SPEAKER HAS SHREDDED OUR CONSTITUTION

…by usurping the powers of the Judiciary to interpret the law

THEPatriotic Front (PF) has instructed the lead er of the opposition in Parliament, Mr Brian Mun dubile to immediately start the process of impeaching the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nelly Mutti for breaching the Constitution.

Madam Mutti’s ruling that Kabushi PF member of Parlia ment Bowman Lusambo must not attend and participate in Parliamentary proceedings following the nullification of his election by the High Court is not only illegal but also unconstitutional.

However, her shocking behaviour did not come as a surprise to the PF. It followed three well-orchestrated and inter-related judicial process es initiated by the United Par ty for National Development (UPND) and its surrogates.

The Speaker’s conduct rais es a number of questions.

How could a person of her experience make such el ementary mistakes? Where were all the advisors and clerks of the National Assem bly when she was writing such a nonsensical ruling?

Is this the kind of the meri torious and quality leadership President Hakainde Hichilema promised Zambians? Is she part of the UPND’s scheme to destroy the PF?

These questions are beg ging for honest answers. The UPND has, through its sur rogates, petitioned the Con stitutional Court challenging the continued attendance of Parliament business by those members whose elections have been nullified by the High Court.

This petition was followed by a point of order raised by a UPND MP challenging the at tendance of Parliament busi ness by Mr Lusambo after his election had been nullified by the High Court.

Another petition initiated by the UPND in the Constitu tional Court seeks to amend the Electoral Process Act by declaring section 97 void. The aim of this action is to lower and lighten the standard of proof so that it becomes easier for courts to nullify the elec tion of PF MPs.

We are aware of the grand scheme to destroy the PF and the opposition so that Zam bia remains a one-party state under the UPND. But Zambi ans are patriotic. They have embraced democracy and will therefore not allow this to happen.

The sacred floor of the House and the courts of law should not be used to kill de mocracy alongside the harass ment of all known members of the PF starting with our pow erless and defenceless mem bers at the lower levels of the party’s structures.

Many members of the PF have had their homes and businesses destroyed by UPND cadres in this evil cru sade, but Zambians are watching.

On another front of the relentless crusade numerous members of our party have been summoned by the po lice to answer to trumped up charges, some of which con cern incidents that occurred more than five years ago.

As this multiple-front as sault on democracy was being played out in the muddled political theatre the UPND pe titioned all our parliamentary, mayoral, council chairperson and coucillors’ election across the country. The aim was to utterly obliterate the PF everywhere.

Like other past ill-con ceived schemes this has lam entably failed. The tribunals validated all our local gov ernment victories except in Serenje. Also, the High Court validated all except nine parliamentary elections.

These unexpected out comes have been a slap in the face of the vindictive UPND, which is angry and has resort ed to dirty tactics.

It is clear for anyone to see that these processes were not innocent but well calculated to achieve a predetermined outcome. Why are we making this assumption? Let us con sider the most unfortunate and unbelievable ruling of the Speaker, which she painstak ingly delivered on Tuesday.

Parliament is a house of rules and follows the Consti tution, the National Assem bly Powers and Privileges Act, Standing Orders, written au thorities such as Erskine May and others, precedents, prac tice and traditions.

Speakers are guided by these authorities when mak ing determinations of any point of order.

Therefore, when making the ruling on the point of or der concerning Mr Lusambo, the Speaker should have been guided on whether or not the subject of the point of order had been raised in the past in the House or in a court of rele vant jurisdiction.

She would have realised that a point of order on such a matter was not coming for the first time. Many MPs whose elections had been nullified by the High Court retained their seats awaiting the final determination of the court of appeal or superior courts, in cluding now the Constitution al Court.

Such cases include that of Mr Emmanuel Munaile, whose appeal dragged on until the fifth year of his stay in Parliament.

The Speaker should have been informed that her pre decessor, Justice Patrick Mat ibini, had addressed a similar matter in the case of Mr Geof frey Bwalya Mwamba.

Also, the Constitutional Court ruled, in part, in the case of Margaret Mwanakatwe Vs Charlotte Scott:

“My considered view is that I see no need to entertain this application for stay any further when, by operation of law and in terms of the Consti tution, it is clear when a seat becomes vacant. One of the instances is when the Consti tutional Court makes a final determination on a seat that has been nullified.

“I find this application for stay of execution of the judge ment of the court below irrele vant because when there is an appeal, the law, as per consti tutional provisions, has stated that the seat only becomes vacant after the final determi nation of the Constitutional Court.”

This judgement is very in structive and is as valid now as it was when it was delivered. No court has upturned it and the Speaker, therefore, has no powers to do so now.

GEARS has petitioned the Constitutional Court on the continued stay of the nine PF MPs whose elections were nullified. But before the de termination of the matter by the Constitutional Court, as the Constitution guides, the Speaker has made her own de termination, making the court process impotent.

The PF has therefore in structed its legal team to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on whether the Speaker’s ruling is not nonsensical, ille gal and unconstitutional.

We have also instructed the leader of the opposition, Mr Mundubile, to put in motion the process of impeaching the Speaker for grossly breaching the same Constitution she swore to protect by usurping the powers of the Constitu tional Court and the Judiciary in general to interpret the law.