By Mubanga Mubanga
Former president Edgar Lungu says he is confident that justice will be done in his eligibility case coming up on Thursday and that he is going to be on the ballot in 2026.
And Lungu has urged the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) not to keep quiet over the injustice happening in the country because the people look up to them whenever there is injustice.
Speaking during a press briefing at the party secretariat yesterday, on the suspension of three Constitutional Judges by President Hakainde Hichilema, Lungu said his case was not about him or PF but called on justice to prevail.
“This is not about Edgar Lungu, it is not about PF, it is about justice. But l know there is justice, there will be justice. Edgar Lungu is on the ballot paper in 2026. Whatever these guys will do because the will of the people is the will of God. We should take care of this country by doing the right thing,” Lungu said.
Lungu said President Hakainde Hichilema
“Lacuna” instead of focusing on dealing with the high cost of living and ending loadshedding, was busy looking for ways to prevent him from standing in 2021.
“But l know that the man has missed it because right now he should have been dealing with the cost of living, high cost of living. He should have been dealing with loadshedding, he should have been answering the question I raised that why can’t you go to Mozambique tipaseniko Malaiti (give us electricity). You know a man is a Lacuna,” Lungu said.
He said the country was at a crossroad because President Hichilema wanted to control all the three organs of government.
Lungu said Zambians should not allow one man to control all three organs of government, which were the Judiciary, Executive and Legislature.
“But as a Zambian and as a patriot, I can tell you that we are now on a crossroad. What we have is a situation where one man wants to control the Judiciary, one man wants to control the Legislature, Parliament and one man controls the Executive,” he said. “You can’t have one man controlling the government in Zambia, we can’t! That is why these institutions have been put up, to make sure that there is fairness.”
Lungu also called on LAZ, senior lawyers who were State Counsels and the Church to sit down President Hichilema and advise him on how the separation of powers worked, failure to which, the country would be doomed.
“You know they call you QS (Queen’s Counsel) King’s Counsel now. Here in Zambia, they are called State Counsel. You are called King’s Counsel because you are at liberty to walk to this magistrate at any time and say my Lord, there is injustice here please can we do this thing properly,” Lungu said. “So expect those who claim or who have been bestowed great honor of State Counsel in Zambia as long as they are alive, to visit the Head of State through LAZ and advise him on how to handle democracy, advise him on how the separation of powers work. And why it is essential that he sticks to that otherwise we are doomed.”
Lungu further said Zambians should stand up and fight for democracy which was under threat under the UPND government
“I want to say to the Zambian people, time has come for you to stand up together and fight the injustice which is being applied in the judiciary, because when we lose the judiciary, we have lost democracy. We have lost everything we cherish. And what will remain is the dictatorship of one man,” Lungu said.
He said those who doubted him when he used to say that President Hichilema was not good for the country were now able to see for themselves, because there was no way a person could revisit the case of Lungu’s eligibility which was dealt with in 2016.
“Now you can see for yourselves that the matters that were dealt with in 2016 are being revisited now. We should ask ourselves,” he said.
Lungu said the suspension of three Constitutional Court Judges should make Zambians ask themselves as to who was governing them and this also should make them stand up.
On the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA), Lungu said the PF was still part of the alliance and that they had constituted a nine member committee to look into the relationship with with the alliance.
Lungu said despite the insults coming from other members of the alliance, he and PF had decided to be a bigger person because they were more mature and experienced than any party in the alliance.
Addressing PF supporters outside the secretariat, Lungu told them not to fear anything if they had to overcome the problems they were going through.
There was heavy police presence at the PF secretariat where Lungu held the press briefing.
The police were stationed in different places near the secretariat while others were at Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) headquarters.
Some were also stationed on Panganani Road.
Before the press briefing started, PF secretary general Raphael Nakachinda went to have an audience with a senior police officer who was in charge of the operation.
But the senior police officers assured him not to worry as they were there to maintain law and order.
PF members of parliament among them Shiwangandu member of parliament Steven Kapyongo, Lundazi member of parliament Brenda Nyirenda, Mporokoso member of parliament Brian Mundibile attended the briefing.
