THE IMPLICATION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT ON DEATH PENALTY CLAUSE
The President has made a commendable statement on the death penalty clause which he desires to have it abolished in Zambia.
This Presidential statement is heavily packed, in my view, as it indirectly means that the President is calling for the holding of the National Referendum to abolition death penalty in Zambia.
I say so because Part III of the Constitution which is the Bill of Right’s can’t have its text, punctuation such a comma or full stop changed, altered unless, as required by Article 79, such an alteration or change is subjected to a National Referendum.
In this case, the Death PENALTY clause is contained in the Bill of Rights under Article 12 under [Protection of rights of life] which is entreched and caveated.
Article 12(1) states that “no person shall be deprived of his life intentionally EXCEPT in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence under the law in force in Zambia of which s/he has been convicted*
To lift this caveat to facilitate an alteration repeal, deletion or amendment of the death penalty clause (Article 12(1), Article 79 of the Constitution of 1996 does provide adequate guidance.
Art 79 guides that *a bill for the alteration of Part III (Bill of Rights) of this Constitution [which contain Art 12] or of this Article [79] shall not be passed unless before the first reading of the bill in the National Assembly it has been put to a *National referendum* with or without amendment by not less than fifty per cent of persons entitled to be registered as voters for the purposes of Presidential and parliamentary elections.
Therefore, and perhaps why some leaders failed before us could be because they were avoiding National Referendum.
With the new Presidential zeal on this death penalty clause, it will be unavoidable to avoid the holding of a National Referendum and a national referendum is an unavoidable necessity.
With this zeal and the enthusiasm from the President to work round the clock to do away with the death penalty clause from the country’s statutes, let us prepare for the holding of the National Referendum.
I submit
McDonald Chipenzi.