Zambia defend your democracy

By Daily Revelation Editor

“My office received correspondences from Mr Morgan Ng’onga, the secretary general of the PF on December 6, 2023, to the effect that nine PF members have been expelled from the party. Consequently, the nine members on December 8, 2023, the nine challenged the expulsion by way of a petition in a case of honourable Ronald Chitotela and eight others versus honourable Miles Sampa,” Second deputy Speaker Moses Moyo said last Wednesday.

He added that, “All the members remain expelled and they were out of order to remain in parliament and take part in parliamentary business. Further since there is the challenge of the expulsion properly before the court, and the expulsion having effected in December, 2023, I consider that a vacancy has occurred in the named constituencies. I evoke power vested in me, to write to the Electoral Commission of Zambia informing it of the vacancies in the said constituencies effectively June 27, 2024. I therefore, advise the nine to leave the house.”

And just that like Moses declared the nine PF parliamentary seats vacant. And the ease with which he declared the same was like one reclining in his chair at home while watching a nice movie with a plate of popcorns by his side.

The speed at which the whole thing moved was astonishing, despite Miles Sampa having moved swiftly to try to undo the ‘bridesmaid’s’ mess which he had willingly created, of course taking advantage of Edgar Lungu’s political games over the vacancy he had allowed to remain open in the PF, so that he could come back and fill it in when the occasion allowed. However, that should still not justify the extent to which Miles and his colleagues went in allowing those in power to undertake the savage damage of the biggest opposition political party in the country. Despite their many denials, everything in terms of change of names at the registrar, speedy acceptable of changes to the positions of leader of opposition and opposition whip and the action by Moyo, points to the very visible powerful hand orchestrating things from both behind and also in front.

We even wonder why there was a rush to even move at that electric train speed to declare the seats vacant when there is ongoing litigation over the same matters. One would think that any patriotic government official would have wished to see to it that every legal means were applied to secure the seats and save the meagre public resources on other worthy ventures during this season of crippling load shedding, reduced economic projections from 4.8 percent to around over 2 percent, the highest ever fuel and mealie-meal prices and among the worst cost of living ever endured by the Zambian people.

However, in Nelly Mutti and her subordinate’s wisdom, all this did not matter. They seemed to have acted gleefully like in a carefully choreographed orchestra when acting on the point of order raised by Information minister Cornelius Mweetwa, if the nine were in order to remain in the house following the Constitutional Court ruling that they were not the right jurisdiction to handle the matter of the members of parliament and the Miles camp.

And now the country is bearing towards the prospect of this unnecessary wastage of national resources. We urge Zambians to firmly defend the democracy they have always treasured from time immemorial. Such impunity must never be tolerated.