By Staff Reporter
The OASIS Forum has petitioned the Constitutional Court seeking a declaration that the constitutional amendment process undertaken through the Technical Committee is not people driven, and is inconsistent with several articles in the Republican constitution.
The six petitioners, five of which make up the OASIS Forum, including the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), NGOCC, and then LCK Freedom Foundation Limited, have petitioned that the technical committee appointed by President Hakainde Hichilema lacked the independence for a constitutional reform body, having regard to its composition, the overlap between its terms of reference and Bill 7 of 2025 and public admissions of executive influence, and that its establishment and conduct therefore, violated the constitutional standards articulated by the court in the Munir Zulu case.
The group is seeking a declaration that the constitutional amendment process undertaken through the Technical Committee is not people driven, is inconsistent with Articles 5, 8 and 9 of the constitution and violated the binding directive in the Munir Zulu case requiring that the process be based on wide consultations with the people and led by an independent body of experts.
The grouping sought a declaration that “all acts, consultations, recommendations, outcomes and any draft constitutional amendments Bill emanating from or produced by the technical committee are unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.”
They are seeking for an order directing the respondent and the government to initiate any future constitutional review or amendment process only through an independent, transparent, inclusive and people driven mechanism established by or under enabling legislation, consistent with the constitution and the court’s judgement in the Munir Zulu case
