By Isaac Mwanza
Zambia’s Republican President Hakainde Hichilema, on assumption of office of President, made a public commitment to govern the nation in strict accordance with the principles of the rule of law. This commitment made President Hichilema garner both international and local recognition and praise.
However, recent actions by various government departments and institutions in a matter involving the supervision of the Patriotic Front (PF) as a Society not only undermine the President’s commitment but also underscore a troubling rise and endorsement of lawlessness.
The Registrar of Societies, Zambia Police Service (ZP), Lusaka City Council (LCC) and now Parliament are all accomplices in the rising lawlessness in the control and supervision of legally registered societies, in this particular case the PF Party.
It all began with ZP and LCC accepting notifications from non-office bearers of the Patriotic Front and not objecting to changes of office-bearers. It has now extended to actions of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nellie Mutti and Clerk of the National Assembly, Cecilia Sikatele.
A Registrar of Societies is a career civil servant whose role is, among others, to keep official records of office bearers of a registered society such as the Patriotic Front in the control and supervision of Societies. These records serve as a basis for the Registrar to know from whom to seek instructions.
And a professional Registrar who strictly adheres to the rule of law would be aware that the legal requirement specifies that she can only accept notifications for changes in office bearers from individuals who are officially registered as office bearers, rather than allowing any individual who desires to take control of a registered society to do so.
In the event that a society such as a political party undergoes changes in its office bearers, Rule 15(1) as read together with Rule 20 of the Societies Rules vests the responsibility in the existing office bearers, as known to the Registrar, to inform her of these changes. Rule 20 of the Societies Rules explicitly outlines this responsibility, stating:
“All information and every notification or return required by the Registrar or by the provisions of this Act or these Rules shall be signed by two office bearers.”
The law itself defines office bearers, with Section 2 clearly specifying that:
“office-bearer”, in relation to any society or any committee or governing or executive body of a society, means any person who is the president, vice-president, chairman, deputy chairman, secretary or treasurer of such society, committee or body, or who holds therein any office or position.
In the case at hand, the individuals who should have informed the Registrar of changes to the PF’s register following the convention organized by Miles Sampa are those whose names were officially filed by the PF and were known to the Registrar as Office bearers.
The law does not grant Miles Sampa, the purported President-elect, or his proxy Secretary General any authority to notify the Registrar and initiate changes to the registered office bearers.
Consequently, it becomes a manifestation of significant lawlessness for the Registrar to act, if indeed she so acted, on a notice that was not filed in accordance with legal requirements.
Furthermore, the National Assembly of Zambia, as an organ of government, appear to have unilaterally recognised Miles Sampa and Morgan Ng’ona as the leaders of the PF.
On November 1, 2023, a series of actions where taken by both the Speaker and Clerk of the National Assembly that endorsed the ongoing confusion thus entangling themselves in the lawlessness.
Speaker Mutti had announced that she had received a letter from a Mr. Morgan Ng’ona, who claimed to be the Secretary General of the Patriotic Front (PF) on changes in the Office of Leader of the Opposition, and endorsed the changes made.
It was unclear how Ms Mutti determined that a Mr. Ng’ona and Miles Sampa were the legitimate leaders of the PF, as opposed to those who are being recognized by the PF itself. Hers was to speedily effect the changes and dodge any further question on her decision. She probably knew she had no answers and her action was embarrassingly political.
But it is now clear that her efforts were not solo but were part of this series of lawless actions initiated by Sampa and his cronies.
On the same day the Speaker was making the announcement, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Cecilia Sikatele, had sent a letter to Miles Sampa, declaring the appointment of Raphael Nakacinda as Secretary General of the Patriotic Front as a nullity.
Mrs. Sikatele had made up their mind to get entangled in the confusion and perpetuating the lawlessness. She shockingly wrote:
“With regard to Mr Raphael Nakacinda, I am directed to inform you that the National Assembly notes that his appointment as acting Secretary General of the PF was made by Mr Given Lubinda on 11th September, 2023, in his capacity as acting President of the PF. At that time, there was an interim injunction restraining Mr. Lubinda from acting as President of the PF. In that regard, Mr. Raphael Nakacinda’s appointment was a nullity.”
Mrs. Sikatele took it upon herself to act as a court when she interpreted and declared the appointment of a party functionary as null and void. This was not only an unwarranted intrusion into internal party politics but also reflects a disregard for the judiciary and a manifestation of lawlessness.
The above actions by the Speaker and the Clerk are outside the purview of their roles and responsibilities and undermine the established legal procedures for resolving such matters, creating further confusion and uncertainty within the political landscape.
It is clear that, like Miles Sampa and his followers, neither the Speaker, the Clerk, Registrar, ZP and LCC officials are concerned about the legalities of their actions. They are simply flowing with the ongoing politics and have no options at all.
The government has also communicated to the public that on October 30, 2023, the Secretary to the Cabinet sent a letter to the former Sixth Republican President, Dr. Edgar Lungu, notifying him of the withdrawal of his benefits.
This decision was made on the grounds that President Lungu had emerged from what the Patriotic Front had been describing as a period of leave to actively assume his role as an elected PF Party President.
The withdrawal of benefits signifies an acknowledgment that President Lungu is actively engaged in politics, specifically as the President of the Patriotic Front. And Government cannot be faulted when it withdrew his benefits but government actions present a somehow significant contradiction.
On one hand, government institutions and Parliament have recognised Miles Sampa as the President of the Patriotic Front (PF). On the other hand, the same government has proceeded to withdraw benefits, stating that it is Dr. Edgar Lungu who is the PF President and is thus actively involved in politics.
Under the principles of the rule of law, the government can only officially recognize one leader. It cannot simultaneously recognize both President Lungu and Miles Sampa as the PF President. Its creates a situation that is so absurd.
If it is President Lungu whom they have recognised and have since withdrawn his retirement benefits, then Miles Sampa cannot be recognised as President and decisions taken by Parliament and other organs are absurd and illegal.
This confusion and inconsistency in the recognition of both President Lungu whom they have taken away benefits and Miles Sampa whose actions are being endorsed party only contributes to the prevailing uncertainty and lawlessness.
This author has taken a clear stance that former President Edgar Lungu has never officially retired from active politics, has consistently held the position of President within the Patriotic Front (PF) since 2021 and should not have been entitled to receive the benefits under the law.
It should be acknowledged that President Lungu’s active political involvement and the leadership matters within the PF are currently subject to legal proceedings. There is however a genuine concern about how the Judiciary has always been slow in determining these cases that border on our democracy, leaving government institutions to make determinations about who they wish to recognize as leaders of opposition parties.
This situation is problematic because it does not align with the principles of the rule of law. The recognition of party leaders should be based on legal and procedural considerations, not the decisions of the executive and legislative branches.
From a pattern that has developed since 1991, it can be observed that ruling parties get involved in destroying internal systems of former ruling parties. However, it is crucial to emphasize that the government, through its various organs, particularly Parliament and institutions, should refrain from legitimizing such manoeuvres that have the potential to undermine the democratic foundations of the country.
In a healthy democracy, it is essential that political parties operate within the framework of the law and engage in their activities independently, without undue interference or support from the government.
The government’s role should be to ensure the rule of law, maintain impartiality, and provide a level playing field for all political parties to participate in the democratic process.
Allowing government institutions to become involved in the internal affairs of political parties can erode the fundamental principles of democracy and lead to a highly volatile and unbalanced playing field.
It is imperative that the government upholds the principles of democracy and refrains from taking sides in political party matters to maintain the integrity of the democratic process.
The biggest culprit in all this is Community House. All these institutions and persons are doing what they’ve been instructed to do, unfortunately some people may individually end up in prison. FTJ used many and quite a good number of them ended up in prison. This lawlessness won’t go unpunished. I can name a few that will definitely have an appointment with the Law after the HH tenure: Nellie, Christopher Mundia, Namachila, Hamasaka, Sejani, Musamba, Muyambango, Siandenge, Mwaliteta, etc. You can add others
@Deja Vu, HH has run out of ideas and unfortunately he doesn’t have what it takes to withstand the pressure. That goodwill was lost long ago, hence the panic. What’s happening is a realization that he’s lost popularity except he’s trying to maintain power the wrong way
Very hypocritical of you to state that. Edgar Lungu is the one that has transfixed this situation on the PF. He has a right to return to active politics but very soon the door will be closed for him to find his name on any ballot for the presidency.
Sorry, it looks a bit complicated in the case of the PF. Miles Sampa is arguing before court that the purported PF office bearers have no mandate to act on behalf of the party as their terms of office have expired. It’s not for me to say if Miles Sampa is telling the whole truth here but that is his argument and the court is yet to make a determination.
Which means we will not make progress at all. All this nonsense should have been left in the past. A clever person’s greatest lesson comes from what happened to another person. If you ignore that, then you will end up like that person.
Why can’t Upnd concentrate on solving the problems facing the people in the nation.
Eliminating the PF won’t give us the solution to solve the woes facing us.
You have the good will of the people please don’t lose it by doing the things that won’t feed us.
President Hichilema, listen more and abandon Miles Sampa project. Its making you unpopular and looking no different from your predecessors. Read this and listen to the wisdom in it.
How does the Miles Sampa project involve HH? Are you aware that in the first place Miles Sampa is the rightful PF president? Chickens are just coming home to roost.
HH is losing support of international community, especially western countries, coz of his lieutenants except they can’t come out like they did under previous regime coz he is their blue-eyed boy and only one who can protect agreements he’s given them. Turn back from this path Mr President and allow democracy to flourish. At this pace, you making upnd become worser than the violent pf
What is happening is madness, systemic lawlessness and I regret voting at all in 2021. Thought we were putting democrats in office but now realise we put in worser people ready to kill our democracy.
Sampa is a PF member who has been pushing for the PF to hold a convention to elect leaders which has not been done by PF for more than 2 years now. The courts had ruled that Given Lubinda and Nakachinda should not perform their appointed roles. So there was a leadership vacuum in PF exploited by Sampa who held a convention and was elected as PF president. Given Lubinda and his PF camp have already challenged the election of Sampa as PF leader in courts and an interparte hearing is scheduled on 21st November. Let the courts rule on the internal disputes in PF. That is what the rule of law demands. The Speaker of the National Assembly was obliged to endorse sampa and his team as demanded by precedence.
It is quite laughable that the writer forgets what started all this. It was Lungu’s lawlessness by stretching the laws to secure his name on the ballot in 2021. Actually, what is sad is that grown men and women in the PF believe that Lungu is the only one that can lead them. I can tell you why this is the case. They know that only Lungu stole enough to splurge on a general election campaign.
Whether it’s ECL that started it ,it does not mean the current regime should endorse the illegality , does that make sense to you, its the same as saying because someone started corruption then it should continue. Your argument is vague , the current regime should have never endorsed the illegality simple now they are caught up in a mess and the international community is watching
@Mwananzambe – What proof do you have that the current regime is peddling this? PF has been divided since the war between Inonge Wina’s camp and Guy Scott’s camp. And that there is the problem. What does the international community have to do with an intra-party conflict? So you do not find it odd that grown men that paid participation fees for the PF presidency are now just falling in line?
Similar events are happening in Zimbabwe where the state is using its powers to decimate the opposition, the M O is the same using a rogue element in the party and supporting the illegality I wonder how HH will then question ED
It is shameful and disingenuous for praise singers and UPND generally to say if PF did it so why can’t we. The people voted to oust PF because of lawelessnes, tribalism and yet we see are worst practices of the foregoing by this government. And the president keeps pretending that he is unaware of what is happening. God help us..
Why don’t you leave this to the Courts of Law, other than you making misinformed comments, on the law that you have not even read?
In this country, there are so many noise makers and they are growing bigger by the day because they have not accepted the person in the State House, and by all means, they are trying to frustrate him. Especially the fight against corruption, awarding of contracts, and appointments to mention but a few. Please, Please give him time and space HH appears to be a good leader;) ”I would rather have a less devil than a full devil governing our country.”It is not the end of the world. Zambia shall be fine under his leadership given time judging from the effort and strives the govt is making in addressing some of the important things in the country. It is normal to have these squabbles and health in a democracy.
Instead of writing long empty articles such as this one, why not go to court and seek judicial review on the matter. If any of the officers you mentioned in this zero-substance article, the courts will rule accordingly.
The writer must ask Edgar Lungu who voted for him at the conversion in Kabwe?
Let them produce minutes. Certainly it was not PF members. So PF has been enjoying illegalities since the demise of President Sata. So they so much ilike it. In truth we should have suspended them even from their own homes so that they sleep in the bush to feel how freedom fighters felt and this would have made them much more patriotic. Next time PF should have their meeting in the bush around Lusaka.
This is purely a PF matter. Let them go to court for justice. Why should we protest over a private individuals disputes. No taxpayer money lost here nor breach of the country’s constitution.
THIS PF DEBACLE IS GETTING BORING
LETS MOVE ON PLEASE