By Daily Revelation Reporter
Nelly Mutti is just a cheap UPND cadre, Bowman Lusambo has charged.
But Speaker of the National Assembly Mutti ruled that Lusambo cannot continue to enjoy parliamentary privileges as his seat was nullified by the High Court and would only be able to do so if that decision were reversed by the Constitutional Court.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Lusambo charged that Speaker Mutti was being used by the executive to kill democracy in this country, saying as Speaker she was there to guide the legislation of the laws and not the interpretation thereof.
“When she was reading she was shivering and you can’t have a Speaker who can be used without shame. We know these guys have failed, so it was a way of silencing us to do what they have to do to bring the IMF statement o read it to themselves, which is rubbish because it was supposed to be debated. We are not going to allow any individual to destroy democracy,” Lusambo said. “She’s just a cheap cadre.”
Lusambo said he will seek legal interpretation through a judicial review of what Speaker Mutti has decided.
He wondered “how my going out of parliament will reduce the fuel pump price.”
Lusambo said his life was not dependent on the K1500 sitting allowances nor “the K20,000 or K40,000 we receive from parliament.”
He said he couldn’t have sought a stay of execution following the nullification arguing that Margaret Mwanakatwe, Masumba and others stayed in the house for over one year when faced with the same situation.
Speaker Mutti ruled that in Lusambo’s situation where his seat was nullified by the High Court, he could only enjoy parliamentary privileges if that were reversed by the Constitutional Court, on appeal.
“This is a more practical application of the law rather than following up a Member of Parliament for emoluments he or she
would have earned from the time of the decision of the High Court to the time of the decision of the appeal by the Constitutional Court, in the event that the appeal is unsuccessful. In short, the determination of a petition as envisaged in Article 73(4) of the Constitution is the determination by the High Court, which applies to situations where an aggrieved party appeals or does not appeal to the Constitutional Court,” Speaker Mutti said. “In view of the foregoing, it is my considered view that Mr B C Lusambo,MP is out of order to remain in the House after the nullification of his election by the High Court. Further, Hon Members, in view of my ruling, all Members of Parliament whose election was nullified by a decision of the High Court, whether or not such decision has been appealed against, shall forthwith not take part in any Parliamentary business. Only those who will be successful in their appeals in the Constitutional Court will be allowed back in the House and take part in Parliamentary Business.”
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