Young African Leaders Initiative’s response to Wynter Kabimba
Dear Hon. Minister,
RE: THREAT OF ARRESTS EMANATING FROM THE CONDUCT OF PROVINCIAL YOUTH DIALOGUE ON THE CONSTITUTION
We are in receipt of your letter dated 12th December 2012 addressed to our Governance Advisor regarding your misgivings on YALI’s position to conduct dialogues on Zambia’s Constitution Reform process and your instructions to the Zambia Police Force Inspector General to potentially arrest anybody from our organization who shall organize or conduct such forum outside the supervision of the Technical Committee.
Our Board has reviewed your correspondence and notes with sadness that you, as learned counsel, are failing to appreciate provisions of the Constitution of Zambia which guarantees fundamental freedoms and rights of citizens to freely assemble, participate in public activities and determine laws that govern their lives without government coercion. You will note that the Provincial Dialogue you referred to is not a parallel workshop on the constitutional making process but one of the many interventions by citizens of this Republic who wish to engage in our country’s Constitutional reform process.
The Technical Committee, which is now working under intense pressure from your office, was informed of the same dialogue and they sent apologies for their inability to attend our dialogue. An invitation was later extended to the Town Clerk in Kasama, the Committee’s District Facilitator who delegated his deputy also mentioned in the Post story.
At this point, we would like to state as follows:
- Your threat of “stern action” – be it arrests by the Inspector General of Police who, no doubt, has no autonomy and works at the mercy and convenience of the appointing authority and politicians like you – is unfounded and has no basis in law as YALI is not committing any offense when it decides to hold forums with young leaders on the constitution. We stand ready to defend the rights of fellow citizens and our own rights to engage in the process without any interference from politicians.
- The Technical Committee and the Constitution-making process, which will gobble over K110billion, is funded by taxpayers money and resources gifted by the international community. It goes therefore that taxpayers have a constitutional right to engage in this process. There would be no reason at all for this process to continue receiving any support if Government has positioned itself to control how people engage in this process by use of the Technical Committee. YALI will therefore be left without any option but lobby Members of Parliament and the International Community to rethink funding to this fraudulent process whose outcome seems to be already predetermined. Your appointment to that office, we now believe is serving to frustrate the constitutional reform process as your immediate predecessor exhibited political willingness for this process to be people-driven.
- Undeterred by your threats, YALI will continue to hold its activities which are legal and we are prepared to use all available legal means to defend the right of our young citizens to participate in this process. Should your directive pose any further threat for young citizens to have a say in the process, we are ready to seek an injunction to restrain the Technical Committee from holding its activities in exclusion of our voices as citizens to contribute towards a people-driven constitution. We may further seek a review of your decision in our courts of law which we feel is arbitrary and made without consultations with stakeholders.
Finally, Hon. Minister, there is need for you to make a clear distinction in the manner in which you want to run Party affairs from your public responsibilities in that honorable office of Minister of Justice. It is, however, in our country’s best interest that you restrain yourself, put Zambia first and be impartial in discharging your duties and serve all our peoples. It will not help any Zambian to have a popularly, legitimately and democratically elected Government practice dictatorial tendencies and unleash our men and women in uniform on citizens who exercise their democratic right.
We hope you are satisfied with our response.
Yours faithfully
YOUNG AFRICAN LEADERS INITIATIVE
Well said Andrew, educate this kabimba his become big headed and wants to dictate everything he wishes
Wakachita kamambala …embrassing to say the least. cnp
Kwana wamweba teti aikulika ??
What a list of carbon copy, kwati namuchita over
Kabimba is not leadership material.Is he really a lawyer or did he forge his qualifications like Masumba
Kabimba courage amazes even the Police. How can he instruct and IG and expect that she can foolishly go ahead and arrest people who have committed no offence. The biggest problem is that Sata has no capacity to tame this man. He will end up like Tetamashimba and Mulongoti coz of his ego. We shall wait to see how the police react to such nonsense from a politician who is overambitious
Point of correction. Judging from the Kabimba letter to YALI it is now quite clear to all that the Police Force (sic) is operating only on instructions from Kabimba. The bogus detentions of Dr Mumba and company, the battering of UPND cadres, arrest of HH, threats to arrest YALI officials, and so on and so forth all point to one fact: Libongani just sits in her office with mobile phone in hand waiting for instructions as to who next to arrest.
The political dwaaarfff is shooting from the hip again. A day never passes without garbage from kabimbas mouth.
RIGHT ON! YALI…Continue with your consultations and, to HELL with intimidation from the “poweres that be”.
Nice reply and well done YALI. One wonders whether Kabimba thinks he is above and over all Zambians?? I think needs to check on this chap if he does not want his PF party to be the shortest saving govt in Zambian history. In my view, Kabimba deserves to be required in national interest than the many innocent people who have so far been retired in that name. It is sad that SATA is allowing Kabimba to ruin his hard fought name of being president of Zambia – no doubt SATA will be the waste president in Zambian history books if he continues to allow this nonsense from Kabimba.
Yaaaaa Ba Kabimba, ukumitinika kuma T ku mwaiche? Ichinganya ama P chilaponwesha…
This is total catastrophe for Kabimba, he needs a 2 months vacation somewhere in the wilderness. You can’t continue to loose friends every single day.
Upuba wayamba kuoneka manje
Kabimba needs people and groups like these to fight his foolishness, where did this guy study his law? how did he pass mwembeshi???? malabishii chabe
Instead of encouraging Youth to engage in the constitution making process, the minister of justice is threatening to arrest them?
The country has really gone to the dogs….
That woman, Deputy ACC Director, who kept on grinning at Kabimba and his cadres on that fatefull invasion of ACC offices needs to investigate the source of Kabimba’s LLB at UNZA. Was it correctly and meritoriously obtained? Was the confering of SC on Kabimba on merit or for political expedience? Because here now YALI has exposed Kabimba’s lack of legal knowledge and this is frightening because this country can’t afford to have a Justice Minister who lacks legal knowledge about what is enshrined in our Republican Constitution vis-a-vis the rights and freedoms of citizens. How can he be so ignorant? During MMD reign Kabimba freely assembled and expressed himself so freely. Why do they want to trample on our rights and freedoms? Today it’s YALI, tomorrow it will be ordinary citizens.
This is SERIOUS! This has never happened under MMD that the youths of Zambia are threatened with arrests for simply having discussions that are not treasonable. This Kabimba is a threat to our democracy. He needs to be fired with immediate effect.
some people when they are government position they always think as if they next to GOD. five year will pass just now look at your friends in mmd the situation they are in it will be you next. twamingisha incito mwakulo mutwe.
He reminds me of Sata during MMD years…your end will be swift Mr Minister…
The hard they come………
The president only comes out to speak in public in the following situations:
i. Meeting chiefs
ii. Swearing in ceremonies and creating districts
iii. Church meetings etc
When it has something to do with technical issues involving actual usage of the brain e.g. developmental issues, economic direction of the country, strategic planning for the various challenges being faced today etc, the chap is nowhere in sight! Takwaba were his *****ic justice minister is causing confusion and the only time sata speaks elo thru that ka press chakuti of his is to respond in a totally non-helpful manner to real concerns raised by the oasis forum? I always say I will never ever forgive the educated people who cast their votes for PF. Kaponyas and the rest can be forgiven coz they didnt know better.
This gets better. In hope Kabimba has his gus ready…YALI fired a warning shot! Am loving the action in this ka local soap! It’s going down!
F***ing auto correct. Meant ‘I hope Kabimba has his gun ready’
Ladies and gentlemen; we seem to have put the wrong people in office.
Aka kamuntu has never even won an election and if he does in the near future then my brain thinks it will be rigged elections. Rigged big time not nampatonton!
YALI makes some quite points and refers to factual sources that suport their stance while at te same time challenging the legitimacy of Mr. Kabimba’s unveiled threat. Quite an interesting development. I for one am ready to contribute finances if and when the goons are leashed on YALI.
***makes some important points***
Allo Cellular
Is it true ati ba yali nima boys with affirnity for the waste pipe?