Zambian Lawyers condemn President Lungu’s threats on judiciary over 3rd-term bid

03 Novembre 2017

Lusaka, Zambia, November 3  (Infosplusgabon) - The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has asked President Edgar Lungu to retract his statement against the judiciary over his eligibility to contest the 2021 elections.

President Lungu who spoke Thursday in Solwezi, north-western Zambia, warned that there would be chaos in the country if judges tried to emulate the Kenyan courts and stop his bid for a third term in 2021.

President Lungu charged that a clique of Zambian court judges is collaborating with a section of international community to bar him from standing in the 2021 elections.

He said the plot was similar to the recent cases in Kenya and South Africa where courts had given judgments against the ruling parties.

“People are saying Zambian courts should be very brave and make decisions like the Kenyan courts, saying Zambian courts should be brave and make decisions which are in the interests of the people. But look at what is happening in Kenya right now! I am saying the courts of law in Zambia should also see what is happening; they should not behave as though they are not part of our African continent.

"The most important thing I can say right now is that in 2021, I am available to stand if my party decides that I contest,” President Lungu said in Solwezi.

“But to our friends who are in the court system, I’m saying, do not plunge this country into chaos by imitating or emulating Kenya or any other court system, for that matter, which does not care about the interests of the people. I’m saying this in front of you people, there are cameras in front of me and there are Zambians who are writing and recording because I have heard some judges say ‘why don’t we emulate the Kenyan courts? They are very brave with what they have done.’ I don’t think that is right; we should preserve peace, we should listen to the voice of the people, we should reflect the will of the people in the Constitution. Whether I am eligible to stand or not in 2021 should not be dependent on imitating Kenya.”

But the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Linda Kasonde said in a statement on Friday that national unity and the integrity of Zambia’s democracy depend on the rule of law and justice for all.

“LAZ therefore calls on His Excellency President Edgar Lungu to retract his statement and assure the public that justice will be allowed to prevail no matter the outcome of the impending judgment or decision of the Constitutional Court in the case that will determine his eligibility for elections in 2021,” Kasonde stated.

“LAZ wishes to remind the Republican President, himself a lawyer, of his sworn duty under article 91 of the Constitution to ‘respect, uphold and safeguard our Constitution; promote democracy and enhance the unity of the nation; promote and protect the rights and freedoms of a person; and uphold the rule of law’”

Kasonde said that LAZ was alarmed by statements made by President Lungu on Thursday in Solwezi that appeared to threaten the judiciary against making any adverse ruling against him in the impending judgment on the issue of whether he is eligible to stand in 2021 as president.

Kasonde stated that her association was deeply concerned with the statement especially that they came from the Head of State.

“Such statements do little to dispel the notion that the executive tries to interfere with the work of the judiciary and that separation of powers in our democracy is limited. These statements further serve to undermine the authority of the judiciary and erode public confidence in the institution. As such, LAZ condemns these statements unreservedly,” Kasonde stated.

Currently, the matter is in court to determine whether President Lungu is eligible to stand in 2021 as President following his first election in January 2015 which he served to complete late President Michael Sata’s term and his re-election again in 2016.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/UHJ/GABON 2017

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