Bad judiciary can lead to a failed state - Chongwe
By Allan Mulenga
Tue 06 Nov. 2012, 14:40 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says a dysfunctional judiciary can lead the country into a failed state. Dr Chongwe, who is a legal consultant, said there was need for the government to make the judiciary functional. He, however, said the government was on track in terms of judicial reforms.
"We are on the right course because the problems that we have in this country, take for example, the judiciary, it is
not an isolated problem.
This problem has surfaced in Senegal; it has surfaced in Kenya; it was a problem in Liberia where I was sent to assist in the rehabilitation of the judiciary there. It was a problem in Sierra Leone. It was a problem at one time in Ghana, but these problems were sorted out," he said.
"What the new government is seeking to do is to make the judiciary functional because if it stays as dysfunctional as it is now, it will create a failed state."
Dr Chongwe also urged the government to go the Kenya way in the constitution-making process.
In Kenya, the process was led by a committee of experts who advised the constitution -making body.
"I think it is the modalities on how to do it. My view is this that let us take the Senegalese way. Let us take the Kenyan way because we understand the Kenyan way is working. I have myself worked in Kenya to try to bring about a new constitution for that country in 1999," he said.
"Although I didn't succeed, but nonetheless I went there and we discussed the judiciary; we discussed the legislature and we discussed the executive and the anti-corruption commission and also the media."
Asked on his presidential ambitions, Dr Chongwe, who was featuring on Muvi TV's The Assignment programme on Sunday evening, responded: "I am 74 years of age; I think that my generation will end with Mr. Sata's presidency. We are out of it.
We are here to assist in building the nation of Zambia. My generation is the President's generation; he is only one year older than me. The previous president Rupiah Banda is also one year older than me. We have had our chance; let us give chance to our sons and daughters because if we don't give you any chance you will never be president..."
Labels: JUDICIARY, ROGER CHONGWE
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Govt should protect citizens' rights - Chongwe
By Mwala Kalaluka
Wed 11 July 2012, 13:40 CAT
PROTECTION of any right has a cost and the country should be prepared to spend resources in order to guarantee its citizens a minimum of economic, social and cultural rights, says prominent lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe.
In a presentation titled 'South-North Aspects of Human Rights and Business: A story and experience from Zambia' delivered to a conference on Human Rights and Business organised by the Hague-based African Legal Aid AFLA in Johannesburg on Friday, Dr Chongwe said economic, social and cultural rights had been relegated to mere pious aspirations.
He said financial constraints should not be a factor in determining whether these rights should be justiciable or not.
"The fact that a country is poor does not constitute a legitimate excuse for it to avoid striving to ensure that its citizens enjoy economic, social and cultural rights such as the right to adequate food, education and health care," he said.
Dr Chongwe said unlike the first generation rights which are universal to both the North and the South, the third generation rights were not universally applicable to much of Africa south of the Sahara.
"The reason for this is that the economic, social and cultural rights have always been regarded as gradual in their application as they depend on the resources available to a state party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights," he said.
Dr Chongwe said while the South was hungry for foreign investment, there were clear difficulties confronting many African governments in policing regulations that protect the interests of workers and local communities.
He said it was futile to imagine that the courts would provide protection as they are also likely to be affected by endemic corruption as were the investigative wings.
"Executive influence is also rife in some jurisdictions providing protection to corrupt political elements," he said.
Dr Chongwe said most Zambians were unable to raise capital so as to meaningfully invest in their country and depended on direct foreign investment.
"There is need for foreign business to comply with requisite laws relating to the environment and land degradation," he said.
"In case of the investment in mining, this continues to hold two faces, the shining public face of job creation and possible tax revenues that is beloved of African governments and the hidden one of exploitation of both workers and traditional land owners and pollution left behind."
But Dr Chongwe said mining was not the only area of difficulty. He said lack of seriousness on the part of successive governments had curtailed well-meaning efforts at constitution making in Zambia.
"In November 2011, a new government that took over power on the 23rd September 2011 appointed a Committee of Experts to write a new Constitution for Zambia," said Dr Chongwe. "The team of experts has dealt with issues of political, economic, social and cultural rights extensively in an effort to make all these issues justiciable and enforceable by the courts."
Labels: HUMAN RIGHTS, ROGER CHONGWE
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50%+1, running mate critical to democracy - Chongwe
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Thu 14 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says the 50 per cent plus one and the running mate clause in the first draft constitution are not foreign concepts but critical fundamentals of democracy.
Dr Chongwe, a member of the technical committee drafting the constitution, said the 50 per cent plus one clause would enable Zambians usher into office a popular Republican president that enjoyed the support of the majority citizenry.
He said assertions that the 50 per cent plus one clause was a recipe for anarchy were misplaced because such clauses was not new to Zambia.
Dr Chongwe, who was speaking at a public forum organised by the Press Freedom Committee of The Post, SACCORD and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung at Hotel Edinburgh in Kitwe, said there was no justification in the argument that 50 per cent plus one was a foreign concept in the national constitutionalism.
He said what was foreign in the constitution was the simple majority of electing someone to be in charge of a democratic country as big as Zambia.
Dr Chongwe said the Constitution of 1964 which created the presidency in terms of the election of the president, provided that the candidate to be declared the president of the republic must obtain over 50 per cent of the vote cast in the presidential election.
Dr Chongwe said when Zambia became a one party state in 1973, there was a constitutional amendment to reflect the one party state participatory democracy and the provisions in the 1964 constitution which insisted that for the person to be duly elected president of the country must secure 50 per cent of the votes cast.
"You will recall that even in 1995 when we were already in a multiparty democracy, the then president late Frederick Chiluba, appointed the late John Mwanakatwe to draw a constitution to replace the Mvunga constitution. In his report, Mwanakatwe stated that we are now going back to what the status used to be with regard to the election of the president so that we can secure a president who gets a majority vote and thereby bring political stability," Dr Chongwe said.
He said in the Mvunga constitution, the recommendation of the people was that the candidate must secure 50 per cent plus one but Chiluba and his colleagues in their white paper refused to accept the clause.
"The Chiluba regime reverted the country to a one party state in the Constitution where a person can become a president even if he or she secures 29 per cent of the votes and the number two secures 28.5 per cent," he said.
He said the demands from the people of Zambia on the 50 per cent plus one had been consistent.
Dr Chongwe said there were more than 72 tribes in the country and there was unity in diversity and it was imperative that people were free to choose their popular president.
He said Zambians were the owners of the constitution making process and it was up to them to decide the contents of the supreme law of the land.
On the running mate, Dr Chongwe said there was nothing wrong with a president having a running mate who shares ideologies with him to push the agenda of enhancing good governance in the country.
And Get Involved Zambia executive director Fr Frank Bwalya said all Zambians must try by all means to be counted as being part of the generation that secured a people-driven constitution that entrenches multiparty democracy.
Fr Bwalya said the change of government would be incomplete without the subsequent constitutional reforms and 50 per cent plus one clause should be a must.
Labels: 50 PERCENT PLUS 1, ROGER CHONGWE
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Judiciary is rotten to the core, says Dr Chongwe
By Kombe Chimpinde
Thu 03 May 2012, 13:00 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says judge Philip Musonda's complaints against the decision taken by President Michael Sata to suspend him and two others are not justified.
President Sata on Monday suspended Judges Charles Kajimanga, Nigel Mutuna from the High Court and Musonda from the Supreme Court over their alleged professional misconduct, and has since appointed a tribunal to investigate them.
But judge Musonda wondered why the matter was not first taken to the Judicial Complaints Authority.
Judge Musonda said he was willing to cooperate with the tribunal that had been appointed to investigate his alleged unprofessional conduct because he has nothing to hide.
"What I know is that there must be a complaint to the Judicial Complaints Authority, from the Judicial Complaints Authority, they will investigate, the complainant will say his story and I will say my story, ok. After that, the Judicial Complaints Authority will make a recommendation to the Chief Justice who, if he finds that there is need to investigate me by a tribunal, will recommend to the President to appoint a tribunal."
Asked if he felt that President Sata had skipped procedure by appointing a tribunal without a recommendation from the Judicial Complaints Authority through the Chief Justice, judge Musonda referred to Article 91 (2) of the Constitution of Zambia on the matter.
"Read the Constitution, Article 91 sub article 2 and read the Judicial Code of Conduct, section 20 and 24, sub section 1. What do they say? The tribunal cannot take up the power of the Judicial Complaints Authority. It has to be the Judicial Complaints Authority first," said judge Musonda before excusing himself for a meeting with his lawyer.
But Dr Chongwe said the Judicial Complaints Authority had no mandate to have a judge brought before a tribunal.
"I am aware that one of the judges who has been suspended, Mr Justice Musonda has made some doubts that the President should not have suspended them, that he should have waited for an investigation by the Judicial Complaints Authority, which authority would have then reported to the Chief Justice and then it would have been the Chief Justice to report to the President," he said.
"I think that Justice Musonda forgets that if the President had to wait for the Judicial Complaints Authority to investigate the complaints against the three judges and then report to the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice would have either acted or done nothing about the report."
Dr Chongwe vouched that no action would have been taken as the Judicial Complaints Authority did not command respect from the Judiciary.
"In any case, it has no mandate to have a judge brought before a tribunal," Dr Chongwe said
"This is why the President had to use residual powers that he has in his efforts to discipline a member of the Judiciary by appointing a tribunal."
He said he was also aware that judge Musonda queried as to why judges who were junior to him were appointed to preside over the tribunal, to be headed by a Malawian judge.
"The second complaint that Judge Musonda made is he has been suspended as a Supreme Court judge and he feels that the judge from Malawi and other supporting judges from Zambia are junior to his position. But he forgets that the activities for which he's been suspended were carried out by him as a High Court judge and not as a Supreme Court judge," he said.
Dr Chongwe also argued that the Zambian judges, both retired, were much more senior judges than Musonda.
"The Malawian judge is equally senior and in any case even if she is not senior, she is a High Court judge and competent to act as the chair of the tribunal because of her status," he said.
"So I don't think the complaints by justice Musonda against the action taken by the President are justified."
Dr Chongwe said the question was if there was any merit against the allegations that had been made against the judges.
"Without prejudicing the issue, I think there is evidence to establish a prima facie case for the setting up of the tribunal to investigate the allegations being made," he said.
Dr Chongwe also called for professionalism in the manner the judges would be probed.
" I hope the judges will be free to defend themselves and give evidence and that the people of Zambia will wait patiently for the outcome of the tribunal," he said.
Dr Chongwe said the charges levelled against the three judges reflected the numerous problems and complaints that the public had regarding the functioning of the justice system.
Dr Chongwe said the setting up of the tribunal to probe their alleged misconduct must not be an end in itself to calls for the reformation of the Judiciary of Zambia which he said was rotten to the core.
He said that the case of the three judges was also a reflection of fallen levels of standards in the Judiciary.
"The Judiciary remains unreformed until when it is reformed. I am quite sure that it is not only the three judges that have been charged who are guilty of misconduct. It's an allegation to the Judiciary as an institution, it is the whole garnet of the Judiciary institution which is rotten to the core in Zambia," he said
"We welcome the setting up of the committee (on reforms). There is need to honestly examine our dysfunctional Judiciary and how we can make it functional. We need training, we need to weed out the bad elements which have made it rotten. We need to change the head of the Judiciary. It is not difficult to cleanse the Judiciary," said Dr Chongwe.
Labels: JUDICIARY, PHILIP MUSONDA, ROGER CHONGWE
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Amsterdam not telling Henry the truth - Chongwe
By Ernest Chanda
Sun 15 Apr. 2012, 13:29 CAT
LUSAKA lawyer Rodger Chongwe says Henry Banda's lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, is frustrated and not telling his client the truth about his status as a foreign lawyer. In a statement on Thursday, Amsterdam accused the Zambian government of persecuting Henry and his family by asking him to appear before investigative wings without laying any charges against him.
Dr Chongwe, a veteran lawyer and State Counsel, said Amsterdam was failing to tell his client that he was not qualified to practice law in Zambia. He said the best Amsterdam could do was to explain to Henry about his status as a foreign lawyer with regard to the Zambian courts.
"One of the reasons could be that he has not told Henry the problems that are inherent in him acting for Henry. And the other thing is this, that he is hoping that the Zambian government at a later stage might want to apply to have Henry extradited to Zambia," Dr Chongwe said in an interview yesterday.
"Now, that application will have to be made to the courts in South Africa. And in that case Mr Amsterdam, if he has a certificate allowing him to practice law in South Africa, then he can represent Henry in that application for extradition. But not here in Zambia, he will have to apply for a practicing certificate. Those are the problems that Mr Amsterdam is facing, and I think he's getting frustrated because there's nothing much he can do from where he is."
He said since Henry was a Zambian citizen, the government had a right to interview him on suspicion of criminality through the law enforcement agencies.
Dr Chongwe said there was no need for Amsterdam to be political about a criminal matter, especially as a lawyer.
He said Amsterdam should not have linked the deregistration of MMD to Henry's case.
"Mr Henry Banda is a citizen of Zambia and resident in Zambia, he has been staying here. So the government here has the right to interview him if there is any suspicion of criminality having been committed by him, subject to the criminal jurisdiction of the Republic of Zambia. So the request to him to come back is not made because the government or the law
enforcement agencies want to prosecute him, it is for purposes of investigation so that the issues that have come to the knowledge of the government are sorted out," he said.
"Secondly, there is nothing to stop law enforcement agencies from deciding when a default has been made by a political party in paying its annual registration fees to deregister that political party. It's not the first time that a political party in Zambia has been deregistered for failure to pay annual subscriptions to the Registrar of Societies. So to link that to
the case of Henry is very unfortunate. The lawyers are being political instead of being professional. And, in any case, the fact that one of the opposition leaders had their house burgled and a theft took place does not necessarily mean that it is the act of government. It is a criminal act.
So how can he link that to the instructions that he has received from Henry? I think that the lawyers are being unethical."
Dr Chongwe said it would also help Amsterdam to stick to legal ethics rather than play politics.
"And, in any case, I am a lawyer here in Zambia; and there are certain jurisdictions outside Zambia where I have no practicing certificate, I'm not allowed to practice. Yes, there are other countries where I have because of my position as State Counsel, where I have to write to practice, but it is not in all the countries," Dr Chongwe explained.
"And Mr Amsterdam will find it very difficult to represent his client here, unless he applies for a temporary practicing certificate, and satisfying requirements of the Zambian law for him to be admitted to practice. And it won't be because of politics, it is because of the demands of our profession. He doesn't qualify to practice in Zambia, and I think Mr Amsterdam knows that. He knows that there are problems for him to represent Mr Banda here. What is likely to happen, if Banda came, he would be represented by a local lawyer. And if Mr Amsterdam wants to appear on his behalf, that is should there be a charge against Mr Banda arising out of any investigations, then Mr Amsterdam will have to apply to the Law Association of Zambia for a permit to allow him to represent Mr Banda because that is the requirement of our law."
Dr Chongwe said in his view, the Zambian government had not kept quiet about the matter but was already making diplomatic arrangements to have Henry extradited.
"And it appears to me that there must be some diplomatic approaches being made between our government here and the government of South Africa. And that in the end something will give way; and that is, the government of South Africa might be forced either to return Henry here or our government might be forced to apply for his extradition to Zambia," said Dr Chongwe.
In his statement on Thursday, Amsterdam accused the law enforcement agencies' demands to have Henry questioned in Zambia as "politically motivated".
"If you look at the way this matter is being handled by Zambia, you see all the hallmarks of a politically motivated farce. Mr Banda has never been questioned by the police about anything, while instead the state has conducted a trial by headline consisting of frequently changing accusations. The fact that Zambia has refused to describe what Mr Banda is accused of should set off alarm bells. It is a clear sign that they lack any real case," stated Amsterdam.
"The persecution of Henry Banda is ultimately aimed at pressuring the former President Rupiah Banda and the destruction of the main opposition party. The allegations have been accompanied by a broad attack on the main opposition party Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), including a shocking attempt to de-register the party. There have been repeated arrests of its officials including spokesperson Dora Siliya, and most recently a claim by the former High Commissioner to Canada Nevers Mumba that his house had been raided by state security agents."
Labels: HENRY BANDA, ROGER CHONGWE
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Chongwe calls on government to build bigger, modern prisons
By Bright Mukwasa, Masuzyo Chakwe and Henry Sinyangwe
Sat 07 Apr. 2012, 13:30 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says the government should build bigger and modern prison where inmates should be kept as human beings and not like "animals". And Non Governmental Organisa-tions Coordinating Committee (NGOCC)board chairperson Beatrice Grillo says prisons should be places where people go to reform and not die.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission has stated that the deprivation of liberty does not make prisoners less human than everyone else. Vice-President Guy Scott on Wednesday visited Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe where pathetic conditions of the facility were revealed.
Vice-President Scott, who described the state of Zambia's only maximum security prison as hell, said there was need for a total rehabilitation of the system.
During the visit, it was discovered that the condemned section of Mukobeka Maximum Prison had 281 prisoners against a holding capacity of 48.
Vice-President Scott's visit to the facility was the first of a high-ranking official since independence.
"Accommodation in these prisons has never been expanded considering the rise in our population. Chimbokaila in Lusaka, that prison was built for a population of Lusaka which had half a million and the same with Maximum Prison in Kabwe…," said Dr Chongwe, a prominent Lusaka lawyer.
"And we are 13 million people in Zambia today and we cannot, with that population, expect to use those prisons which were built at a time when numbers were less than what we have. The solution is to build bigger and modern prison infrastructure so that the inmates are kept there as human beings not as animals as described by the Vice-President that Mukobeko Prison is merely hell on earth."
He also said one of the things that should be done which had been hotly debated for sometime in the country was to perhaps consider abolishing capital punishment which was today on the statute books.
"The other thing is instead of imposing custodial sentences for minor offences like stealing a cob of maize, petty thieving…It's better to fine them and if they can't pay the fine, let them serve under some community service," advised Dr Chongwe.
And Grillo said there was need to decongest the Zambian prisons because the conditions were deplorable and inhumane.
"It is no wonder some prisoners do not reform and end up going back to the life of crime because of the conditions they were subjected to in prison," she said.
Grillo said people are supposed to come out of prison reformed and better. She said it was very unfair for a person to wait for 10 years for an appeal to be heard, describing it as inhumane as it took away all the human rights of a person.
"We need to decongest the prisons; and how can someone wait for 10 years for a case to be disposed of, how come? It's either they have a case or they don't. If the police are not able to bring a case to court within a certain period, then maybe there is no case and these people should be released," she said.
"Can you imagine if you spent 10 years and in the end you are later released because there is nothing, you have already gone through the trauma and everything."
Grillo urged the government to ensure that there was a fasttrack court to decongest the prisons so that less serious cases were dealt with as quickly as possible.
She said there should also be a law in place to ensure that cases that go beyond a certain period are disposed of because that would mean that the police had no case.
Grillo said there was need for more open prisons and urged the government to build more modern prisons as the country could not afford to be using prisons that were built 20 years ago.
And Human Rights Commission acting chairperson Palan Mulonda stated that prisoners were human beings deserving of decent existence and equal respect of human rights.
"The Commission is greatly concerned that today, Zambian prisons still echo the times when such facilities were viewed as places of punishment instead of being centres for rehabilitation of offenders who would later be integrated back into society after serving their respective sentences," he stated.
Mulonda stated that the commission was therefore delighted that the government had taken steps to address problems facing Zambia's prisons following Vice-President Scott's visit to Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison in Kabwe.
He stated that the gesture by Vice-President Scott was a sign that the government was concerned about the horrible conditions in prisons, hence their willingness to take corrective measures to finding a lasting solution to the problem.
"The Commission reiterates its call for improvement in the conditions of detention facilities countrywide and in the treatment of people detained in these facilities to ensure human dignity is preserved," Mulonda stated.
And Mulonda welcomed the government's pronouncement that it will address the issue of corporal punishment.
"The commission wishes to restate its position on capital punishment and urges government to consider acceding to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as the first step towards the abolition of capital punishment in Zambia," stated Mulonda.
Labels: GUY SCOTT, NGOCC, PRISONS, ROGER CHONGWE
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‘Our Judiciary needs a revolution'
By The Post
Tue 03 Apr. 2012, 13:00 CAT
IT is difficult to understand or appreciate why anyone can fail to see the need for reforms in our Judiciary. It is surprising that the Chief Justice of our Republic, Ernest Sakala, does not see the need for urgent reforms in the Judiciary. We say this because in a more or less mocking manner, justice Sakala last Friday said it was not clear to him how the reforms being agitated for in the Judiciary might be conducted. And this was not the first time justice Sakala was saying such things.
After a letter by James Banda, the president of the Law Association of Zambia, dated January 11, 2012 to the Minister of Justice, Sebastian Zulu and copied to the Chief Justice and the Attorney General on the need for urgent reforms in the judiciary, justice Sakala's response was to mock James: "I have seen in the press today where LAZ is talking about restoring integrity to the Judiciary.
We will wait to see how LAZ will do that…" It is very clear that justice Sakala is not interested in reforms and sees any talk of reforms in the Judiciary as an attack on himself.
Truly, the Law Association of Zambia has made it clear that the Judiciary is facing a leadership challenge which should be addressed for any meaningful reforms to be undertaken.
And it would appear that as long as justice Sakala is at the helm of our Judiciary, no meaningful reforms in that very important institution of our state will take place.
As the Law Association of Zambia correctly stated in its letter, "Judicial reform invariably will include filling the Judiciary with forward thinking, credible, competent judges and magistrates with integrity operating under clear and transparent rules without impunity and security of tenure."
It is understandable why today, Rodger Chongwe, a very senior lawyer, is saying that we need a revolution on reforms in the Judiciary. Like James, Rodger is saying that our Judiciary has many problems emanating from poor leadership.
Whose poor leadership? It's certainly that of justice Sakala himself. And Rodger insists: "That revolution accompanied by competence, honesty and integrity; that's what we want.
We don't want anything which cannot be done. We can have integrity, we can be competent and we can do our work efficiently; that is no problem. So, we are not asking for too much….
He (justice Sakala) knows the manner in which judicial reforms should be conducted. For example, isn't it the Chief Justice who has been talking about poor funding to the Judiciary? The major problem that has affected the Judiciary is corruption.
There has been a lot of corruption starting from the Supreme Court down to the local courts. That is why the public has lost confidence in our Judiciary. There are in fact some of us who feel that perhaps the first thing we should do is ask our judges to re-apply for their positions.
And in the applications, we will demand that they give us copies of the judgments that they have written and delivered, for examination by experts if there is need for them to go back to the bench…There is need for judicial reform because everywhere else, that is what is happening.
The Chief Justice himself and some of his colleagues have repeatedly denied the existence of corruption within the Judiciary…" This is what Rodger thinks. But there are many other senior lawyers who think the same way.
Some are even suggesting that the best way to proceed with our judicial reforms is to appoint a commission that will sit in camera to hear complaints of corruption, incompetence, inefficiency about every judge. And the concerned judges will be asked to explain themselves.
At the end of the day, everyone will be asked to re-apply and those who feel they don't qualify, given what is known about them, will be advised to resign on their own. If they refuse to resign, a tribunal will be appointed to hear complaints about their misconduct or incompetence.
If they resign, they will be given their terminal benefits like every other public servant who resigns. If they are fired after a tribunal hearing, they will definitely stand to lose more.
This is the approach Kenya had taken to rid itself of a rotten and corrupt Judiciary. They literary had to start afresh. We may need to start afresh because our Judiciary in certain key aspects is rotten to the core. Of course, this is not to say that every judge or magistrate in our Judiciary is rotten. No. There are some good judges and magistrates.
In any discipline, there are people who pursue it with honour and with decency and there are those who don't. To say that every judge and magistrate or even local court justice in our Judiciary is corrupt wouldn't be accurate or fair.
Much of the linkage may be said to be unjustified, unfair or inaccurate, but since it is what people thought - what people still think - it must be appreciated as a deeply-felt mistrust, rather than a momentary dissatisfaction.
It cannot be dismissed as a mere perception. It is not just about poor funding of the Judiciary as justice Sakala would like everyone to believe. There is a problem of failure of leadership and corruption in our Judiciary that we cannot afford to continue denying.
It must also now be clear to everyone that justice Sakala is not the man to lead these reforms because he is clearly not interested in any of such talk. But with or without justice Sakala, our Judiciary will be reformed in a manner that meets the aspirations of our people.
After all, justice Sakala is a man of the past not of the future of our Judiciary. His time has passed and his retirement should have started a long time ago, had it not been for the contract that was extended to him by Rupiah Banda.
We need a forward-looking leadership to carry out the necessary judicial reforms our people are legitimately demanding. As the Law Association of Zambia has correctly pointed out, "…the current leadership of the Judiciary would find it difficult to embrace and carry out the reforms we will be proposing".
This is a Judiciary that has to a large extent lost its sense of accountability to the public and which sees judicial independence and accountability as inconsistent.
And for a long time, it has seen itself as untouchable, ungovernable. But those days are gone and gone forever when respectful deference and fearful silence was the order of the day. Today, there is a great realisation among our people that no section of our nation, of our state has all the virtues, neither does any has all the vices.
e
They are sure that most people try to do their jobs as best they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful. They also do realise that he who has never failed to reach perfection has a right to be the harshest critic.
There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life. And no institution should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention thos who don't.
We truly need a revolution on reforms in the Judiciary in the manner that Rodger, James and others in the legal fraternity and beyond are suggesting to give our Judiciary a new momentum and a breath of fresh air.
Labels: ERNEST SAKALA, JUDICIARY, ROGER CHONGWE
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Our Judiciary needs a revolution - Chongwe
By Ernest Chanda
Tue 03 Apr. 2012, 12:59 CAT
Our Judiciary needs a revolution, says Lusaka lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe. Commenting on Chief Justice Ernest Sakala's statement that it was not clear how judicial reforms should be conducted, Dr Chongwe said the Judiciary had many problems emanating from poor leadership. He said it was important that public confidence in the Judiciary was restored through serious reforms.
"That revolution accompanied by competence, honesty and integrity; that's what we want. We don't want anything which cannot be done. We can have integrity, we can be competent and we can do our work efficiently; that is no problem. So, we are not asking for too much," Dr Chongwe said.
"Unless the Chief Justice was quoted out of context, but I'm made to understand that he knows the manner in which judicial reforms should be conducted. For example isn't it the Chief Justice who has been talking about poor funding to the Judiciary? The major problem that has affected the Judiciary is corruption. There has been a lot of corruption starting from the Supreme Court down to the Local Courts. That is why the public has lost confidence in our Judiciary."
He said he was of the view that the current judges be asked to re-apply for their positions.
Dr Chongwe said the process would be treated as part of the reforms so that there could be efficiency and honesty in the Judiciary.
"And there're in fact some of us who feel that perhaps the first thing we should do is ask our judges to re-apply for their positions. And in the applications we will demand that they give us copies of the judgments that they have written and delivered, for examination by experts if there's need for them to go back to the bench. But any way, that will be a revolutionary way of trying to reform our Judiciary," he said.
"So, at the moment I think that we should convince the Chief Justice and also the judges who work there that there's in fact need for the judges to be trained. There's need for judicial reform because everywhere else that is what is happening. In fact I would have thought that the reforms that we have been talking about would have already started in the first quarter of 2012. But now I realise that in fact nothing has started and everything is stagnant. And the law which is a dynamic institution and legal instrument, we are now told it is resting, that it is on holiday."
Dr Chongwe said if there was openness in the judiciary from the beginning, problems such as corruption would not have advanced.
He said it was unfortunate that even the Chief Justice could not openly admit that there was corruption in the judiciary.
"The Chief Justice himself and some of his colleagues have repeatedly denied the existence of corruption within the judiciary. And yet even when we look at our courts here in Lusaka; at the High Court, in the Supreme Court, in the magistrates court, not all is well. Corruption, inefficiency, delays are rampant; and yet this is the city of the Judiciary in Zambia," said Dr Chongwe.
"And this is where the Chief Justice who is the head of the Judiciary works from. If the Chief Justice of Zambia working from Lusaka does not at least once in a week take time and go round the courts to ensure that his judges are holding court on time, that the magistrates are actually sitting on time and that members of the public are not inconvenienced at least something will be done. But nothing of the sort happens. Now if nothing can happen in Lusaka to make judges, magistrates, local courts work according to schedule, then what about other centres where the chief justice is absent?"
He said the administration of the courts left much to be desired.
Dr Chongwe called for a Judicial Training Institute to train judges in methods of judging cases.
Labels: ERNEST SAKALA, JUDICIARY, ROGER CHONGWE
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Chongwe queries Rupiah's us invite
By Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 20 Mar. 2012, 12:00 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says he is surprised at Boston University's decision to engage Rupiah Banda on various lectures on democracy and political issues when the former president was a failure at them.
And Banda has insisted that he is a clean man and that the PF government must furnish Zambians with evidence to prove that he is a thief. And Vernon Mwaanga has asked Zambians of goodwill to pray for Banda and to forgive him for what he said on Muvi TV.
In an interview, Dr Chongwe said: "I know he has said he is going to the USA at the invitation of Boston University. I personally don't know what type of democracy Mr Banda is going to lecture at that university, the country known for democracy and the home of Abraham Lincoln who coined the phrase that ‘democracy is a government of the people, for the people and by the people.' These are not tenets that were practiced by Mr Banda when he was president of Zambia. One wonders why the Americans are spending so much money on a person who in fact they should have paid him to go and study at a school of politics and democracy in America so that he could learn something."
Dr Chongwe, one of Zambia's prominent lawyers, argued that Banda was blind to the tenets of democracy.
He said Banda could not talk of good governance and accountability as a leader and he did not deserve such an invite.
"Because in any case, Banda was planning to cheat in the elections. But this time Zambians were too clever. It was impossible to rig the elections and for the first time since 1991, the Zambians were ecstatic with the change of the president," he said.
Dr Chongwe said he felt pity for the recipients of Banda's lectures because the man was insensitive to civility, human dignity and respect for other people's views.
"…Instead of a blind person leading other blind people at Boston University, whoever they are!" he quipped.
Dr Chongwe said Banda was forced to leave office and not voluntarily.
"Banda even at the last moment did not want to leave the office of the president. He was forced by the result. So whoever says he handed over power willingly is lying and secondly he had no alternative from resigning from his post as MMD president because he had already being told by Parliament that the decision to withdraw retirement benefits to Banda was that of Cabinet and Cabinet had in fact decided to withdraw benefits because of his continued participation in politics," he said.
Dr Chongwe said Banda would be remembered as a president who had embraced corruption after he decided to embrace the late Fredrick Chiluba's mode of presidency.
"After assuming office and with all the enthusiasm which he received from the Zambian people, Mr Banda's performance as president became disappointing to most Zambians particularly to those of us who had known him at Munali Secondary School. He made mistakes, many of them were due to his refusal to accept advice and generally lack of experience as a politician," said Dr Chongwe.
Featuring on the Muvi TV's ‘The Assignment programme on Sunday night, Banda challenged the government to present him with details of what he had stolen because they had continued persecuting him and his family.
"I have done nothing wrong. Nobody has ever told me what I have done wrong, so if this is a country of laws they will have to give reasons why they would like to lift my immunity. It's very unfair that if everybody is president they are subjected to having their immunity lifted."
Banda added that if accusations that he was a thief were true, he would have also rigged the elections.
He said that if he were given another chance to lead the country, he would still do the same things he did when he was president.
Banda said he did not lose the elections due to mismanagement of the affairs of the country, but that the MMD party on which he stood had overstayed and people were determined to change government.
Banda however acknowledged that the PF had been smarter than him by coming up with the slogan of "more money in your pockets".
"It was clear people were talking about it. MMD had been in power for 20 years and so on and there was a debate going on about more money in your pocket and for the people who are hungry, the young people who are unemployed and so on, obviously they (PF) were much smarter than us. They came up with that slogan and that promise and the people believed them. I didn't believe by the way, otherwise I would have taken that slogan and adopted to say, ‘ I will give you more money'," Banda said.
"I didn't think it was possible that I could give money within 90 days because money is what you have to work for. You've got to entice investors in your country. You have to encourage Zambians, you have to have laws in place for people to invest in your country and from outside."
Banda said given a chance to become president of Zambia again, he would still do the same things that he did because he never noted any weaknesses in his leadership.
"I understood that perhaps our friends just resonated better with the young electorate who were voting for the first time. I don't think I went anywhere wrong, I just feel it was time for Zambians to make their change," Banda said.
Asked if he had ambitions to become president again considering the fact that he was still eligible to stand as president under the Constitution, Banda said that he would cross the bridge when he got there.
"About the next chance, I just stood down I don't want to think about that. I want to think that I must focus on where I am going which is the rest of my life," Banda said.
On Henry, Banda said his son was not on the run and that it was public knowledge that he was in South Africa.
Meanwhile, on the same programme Banda lashed out at veteran politician, Vernon Mwaanga suggesting that Banda's sons and relatives' insatiable appetite for wealth was one of the contributing factors to his downfall in his latest book "The Long Sunset."
"Mr Mwaanga is not unhappy because I stopped listening to him. Mr Mwaanga is unhappy that I didn't allow him to continue to be the campaign manager for my campaign, the last campaign which I lost, probably we would have still lost it if he was there but he took advantage of that to prove that if he was there, we would have won it.
"He was my manager in 2008 and I had been advised several times by my advisers to watch out my connection to Mr Mwaanga. Those who know more about his record where he comes from, what programmes he had and it would impact badly on me," he said.
"Mr Mwaanga has been laid off from being minister by the late president. After I pleaded with the president as the vice-president at State Lodge, I spoke to the president, ‘please give him another chance'. You know the case but it's all past now. When I came, I gave him a job in parliament, he sits in the NEC of the MMD today as my appointment."
But Mwaanga said it would be undignified, inappropriate, unfortunate and out of character for him to respond to Banda who is a brother and a friend of 50 years.
"I would have been a hypocrite and a prisoner of my conscience if I did not say what I said about his presidency, just like I did with all the other three presidents I worked with," he stated.
Mwaanga said he had forgiven Banda because of what the former president had been going through in the past.
Labels: DEMOCRACY, ROGER CHONGWE, RUPIAH BANDA, VERNON MWAANGA
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COMMENT - Has anyone seen the map of the Barotseland Agreement? It includes parts of other countries, and strays well beyond Western Province. :)
Barotse report cites government interference in WP traditional affairs
By Mwala Kalaluka
Wed 07 Mar. 2012, 12:00 CAT
MISUNDERSTANDINGS between Nkoya chief Mutondo and the Barotse Royal Establishment are largely a reflection of government interference in customs and traditions of the people of Western Province, according to the Dr Rodger Chongwe commission of inquiry. But a Lusaka legal practitioner says the commission's recommendations are not only a disgrace but an affront to the spirit of national unity.
In its summary of conclusions and recommendations accessed by The Post, which are contained in chapter four of its report presented to President Michael Sata recently, the commission also concluded that there was lack of dialogue between the BRE and Mwene Mutondo.
The commission of inquiry notes that the misunderstandings that exist between the BRE and some tribes within the province could be resolved amicably between the royal establishment and the other parties, especially after the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement 1964.
The commission found that the frosty relationship between the BRE and the government stems from the abrogation of the Barotseland Agreement in 1969 and subsequent actions by successive governments not to engage in meaningful dialogue with the BRE.
"Further, the events of 14th January 2011 have worsened the relationship thus creating a lot of mistrust and resentment of central government among the people of Western Province," the report reads.
"This is not conducive to the promotion of good and democratic governance in the country."
The commission concluded that efforts by the current government, such as the appointment of a commission of inquiry into the Mongu riots and the engagement of the BRE and the people of Western Province to resolve the Barotseland Agreement restoration impasse were progressive.
The commission urged the government and the BRE to establish clear rules of engagement on the restoration of the Agreement.
The commission recommended that after the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement, government and the BRE should negotiate all contentious issues that may impinge the smooth implementation of the Agreement.
"The people of Western Province have a legitimate cause to demand self-governance and for a fair distribution of the national resources," the report reads in part.
"Although the demand for self-governance by the majority of the petitioners may be genuine given the extent of deprivation and frustrations experienced...there is room for constructive dialogue and corrective action to be taken as opposed to the province seceding from the rest of the country."
The commission further recommended that the Barotseland Agreement should be considered for inclusion in the ongoing Constitution review process as a matter of national concern.
But Lusaka lawyer Chimbeka Sakala says he agrees with PF Secretary
General Wynter Kabimba that it was an oversight on the part of President Sata to have given the chairmanship of the commission of inquiry to Dr Chongwe.
"In fact he should not have even sat on the commission," Chimbeka stated in a press release. "The recommendations of the commission are
not just a disgrace but an affront to the spirit of unity that the President has, since assuming office, endeavoured to foster."
Chimbeka said the 'public' expected a reasoned report that would reflect the feelings of Zambians as 'One Zambia, One Nation'.
"But what we have been given is a recipe of anarchy blatantly being perpetuated by a bunch of lawyers led by none other than Dr. Chongwe who proclaims that owing to age and seniority at the bar they are not bound to err," Chimbeka stated. "It is because of that misconception that Dr. Chongwe misdirected his fellow commissioners to overstep the scope of work they were mandated to undertake."
Chimbeka described the commission's recommendations as treacherous and that he was shocked that Dr Chongwe could assert that Kabimba's comments on the recommendations were outside his role as PF secretary general.
"The views he expressed reflected the policy of the party pertaining to the Barotseland Agreement," Chimbeka stated.
"The most logical thing to do is agree on the boundaries of Barotseland at the time of the Barotseland Agreement. Thereafter call for a referendum within the boundaries and the result will put to rest the issue of the Barotseland Agreement."
Labels: BAROTSE ROYAL ESTABLISHMENT, BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT, CHIEF MWENE MUTONDO, ROGER CHONGWE, WESTERN PROVINCE
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Sata sees problems with Barotse deal
By Bright Mukwasa
Wed 29 Feb. 2012, 09:49 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says he will be ‘very reluctant' to recommend the reinstatement of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964.
And the January 14, 2011 Mongu killings commission of inquiry chairperson Dr Roger Chongwe says the government must establish a team of experts to investigate those who may have committed any criminal offences during the fracas.
Speaking at State House yesterday when he received the report on the Barotse inquiry on the Mongu killings, the Zambia National Building Society and the Salaries Review Commissions separately at which he also dissolved the Local Government Service Commission, President Sata said there were a lot of factors to be considered regarding the reinstatement of the Barotseland Agreement.
"We understand, we can accept to investigate the brutality, investigate the torture, but I will be very reluctant to advise my government to reinstate the Barotse Agreement because by so doing, that is opening the Pandora's Box," President Sata said.
"All the provinces, Mpezeni will come that we also want to secede, Chitimukulu will come we want to secede, the Tongas will have a paramount chief and they want to secede and there will be secession within government and secession within provinces because Nsengas would not want to be ruled by Mpezeni so those are some of the difficulties we have to bear in mind. First of all, you have not told me what benefit did the Barotse Agreement derive or gave to the Barotse people…What is in that Barotse Agreement is a self government which used to be in the native authority, but because the people of Barotseland at Independence were so organised that when they went to England, they campaigned for a separate rule to maintain their native authority, it was more of a native authority not Barotse Agreement."
He wondered from which resources the people of Western Province would raise taxes from even if they were granted secession.
President Sata said the Barotse Agreement suffered its first assault in 1965 when Sikota Wina amended the local government Act.
And Dr Chongwe said various leaders must be investigated and the government must bear the responsibility of compensating the families affected.
Dr Chongwe said some statements that were made by some leaders incited police to exert ‘unnecessary and excessive' force on the protesters.
"…The then vice-president George Kunda should be arraigned before the National Assembly for giving a statement," he said, prompting President Sata to interrupt to ask if he meant to arrest, to which he responded: "The National Assembly has its own method of arresting its own members in the House and charging them."
Dr Chongwe also said former Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde should also be investigated for any criminal offences committed, including conspiring with the executive to create an unfounded war against people of the Western Province.
"Finally, the then minister of Home Affairs Mkhondo Lungu, currently Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly should be removed from his position for inciting the police to use violence against the people of Western Province. The only body which has that power is Parliament itself," Dr Chongwe said.
He said the fracas was caused by the continuous denial of permit by the police in Mongu to facilitate the holding of meetings and violated the right of expression and freedom of assembly of the people.
Dr Chongwe said the people who were arrested were subjected to inhuman conditions.
"All the 132 detainees were subjected to inhuman treatment and injustices by both the police and the prison authorities generally in Mongu in violation of our own Constitution and also the Police Act…sub-article three article 013 of the Constitution," he said.
"…While the detention and prosecution of suspects in Mumbwa and Lusaka might have been necessary given the experiences of the 23rd October 2010 where the courts were overwhelmed during the trial of those arrested for rioting, the proceedings were irregular on account that the accused were denied the right to be heard during the application by the Director of Public Prosecution to the High Court to have the detained people transferred."
He said the conduct of the police before, during and after the riots was unprofessional, and characterised by indiscipline and incompetence.
Dr Chongwe said the government must compensate all families affected.
"The commission recommends that noting the high number of casualties and victims of police brutality which we found as a commission 19 dead, 15 with gunshot wounds and five reported missing, a team of experts be constituted to thoroughly investigate and establish the role played by various leaders and officers both present and serving who may be charged with any criminal offences committed," he said.
Dr Chongwe also said some petitioners called for the total independence and the restoration of the Barotse Agreement while others submitted that self rule would spell suffering for the people and other tribes of the Western Province.
And Zambia National Building Society commission inquiry chairperson Mwila Lumbwe said the building society since inception has only given out 15,000 mortgages against a housing deficit of two million units, meaning it has failed lamentably to satisfy the critical and fundamental benchmark.
He said on the basis of the petitions, it was established that the general public had a view that building society had only delivered mobile financing to the people in Lusaka and the Copperbelt, failing people in other provinces.
Mwila said management of capital of the building society recorded serious losses post 1991 when the government undertook structure adjustment reform.
On the US$98 million redevelopment of Society House, Lumbwe said ZNBS should have hired a transaction advisor to handle a project of that magnitude.
Meanwhile, presenting the report on the Salaries Review Commission, chairperson Professor Muyunda Mwanalushi said there was multiplicity of allowances and conditions of service in the public service.
He said there were currently more than 175 allowances and other conditions of service in the public service.
Prof Mwanalushi said the public service remuneration system was fraught with distortions and disparities.
Professor Mwanalushi also said the Public Service Pension Fund and the Local Authorities Superannuation Fund were technically bankrupt as they had accumulated huge arrears.
"For instance, as at 30th June 2011, the PSPF had pension payments amounting to K339 billion for 1,862 pensioners which had been pending for one year," said Prof Mwanalushi.
President Sata said he could not comment in detail on the salaries commission report because of the ongoing salary negotiations in the public service.
Labels: BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT, MICHAEL SATA, MONGU, ROGER CHONGWE
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Be exemplary, Chongwe urges leaders
By Kombe Chimpinde
Mon 20 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT
CURRENT leaders must be in the forefront of fighting corruption through exemplary behaviour, says Dr Roger Chongwe. And Dr Chongwe says the report on the Commission of Inquiry launched to probe the January 14 Mongu killings over the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 is ready for presentation to President Michael Sata.
Dr Chongwe said it was pointless to give lip service to the fight against corruption when those that were shouting from the mountain tops that they were fighting the vice were themselves perpetuating it.
"That is the danger. We should remind our leaders what activities amount to corruption and this is why we also need to restore Section 37 the Abuse of Office clause in the corrupt practices Act which was repealed by the previous government because as long as that is out of our statute, even our previous leadership is likely to fall prey to corruption," said Dr Chongwe in his comments on Given Lubinda's statement when he addressed Ambassadors and High Commissioners on Thursday that the government through the fight against corruption is setting a stage for current leaders to be called to judgement when they leave office.
"It's a good idea because current leaders have got to acknowledge that the fight is for everyone. If we can do that then we are on the track to eradicating that scourge. The fight against corruption is aimed at eradicating the whole system, the whole character, the whole corrupt behaviour. Once it is eradicated, it will not manifest itself in our leaders."
Dr Chongwe said corruption had become endemic and that it needed a lot of effort to be wiped off the face of the country.
"When bad behaviour has set in and most people benefit from that behaviour, it becomes difficult to influence people to change that behavior and that is why the fight against corruption must also apply to the current leaders," Dr Chongwe said.
"…In addition, there are business people in this country who are also corrupt and against whom the fight is being fought. There are corrupt court judges the lawyers. So the fight is against anyone who has been involved in corrupt practices against our laws, even marketeers."
Dr Chongwe current leaders must query each other on excesses in their wealth.
"Those that are in leadership are obviously suspecting each other that ‘maybe my colleague is corrupt or smart'. That is how it should be. We should not be complacent, we should always query each other on excesses and how we acquire wealth including our current leadership," Dr Chongwe said.
Lubinda said leaders in government were aware that the fight against corruption they had embarked on would also follow them.
"Some have said to us that by digging up issues of corruption, we must be alive to the fact that he who digs pits falls in them. We are alive to the fact that we are digging these pits because we ourselves in this government are called by our society to be exemplary. We are aware of the fact that what we are doing now shall follow us so this fight is not against any particular individual," said Lubinda.
Meanwhile, Dr Chongwe said the Barotse commission of inquiry which he chaired was waiting for an opportunity to present its findings to President Sata.
"We have told Cabinet that the report is ready. The report has been ready since the end of last month and we have asked them Cabinet to arrange for us to present the report to the President," Dr Chongwe said.
"We are waiting for the President through Cabinet to tell us when we can present the report. The commission is looking forward to the presentation because we know the people of Western Province and Zambians generally are anxious that this important issue relating to democracy in our country should be resolved one way or another."
He said the report and its recommendations were now dependent on the prerogative of the President on what action he would take.
"We are merely a commission and the President can accept or reject our recommendations. So it depends on the leadership. We will present it to him and he will table it before Cabinet to make a final decision, then it will be published for public consumption," said Dr Chongwe.
Labels: GIVEN LUBINDA, ROGER CHONGWE
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Chongwe calls for Sakala's removal
By Ernest Chanda and Mwala Kalaluka
Wed 18 Jan. 2012, 13:57 CAT
LUSAKA lawyer Rodger Chongwe says there can be no meaningful reforms in the Judiciary without the removal of Chief Justice Ernest Sakala. And Justice Sakala and some senior judges yesterday held an emergency meeting to discuss the recent criticism of the Judiciary's performance by members of the public.
Commenting on LAZ's letter to justice minister Sebastian Zulu in which the Association was demanding immediate reforms in the institution, Dr Chongwe said justice Sakala had in fact overstayed in office.
"No reforms can actually be effective in any institution which need reform for as long as the top brass in that organisation are allowed to manage the affairs of that particular organisation. The question is, who has brought the Judiciary to the stage where it is that Zambians have lost confidence in it? What we should realise is that the Chief Justice of this country, justice Sakala has been Chief Justice since 2002 when he took over from justice Mathew Ngulube," said Dr Chongwe.
"So you are talking about a period of nine years or more as Chief Justice. Therefore when you talk about judicial reform you cannot really continue retaining the services of the Chief Justice and hoping that he's going to bring about any reform. Besides you should realise that our chief justice attained retirement age some time ago, and that he's now serving on contract. So he's a person who is over the age of 65 years."
And Judiciary sources indicated yesterday that the criticism of the Judiciary by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and an editorial comment in The Post newspaper of Monday had necessitated the emergency meeting.
"These same things that you are writing about this place, people judges are not happy and there is an emergency meeting there Supreme Court," the source said without giving further details.
However, some Judiciary workers have demanded Justice Sakala's removal because they, as support staff, were being made to work like donkeys.
"Its not about holding emergency meetings, he Justice Sakala must just go," one Judiciary worker said.
"The morale is low among workers here. Certain magistrates are being transferred because there is a perception that they are against those heading the Judiciary. Soon you will hear about certain transfers from Luapula Province and Lusaka."
In a letter dated January 11, 2012 to the Minister of Justice, Sebastian Zulu, copied to Justice Sakala and Attorney General Mumba Malila, LAZ president James Banda observed that the Judiciary needed a new momentum and a breath of fresh air to carry the reforms the association would be suggesting.
Banda stated that the Judiciary was facing a leadership challenge, which should be addressed for any meaningful reforms to be undertaken.
"We are of the view that the current leadership of the Judiciary would find it difficult to embrace and carry out the reforms we will be proposing," read in part Banda's letter to Zulu.
"Judicial reform invariably will include filling the Judiciary with forward thinking, credible, competent judges and magistrates with integrity operating under clear and transparent rules without impunity and with secure tenure."
Labels: ERNEST SAKALA, JUDICIARY, ROGER CHONGWE
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Kunda should be ashamed of himself, says Chongwe
By Ernest Chanda and Roy Habalu
Fri 23 Dec. 2011, 13:58 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says George Kunda should be ashamed of himself for questioning Mutembo Nchito's integrity. And Sylvia Masebo says Kunda is scared of being arrested hence his opposing the appointment of Nchito.
Kunda on Tuesday led the opposition assault on the motion to ratify Nchito's appointment as Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) when it came up in Parliament. Despite Kunda and his allies' opposition, Nchito was ratified after they lost by 50 to 86 vote result.
Dr Chongwe questioned Kunda's sudden change of heart after he recommended Mutembo and his elder brother Nchima to join the Task Force on Corruption during the late president Levy Mwanawasa's reign.
"I don't agree with the opinion of the former vice-president. The former vice-president should actually be ashamed of himself. He was responsible for actually appointing the Nchito brothers as prosecutors at the Task Force because of their integrity. And what has changed now? Is it because he is in opposition?" asked Dr Chongwe in an interview yesterday.
"Lawyers should be gentlemen and ladies for all seasons, and not only when it suits them. I disagree with him intensely. I think he Mutembo deserves this job. If one has been appointed Director of Public Prosecutions, I think first it's good for the country and then it's good for the legal profession of Zambia; and it's good for the Zambians themselves. We may have different views but my view is that this is one of the best appointments. I know that he will discharge his duties diligently and honestly as he has done before. I'm very happy that he has been appointed."
Some UPND and MMD members of parliament led by Kunda rejected Nchito's appointment over allegations that he had not been cleared of criminal investigations.
And Masebo said those opposed to Nchito's appointment were trying to protect personal interests.
"Those opposing are worried of what would happen to them because of what they did that's why they are speaking like that. I can say a lot of things in this house (its) just that I am holding myself to protect my colleagues," said Masebo.
In an apparent reference to Kunda, Masebo said Nchito was fearless and stood for the truth unlike Kunda who changed on corruption cases after the death of Levy Mwanawasa.
"You can't compare me to half the group (MMD parliamentarians) on the other side. I don't change goal posts like them," she said.
She said urged members of parliament not to be misled by falsehoods in small newspapers.
"You want us to be swayed by such people (who were convicted), is that fair Mr George Kunda? It's not fair to destroy people's character because you've a personal agenda. It's sad that those who are in Parliament and supported him (Nchito) can be the same people to say what they are saying without shame," said Masebo.
Debating the appointment of Nchito as DPP and Musa Mwenye as Solicitor-General, Kunda said the public had a negative perception on Nchito and that they would lose confidence in him.
"He (Nchito) is perceived negatively because of the various allegations which are in the public domain. Accordingly, I submit that Mr Mutembo Nchito is not suitable for appointment as DPP. The report of the committee should therefore be rejected, meaning that we shall vote NO on this side of the house," said Kunda.
But Masebo said Nchito was the best choice for the position because he sacrificed his life for Zambia when people couldn't open their mouths.
"Mutembo is very experienced and has integrity and served the country free of charge. He's a disciplined and principled young man," she said.
Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, MUTEMBO NCHITO, ROGER CHONGWE
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Kayukwa's dismissal was long overdue - Chongwe
By Patson Chilemba
Sun 02 Oct. 2011, 16:20 CAT
DR Rodger Chongwe says Colonel Godfrey Kayukwa's dismissal was long overdue and President Michael Sata should be assisted in cleaning up the corruption mess in the country. And President Michael Sata has fired ACC director Kayukwa and replaced him with Rosewin Wandi, whose appointment will have to be ratified by Parliament.
Commenting on Col Kayukwa's dismissal as Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general by President Sata, Lusaka lawyer Dr Chongwe said Lt. Col Kayukwa should have gone a long time ago when people demanded his resignation, only that he was stubborn.
Dr Chongwe said he was pleased that President Sata had acted to remove him from his position.
He said anyone who was serious with the fight against corruption should handle matters the way President Sata had done by first firing those at the top.
"So we are very happy that the current President has answered our prayers that we need a corrupt-free society in Zambia and we can't build that society if officers employed to prevent and also to detect corruption are themselves corrupt and if they are not corrupt they condone corruption, and even when they have detected it, they do nothing," Dr Chongwe said.
"A public servant who diligently carries out his work, and if he is impeded in doing that work by a political leader, he should not succumb to the order of that leader."
Dr Chongwe said public servants who were impeded in their work by politicians should simply resign and tell the people of Zambia why they had resigned, then would they win sympathy from the people.
"Kayukwa is leaving that office without a smidgeon of sympathy. Instead we are happy he is gone. If you are not catching corrupt people and there is a perception that you yourself have been consumed by corruption, then you go the same way as our dear friend Kayukwa," Dr Chongwe said.
"It appears to me there are very few people in our country today who care about their career service, their families and their country and are prepared to lose that dignity and honour for a few pieces of silver."
Dr Chongwe said this was unfortunately the state of affairs in Zambia today, where people were prepared to sacrifice their dignity.
"What we have to do is to support these efforts which have been started by the new President and assist him in cleaning up the mess," said Dr Chongwe.
According to a press statement issued by Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations George Chellah yesterday, President Sata appointed Wandi as Director General of the ACC to take over from Col Kayukwa.
"In exercise of the powers vested in me pursuant to the provisions of Section 16 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, Chapter 91 of the Laws of Zambia, I hereby appoint you as Director-General of the Anti-Corruption Commission. This appointment is subject to ratification by the National Assembly," stated President Sata in his letter of appointment to Wandi.
Chellah stated that Wandi's appointment confirmed President Sata's commitment to gender balance by ensuring the appointment of women to high positions of authority.
During the run-up to the 2011 general elections, Col Kayukwa lied that ACC was not investigating Universal Print Group (UPG) of South Africa, the company which the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) contracted over the printing of ballot papers, and some officers at commission for corruption and money laundering.
However, the fact was that ACC had actually instituted investigations and recorded a warn and caution statement against officials from both UPG and ECZ.
Labels: ACC, GODFREY KAYUKWA, ROGER CHONGWE
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Freeing Chiluba was abuse - Chongwe
By Moses Kuwema
Wed 03 Aug. 2011, 13:59 CAT
DR Roger Chongwe says it is irresponsibility of the highest order for Ben Mwila to urge the people of Luapula to vote for President Rupiah Banda because he freed late Frederick Chiluba from his corruption cases.
Commenting on National Democratic Focus (NDF) president, Ben Mwila, who has been adopted to stand on the MMD ticket in Nchelenge despite being rejected by all the ruling party’s grassroots, Dr Chongwe said what the former late president did was wrong.
“Chiluba was president of Zambia, he stole money and property from the people of Zambia intentionally. He actually abused that position by stealing from the people and through his presidency a lot of people in Zambia, prominent politicians were killed under unexplained circumstances. So the theft of US $41 million which was confirmed by the London court, is a theft of money which would have made a difference to the lives of the people of this country including Luapula Province.
So it is not only unfair but irresponsible for Mwila to tell the people of Luapula that vote for President Banda because he allowed Chiluba to steal from the people of Zambia, that is not politics, that is not leadership, that is irresponsibility of the highest order,” Dr Chongwe said.
Dr Chongwe said it was abuse of power and authority for President Banda to have freed Chiluba from any obligation to pay back that which he stole from the people of Zambia and many other gross violations of human rights.
He urged the people of Luapula Province not to vote for an incompetent president who could not tell the difference between right and wrong, just because he freed Chiluba.
“The MMD government is not fighting corruption, they have not made it a secret! They have said it publicly that they are for corruption, they have removed the fundamental provisions in the anti-corruption Act which was used to catch people who stole government money. The MMD is a party that is ran by a corrupt president, and corrupt leaders and those leaders include Ben Mwila who although he has his own political party, has joined the MMD and is standing under the umbrella of MMD, he is doing that because he himself is dishonest and he sees nothing wrong in what Rupiah Banda and his lieutenants are doing to this country, which is destroying Zambia instead of building it,” Dr Chongwe said.
Addressing MMD cadres and civil servants, mainly teachers, at Mansa Airport on Friday afternoon, Mwila, said the people of Luapula had made a bad name for themselves in the previous elections when they voted for Sata and the PF.
He said the people supported PF on the basis that they were going to free late former president Chiluba, but that they should now vote for President Banda who freed the former president.
“That’s why PF became strong. Twalefwaya yapususha ba Chiluba. Nomba ba Chiluba balibapususha kale kuli ba Banda ababapele nomuchinshi ukulu sana ilyo lintu batushile pano isonde (We wanted PF to free Chiluba, but Chiluba was freed by Banda and even accorded him the due respect when he died),” Mwila said.
“Kanshi umulimo wa PF lilyanshita yalipwa. So we the people of Luapula, let us redeem ourselves. If we make the mistake of not voting for Banda, awe chikaba chilubo (it will be abominable). Pantu ba Banda nabatuposako amano sana (Banda is taking good care of us).”
Labels: FREDERICK CHILUBA, ROGER CHONGWE
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Outcry for DPP to go well-founded - Chongwe
By Patson Chilemba
Fri 27 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE outcry from the Zambian people for DPP Chalwe Mchenga to go is well-founded following the conviction of Anuj Kumar Rathi, says Dr Rodger Chongwe. And Dr Chongwe said it was stupid for those in government, like finance minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane to criticise PF leader Michael Sata for saying he would restore the Barotseland Agreement when they had failed to do so themselves.
Commenting on the Lusaka High Court’s decision to uphold the four-year jail term slapped on Seymon Holdings proprietor Rathi by the Lusaka magistrates’ court in 2009 for corruption, Dr Chongwe said Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mchenga wanted to save Rathi because he was in good standing with the MMD government.
“The DPP said he did not support the conviction. And the outcry by the people of Zambia, even by the Law Association of Zambia against the continuation of Mr Mchenga occupying his position as DPP is well founded,” Dr Chongwe said.
“And it’s there for all to see that Mr Mchenga has ceased to apply his personal judgement as the public prosecutor. He is instead getting his instructions from people who are unqualified lawyers, members of the executive of Mr Rupiah Banda.”
Dr Chongwe said such a situation should not be allowed to continue.
“That is why we are calling upon the people of Zambia that the MMD has been in power for far too long, and the time is ripe for them to leave office, together with those professionals who take orders from them, because we don’t want them to be used by the new government in doing the same thing that the current government is doing,” he said.
Dr Chongwe said Mchenga’s behaviour on Rathi was not different to how he behaved on former president Frederick Chiluba and his wife Regina.
He said Mchenga even went against the decision by the person they appointed to prosecute the case, by withdrawing an appeal on Chiluba’s acquittal from the High Court.
“And you remember in the case of Chiluba’s wife, when it came before the appeal the state said it won’t support the conviction and yet they prosecuted that woman and the court convicted her,” Dr Chongwe said.
“But because she is Mrs Chiluba they didn’t want to proceed against her and in this case obviously because it’s Mr Rathi who is in good standing with the government.”
He said at the Ministry of Justice for instance; all the positions from the minister to the Attorney General were dysfunctional.
“We need a new government to rebuild the institutions of government in this country,” Dr Chongwe said.
And commenting on Dr Situmbeko’s remarks that Sata was lying to the people of Western Province for promising that he would restore the Barotseland Agreement, Dr Chongwe said instead of condemning Sata, Dr Musokotwane and his colleagues in government should do something about it since they held the instruments of power and had the majority in Parliament.
“But to say someone who is in opposition if he came into power he wont’ do it, ‘he is telling lies’, I think that is stupid type of politics. It is illogical because if the opposition is promising the people of the Western Province that they are going to restore the Barotseland Agreement then the government if they want can actually restore it tomorrow,” he said.
Dr Chongwe said the people of Western Province felt cheated, saying when they requested the MMD government to look at the Agreement, they were shown bullets.
Dr Chongwe said he agreed with former Ngambela Mututwa Mututwa, that Sata was now the messenger for the Barotse Agreement.
“MMD has only itself to blame because they would have done what the people of Barotse land want. They want devolution of power so that their province has some political power to better the life of the people at the local level,” said Dr Chongwe.
On Monday, the Lusaka High Court upheld Rathi’s four-year jail term slapped on him by the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court two years ago.
When sentencing Rathi on November 3, 2009, magistrate Charles Kafunda, who is now High Court deputy director for court operations, said it was clear that Funjika manipulated the award of a tender to Seymon Holdings and his two children were given 7,500 pounds each which was also to his benefit.
He said the prosecution proved that Rathi gave the 15,000 pounds to Funjika who was a public officer so that he could manipulate the Zambia Public Procurement Authority (ZPPA), which was a public institution.
Magistrate Kafunda also ordered that the 342,000 pounds, which Rathi gained from the corruption act be forfeited to the state.
When delivering the appeal judgment, judge Nigel Mutuna sitting with judge Patrick Matibini ordered that Rathi serves the remainder of his four year sentence after they dismissed his 17 grounds of appeal saying they lacked merit and legal backing.
The High Court also revoked Rathi’s bail but said he had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Rathi has already served 12 months of his sentence.
In December last year, Rathi won a bid to dine with President Rupiah Banda after he pledged K260 million to the MMD but the party president, who had earlier accepted the bid, rescinded his decision following public outcry.
And during the same appeal in January this year, the state submitted that there was no overwhelming circumstantial evidence to prove beyond doubt that Rathi was guilty of corruption as charged.
In their final submissions the state said the evidence before court did not show what criminal action Rathi did to prove an omission on his part that led to the crime.
Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, DPP, ROGER CHONGWE
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NAPSA deal must be stopped - Chongwe
By Chibaula Silwamba and Ernest Chanda
Sat 14 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
NAPSA’s US$98 million deal with bankrupt Zambia National Building Society (ZNBS) is a shameful scam which must be stopped, says Lusaka lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe. And President Rupiah Banda says if The Post has to accuse someone, it is usually him.
Dr Chongwe, a former minister of legal affairs, said the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) was supposed to consult workers and employers, who own the money it keeps, before transacting in US$98 million with ZNBS, which he said had no capacity to repay.
“NAPSA is owned by the workers of this country because every month out of their salaries there is deduction of their contributions to NAPSA.
The workers have not been asked by the government or by NAPSA whether it is prepared to loan to a company, which is almost bankrupt and will be unable to pay US$98 million if loaned to it,” Dr Chongwe said.
He said NAPSA did not consult the employers and all key stakeholders.
“It is not good enough to say the board of directors of NAPSA has agreed to loan US$98 million. Who gave them the permission? The government doesn’t own NAPSA. The workers of this country own NAPSA,” Dr Chongwe said.
“This deal is a scam and it must be stopped. It has no support of the workers who contribute their little ngwees towards their pension scheme.” Dr Chongwe said it was shameful that NAPSA had decided to give ZNBS US$98 million when in fact many pensioners had not been given their money.
“As I speak now, there are so many people in Zambia who have retired and who have applied to NAPSA to have their retirement benefits under the scheme paid to them, which has not been paid on the basis that (a) there is no sufficient money, (b) because of bureaucratic ineptitude.
But this organisation now has US$98 million to waste by paying it to a company which is bankrupt, which cannot even repair its own building, Society House. It’s shameful!” Dr Chongwe said.
He accused President Banda of involvement in the NAPSA-ZNBS questionable deal.
“If the head of state were not involved in this scam, he would be the first one to stop them but because he has not stopped, there is a reason for that. It is because either he or his colleagues are involved in it,” Dr Chongwe said.
“He is the head of state and NAPSA is run as a parastatal although it’s not a parastatal, it’s owned by the people. But the President is the custodian of the people’s wealth, including their pension scheme. He is failing in discharging that duty out of personal interest.”
Dr Chongwe said the MMD government had neglected ZNBS leading to the parastatal’s failure to perform its functions to provide loans for people to build houses and even repair Society House.
Dr Chongwe said since 1997 when Society House was gutted, the government that wholly owns ZNBS had not released money to refurbish the building.
“The government has failed to invest in its own organisation, ZNBS, by providing it with money so that it is able to build houses in Zambia at low cost for the Zambians to buy,” said Dr Chongwe.
And responding to questions from journalists on arrival from Turkey on Thursday evening at Lusaka International Airport, President Banda said he does not participate in tender procedures.
President Banda was responding to a question on whether or not he ordered NAPSA to fund the renovation of Society House which was gutted by fire in 1997.
“I don’t participate in tender procedures; it is illegal for anyone to interfere with the tender procedures just like it is illegal to interfere with the judiciary, as it is illegal to interfere with the Parliament. So, it’s not correct. You know, that’s life; if they have to accuse somebody it’s usually me,” said President Banda in apparent reference to The Post.
“I don’t do it that way. You know in this country we’ve got procedures on how you order things. But of course as President they come to tell you that we are planning to do this and that; and then I look at it.
“And if I tell them that it’s okay with me, the rest of the procedure is theirs. I don’t even know; I saw it already. I received the press statement here; I’ve nothing to do with that. And I’ve also seen today that there was a reply from them NAPSA, that is the truth.
Well-placed sources disclosed that President Banda pressurised NAPSA to provide US$98 million to ZNBS for refurbishing the latter’s building in Lusaka.
However, NAPSA and ZNBS have failed to convincingly explain the transaction in which a Kenyan firm was allegedly single-sourced to carry out the works.
Labels: CORRUPTION, NAPSA, PENSIONERS, ROGER CHONGWE
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Defeat of Kunda’s bill should end govt - Wila
By Chibaula Silwamba
Wed 06 Apr. 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE defeat of the constitutional amendment bill in the House warrants the resignation of the Vice-President and Cabinet as well as dissolution of Parliament, says Wila Mung’omba.
In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Mung’omba said he agreed with lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe that the government does not take constitution and budget bills to Parliament to go and lose and expect to stay in office.
“A vote on a constitution or a budget bill in all Commonwealth Parliamentary practice is a confidence vote. If a government loses on a confidence vote, it must resign and the House dissolved,” said Mung'omba, who chaired the Mung'omba Constitutional Review Commission (CRC).
“In Zambia where both parliamentary and democratic practices are still a threadbare pretence, the defeat of a constitution bill which was apparently intended to usher in a new constitution, is a matter of no consequence and a minor setback.”
Mung'omba said Speaker of the National Assembly Amusa Mwanamwamba must have told the members of parliament the implication of the defeat of the motion.
“When the vote had been counted, it was the duty of the Speaker of the House to explain the serious implications of that defeat: (a) that the bill did not command the confidence of the House and, therefore, of the nation; (b) that he was going to advise the President accordingly and that dissolution of the House was the expected consequence according to Parliamentary practice.”
Mung'omba said it would then have been President Rupiah Banda to take the most appropriate action to accept the resignation of the entire Cabinet, from the Vice-President downwards.
He said President Banda would have considered the efficacy of calling early elections when the tripartite elections were being anticipated in the next few months, but only after consulting with the opposition parties.
Mung'omba, a lawyer of more than 40 years experience, said it was not enough for Speaker Mwanamwambwa to only announce that the next elections would be held under the 1991 Constitution.
Mung’omba was first admitted to the English bar as a lawyer in 1968 before being admitted to the Zambian bar the following year. He also served as a member of parliament from 1972 to 1979 in the UNIP government. Mung'omba, said Mwanamwamba's announcement that this year’s elections would be held under the 1991 Constitution was too obvious a statement to convey the seriousness of what had taken place in the House. He said Mwanamwambwa’s lucid explanation of the implication of the vote would have prevented government chief spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha and MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya from trivialising a tragic national event.
“When a bill of that importance has been lost in the House, it is totally repugnant to parliamentary practice to start extolling its virtues at press conferences. That is the job leaders of the House do before debates open by way of lobbying and consultation with other parties,” Mung’omba said. “In any event, even after six months period has lapsed, government or MMD will not be expected in terms of our Constitution and parliamentary practice to reintroduce the same bill; it will have to be a Constitution bill of a different nature and substance.”
Mung’omba said it was not the opposition parties, Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND), that defeated the constitutional bill but the whole House and it did not matter which party spear-headed the defeat.
“The House considered that it was not in the best interest of Zambia to vote for such a bill. The bill was a threat to Zambia’s democracy and it had to be stopped by the people’s representatives,” Mung’omba said. “Members of parliament are elected for that purpose, to protect the interests of the nation. When we decided to operate within institutions of democracy we must also accept to live with some of the most painful demands that democracy imposes on society.”
Mung'omba said the constitution bill was not defeated by PF leader Michael Sata or UPND's Hakainde Hichilema. He said Sata and Hichilema did not even sit in the House.
“The bill was defeated by the House comprising representatives from PF, UPND, UNIP, Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) and MMD - all exercising their free conscience in accordance with the trust placed on them by the electorate,” said Mung'omba. “Information making rounds is that although a three-line whip was expected on MMD members of parliament, some of them, including ministers, stayed away from the House when the vote was being taken. So what is the point blaming the opposition for the failure?”
Last week on Tuesday, the Banda-MMD-led government failed to garner the required two-thirds majority vote to pass the constitutional amendment bill to second reading in the National Assembly.
The ruling MMD that has lost some parliamentary seats in by-elections has 78 legislators in a 158-member National Assembly.
Labels: CONSTITUTION, NCC, ROGER CHONGWE, WILLA MUNG'OMBA
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HH is destroying himself - Chongwe
By Patson Chilemba
Mon 04 Apr. 2011, 04:02 CAT
Dr Rodger Chongwe says Hakainde Hichilema is destroying himself and he’s committing political suicide with his MMD marriage of convenience. Commenting on Vice-President George Kunda’s revelation that the UPND wanted a coalition with the MMD, Lusaka lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe said Vice-President Kunda’s revelation showed a lack of leadership on the part of Hichilema.
Dr Chongwe said the future of Zambia did not lie in a marriage of convenience between Hichilema's UPND and MMD. He wondered how Hichilema would want to align himself with a government that had committed many ills since 1991.
Dr Chongwe said the tenure of office of the MMD demanded change at the highest level.
“But if Mr Hichilema thinks that the old dog can change its tricks, then good luck to him. But to me that is committing political suicide. That is lack of political foresight, and that is lack of leadership. But it’s up to UPND. They are a political party, they can make their decisions as other parties can,” Dr Chongwe said.
“I don't think that the future of this country lies in a marriage of convenience between a political party led by a young man like Hichilema. I don't think so. I think he has lost the boat. But it is his decision.”
On the violence in Lusaka following the takeover of markets and bus stations and markets by MMD cadres, Dr Chongwe said the same was happening in other parts of the country like Eastern Province where MMD chitenges were flying in markets.
He said what the people were seeing was a manifestation of the one party system which was defeated in 1991.
“This should not be accepted. We should fight this. The President himself has said we don't need another revolution of what is happening in North Africa because we have had it here in 1991. What he is actually doing is reversing the gains of 1991 by appointing his functionaries to be in charge of markets which are in the hands of councils,” he said.
On President Banda’s blanket condemnation of both the MMD and PF cadres for engaging in the fights, Dr Chongwe said President Banda should just condemn the MMD because they are the ones who had taken over the markets.
“When he put his hand on the Bible that he will act in fairness, without favour of ill will, what is happening now is he is abrogating the Constitution. When something is wrong you must condemn it,” Dr Chongwe said. “There is a clear absence of leadership.”
On the throwing out of the Constitution of Zambia bill, Dr Chongwe said Zambians were happy that the bill was defeated because it was self-serving towards the MMD.
He said the defeat showed that the MMD had lost power and the confidence of the people.
Dr Chongwe said President Banda should have dissolved Parliament and called for fresh elections as a result.
“Government's don't introduce a Constitutional bill and lose it,” Dr Chongwe. “Even proportional representation, it is not sufficient just to stop at women and the disabled. We want proportional representation as a basis of an election system in Zambia. We want devolution of power.”
Dr Chongwe said people wanted power to be shifted from the centre to the provinces, saying that was what the Barotse Agreement entailed.
He said people wanted the inclusion of 50 + 1 for one to be elected president.
“That bill was not going to take the country anywhere, except of course to pay people gratuity which they were not entitled to,” Dr Chongwe said.
He said the MMD government owed Zambians an apology for wasting taxpayers’ money on nothing.
“But you will not get it from MMD. That is why they are too complacent. They think it is business as usual,” said Dr Chongwe.
Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, PF, ROGER CHONGWE, UPND
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