  the constitution after the polls he lost to Biden in 2020 or January 6 saga.
Strange or not strange right?
Let me end with the hypocrisy in the middle east where America is arming Israel to fight Gaza in a conflict that has seen almost 45,000 Palestinians dead within 14 months and yet they condemn Russia for bombing Ukraine with the help of North Korea.  
‘C’est la vie’ as I have noticed in this life or the next so don’t get surprised when you see CDF funds disappear in Zambia through ‘air supply’ of ambulances under the current government that condemned their predecessors of grand graft before assuming office.
Don’t lose focus on the ‘ gathering storm’  on December 10 as ECL and HH ostensibly set the poll stage for 2026.

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Anthony Mukwita is a former Ambassador of Zambia to several European countries. Amb. Mukwita is also a published author whose books are available in Bookworld,  Grey Matter and Amazon.

Source: The Daily Nation-Mukwita on Point