By Mubanga Mubanga
Civil rights activist Brebner Changala says the technical committee that has been constituted to amend the constitution by President Hakainde Hichilema are a “brought in dead” project.
Speaking in an interview with Daily Revelation yesterday, Changala said the technical committee has been made to do an exercise that has been roundly condemned by the Zambian people.
“The technical committee that was appointed by the president, is a bid, it is a bid brought in dead. It has been made to do an exercise that has been roundly condemned, roundly rejected by society. This bill, bill ten (7) has been declared unconstitutional by the constitutional court. So, the government through the executive wants to facade the people of Zambia,” Changala said. “But l want to remind them that the constitution is not for one individual, it is not for a political party. Neither, it is there to serve partisan interests. It is there to serve the interests of all Zambians, and all those people that live in it.”
However, Changala appealed to technical committee chairperson Christopher Mushabati to clarify to the people why he accepted an appointment over a body that was not properly constituted.
“My appeal is to the technical committee chairman Mr Mushabati who is a former judge and who is a lawyer. He must clarify whether the article which under he has been appointed, and constituted the technical committee is a correct article. He must clarify to the people why he accepted an appointment that is not properly constituted, and the committee that is against the Constitutional Court ruling,” Changala said. “What is supposed to be done is that Mushabati, and his colleagues were supposed to be constituted under the inquiries Act, where they will have power to subpoena individuals and other judicial remedies that might need to make their job easier, like the ability to summon documents.”
Changala said the committee members must learn not to accept appointments that were not in the best interest of the country.
“I must also appeal to the committee members sometimes to learn to refuse appointments that are not in the best interest of the nation,” said Changala. “They must not accept appointments because it benefits them individually at that moment in time. And yet, it leaves a huge gap and damage to the administration of the law reforms in this country.”
