By Isaac Zulu
PF presidential aspirant Emmanuel Mwamba has told justice minister Mulambo Haimbe that the UPND were engaged in lawlessness by ignoring court orders, but the justice minister pleaded that that is now water under the bridge and the nation should now move on.
Haimbe was featuring on Radio Phoenix’s Let the People Talk Radio programme, when Zambia’s former Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union, Amb Mwamba called in to tell him that what the UPND did in Kwacha and Kabushi was simply lawlessness.
Amb Mwamba charged that the UPND abrogated the Constitution by going to an election when there were pending matters before the courts of law.
“Ignoring a court order is tantamount to lawlessness on the phone part of the UPND. That kind of lawlessness should not be entertained Honourable Minister. The Constitutional Court ruled that our candidates were eligible. Secondly, there was a court order pending in the High Court. So these elections are illegal,” said Ambassador Mwamba.
In response Haimbe, who is also Lusaka Central member of parliament, charged that the Patriot Front cannot be given special treatment as the law was blind to that.
“PF should not seek special treatment. They cannot be given special treatment because the law is blind. Being an aspiring presidential candidate, Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba should advise his party members that this is water under the bridge, let’s move on,” Haimbe said. “I don’t expect Ambassador Mwamba to be acrimonious. Sorry to put you on the spot. And that is why I am appealing to everyone that let’s sit down and sort out these issues. Let’s deal with all the absurdity in our laws. This is a proposal, which I think should be driven by consesus.”
He noted that in an event that the Patriot Front leadership insists on petitioning the holding of the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections, the country will again witness a protracted legal battle, which he said is likely to derail development in the two constituencies.
He called on his fellow parliamentarians to reach a common interest and support “government’s resolve to embark Constitutional reforms.
“Instead of fighting each other nail and tooth in the Courts of Law; as Zambians we must agree to reach a common interest and address what is hanging in our statutes. As a person holding this position at the moment, my humble appeal to all citizens and my fellow members of parliament is that we need to embark on Constitutional reforms. We missed a Constitutional crisis. So let’s not go back to that,” Haimbe said.
He said had the Electoral Commission of Zambia not proceeded with the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections the country was going to have a Constitutional crisis, arguing that the Constitution provides that a seat that falls vacant in Parliament must be filled within a specified time frame, and therefore the ECZ found it prudent to proceed with the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections.
He said there was no conspiracy for the electoral body to arrive at such a decision, saying that the Electoral Commission of Zambia is operating autonomously.
“I want to put a caveat that I am not speaking on behalf of the Electoral Commission of Zambia as they execute their mandate of managing elections in the country. The ECZ is carrying out its mandate autonomously. Where is the evidence that there is compromise? There is no compromise,” Haimbe explained. “The Constitution provides that a seat that falls vacant in Parliament must be filled within a specific time frame. And realising that time was ticking, the Electoral Commission of Zambia made a prudent decision to hold the said by-elections in order to avoid a Constitutional crisis. And because of legal technicalities the stay that was pending in the High Court died a natural death. Had the Electoral Commission of Zambia not proceeded with the Kabushi and Kwacha parliamentary by-elections, the country was going to have a Constitutional crisis. So there is no conspiracy and the UPND did not abrogate the Constitution by participating in the two by-elections. The PF had a democratic right to replace their candidates, but they slept on their rights and opted to go to Court.”
He said that there is nothing wrong with the High Court and the Constitutional Court to give contradictory interpretations of the law, saying “this is normal in the practice of law.”
“These are daily happenings in the legal profession. And there are precedents to that effect,” said Haimbe.
