Friday, March 29, 2024

Constitution sufficient to warrant rights if interpreted correctly -Godfrey Miyanda

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Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda
Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda

Former Republican Vice President and Heritage Party Leader Godfrey Miyanda has submitted to the Legal and Justice Reforms Sector Commission that the Zambian constitution was sufficient enough to warrant citizens rights and freedoms if implementers of the law interpreted it correctly.

And Brigadier General Miyanda told the Commission that the Zambian society should not give room or accept what he called uncultural practices such as homosexuality to be included in the laws of the land.

In his petition to the Justice Fredrick Chomba led Commission today, Brig Gen Miyanda said the law enforcement agencies such as the police need to be trained to interpret the law correctly to avoid wrongly arresting innocent citizens in the name of enforcing the law.

He referred to Section 2 of the Penal Code which contains the Public Order as one of the most abused law by Police officers.

As opposed to some people who call for the removal of public Order Act, Brig Gen Miyanda praised the Act but noted that enforcement officers have made it look like a bad clause because of the way they interpreted it.

He explained that removal of the clause would bring chaos in the country but warned the authorities against using it to frustrate or persecute the opposition political parties.

He also condemned the police for arresting and searching private properties of citizens without proper justification saying such was an act of injustice.

Meanwhile, Brig Gen Miyanda has stated that legalization of homosexuality and marijuana should not be tolerated in the Zambia society as it was against cultural values.

He noted that the appeal by some petitioners that homosexuality be allowed in Zambia in the name of human rights for the minority should not be entertained.

And Brig Gen Miyanda told the Commission that the Zambia Information Communication and Technology Authority (ZICTA) is assaulting the privacy of the Zambia citizens by coming up with a law to register all simcards for communication devises.

He noted that it was improper for ZICTA to allow mobile service providers that include foreigners to monitor phone conversations of citizens which he said were against the Bill of Rights.

The Legal and Justice Sector Reform Commission started public sittings in Lusaka yesterday and about nine petitioners have since appeared before it.

ZANIS

39 COMMENTS

    • General Miyanda is a wise man. If what he has stated flew past your head try reading a little more. Using the post and times of Zambia for information shall delude your intelligence further.

    • yaba!,,, zambians, zambians, zambians! what do you want???,, new constitutions?? amendiments??,, changes?? additions substrations,,reforms?? what?..,,,,, and what are these legal and justice reforms??,,, damnt! these chaps receiving those submissions will also be paid big like those from baroste commission,,, constitution reveiw constitution, etc??? damnit! after this toilet and sewerage reforms please!!… Sata`s head disease is now infecting country

    • General Miyanda I agree with you that POA is ok but in its current form. It seriously needs to be reviewed to avoid the police abusing it to win favours from rogue politicians like the current PF regime.

      My suggestion is that, POA should be twiked to include a subsection that makes it illegal for the police to target a political organisation,or civil society ‘s protest, or assembly if the police have been adequately informed. And it should go further to state explicitly that no permission of any form is to be required from the police in order to hold a public assembly or protest.

      The other laws that should be changed is the defamation law. This law should only protect private citizens Not political figures to curb abuse of power by politicians in power.

    • I am upnd supporter but general miyanda is by far more presidential material than my president.its hard to accept but it is only true.

    • @Mwnawakwitu at 3: PF believed and made public that the whole constitution needed to be amended and even gave a time frame. It is only the Heritage party that had always been advocating for amendments but was ignored. We suggested (even during the time of President LM) that we identify contentious issues, put them in public domain and debate them fully. This was rejected in place of the whole constitution. PF only changed in 2014! We predicted that time and in the PF time that the method being used will not achieve the desired purpose. We have been vindicated but no one is saying so.

      Our method was cheaper and in short time, e.g. Possible list of contentious issues could have been : running mate, 50+1; dual citizenship, discrimination of women. See where we are now. Brig Gen…

  1. I think the greatest danger is not respecting the constitution that we currently have. We need to show as a nation to respect the constitution even if it goes against us. PF has been really bad at this and I doubt they will even respect the new constitution we are crying for. PF has been Zambia’s worst political disaster

    • Thank you. First we respect the one that we have, I shall go further to say people should read and understand our current constitution before crying for a new one.

    • good points from both of you guys!!!,,, but why would normal people spend money to draft a new constitution,,, before examing the old constitution ´to check if its obsolete or not!!,,,, now we have reforms coming,,,, not sure if the new reforms will be in line with òld/current or the new constitutions,,, confusion

  2. Chiluba woke up Mwanawasa at his Ndola home from sleep to become president.
    Mwanawasa plucked Banda from the farm in Chipata to become President.
    It is time for Sata to dig out Mr Miyanda from his farm in Makeni to become the next President.———WATCH THE SPACE!!

    • Dream on my dear. Sata and Miyanda are like oil and water. These two don’t even each other eye to eye on anything and I doubt they will ever

    • No he will wake up Saulosi this time. I will be your next president.You will soon have an Indian first lady.Watch this space.

    • Between Sata and Miyanda, I have always though Miyanda is more presidential. People fear Miyanda because of his Military Intelligence background. However, he is a disciplined man.

  3. Any blogger watched: Muppet Show; or International Rescue? Mr. Tracy and the lovely kids Virgil etc; Lady Penelope; faithful and very skilled Butler-Chauffer, etc Mr. Parker?
    Yes: Then you probably understand Supermarionation! Especially in Technicolor.
    Now; for us in Zambia; who is the Puppet Master? Since we are Blacks, in Black & White; perhaps grayscale: Mostly very subtle; smart; technical; very manipulative and decisive.
    We have HE President Sata; who we dully voted into office.
    Here is a non-elected person telling us that we do not need to feast our eyes on our prize!
    What mischief.

  4. It’s like putting new wine in old wine skins. Why should any enlightened Zambian waste time to talk about the cold constitution?

    • Matunga I want to agree with you this an exercise in futility.This guys are just playing with our minds while they are buzy filling there pockets with money(Allowances).This is a drain on our coffers which are already filled with big potholes.This is academic exercise that will be shoved in the cabinet.What we need is the draft Constitution exposed through a referendum and then hand it to Zambians before 2016 finite. As the other guy who is comparing Gen miyanda to HH ,pliz guys lets be serious did you watch the ZNBC interview in 2011 were miyanda started to praise HH instead of debating.I respect miyanda,s integrity but he does not fully has knowledge of how to run an economy as HH does.Thats the difference.

  5. Gen. Miyanda at some point was involved in a controversy about the public order act part of the Chiluba govt. to hurt opposition. Now in opposition has makes sense and has ‘reformed’. Great I hope he learnt his lesson. Believing these guys in opposition is not a risk worth taking.

    • @Dr Wabo:u hav your facts wrong. I took to parliament a new provision banishing the need to get permission but introducing the need only for NOTIFYING the police. Police are wrong to insist on permission and I reiterated this in my submission. What controversy is this Doctor? By the way the reported statement above is by ZANIS; it is not complete and has left out a lot thus changing the context. At times I was answering questions from the Commissioners and was on the stand for at least 45 minutes if not an hour. Brig Gen Miyanda///

  6. Gen Miyanda you’re wrong.A constitution with no ambigiuties is what zambia needs in order to end abuse,selfish politics and entrench institutional rule.One that is open to various interpretations is what undermines rule of law,undermines institutions and creates “bigger than zambia” kind of politicians.

    • Do all progressive democracies have the Public order Act. If not how do they manage order, can’t Zambian learn from them and get rid of it if Progressive Democracies do not have it.

    • @Mzambia wazamani at 10 together with @Enka at 10.1 below:
      Mzambia you have generalized, making a reply a fishing exercise. Pse state the ambiguities so I can reply factually. As for interpretation this will always be there hence the Separation of power I.e. Parliament to make and unmake laws, Executive to execute them and manage state affairs and Judiciary to INTERPRET the law when there is a dispute! If you list the ambiguities and cite the provisions you are relying on to declare me wrong I shall gracefully concede.

      @Enka: assist Mzambia to make clear what he has seen as ambiguities in the Constitution by specifying the sense in his posting so we can all benefit. Brig Gen Miyanda///

    • @Mzambia
      Well said. Politicians and lawyers love to play with words. We need a NEW constitution. More money has been spent by this poor country on this exercise for us to simply abandon this serious thing.

  7. The POA needs tweaking; Police should have to apply for a warrant as in searches before applying any action on political groups. A judge in chambers must see evidence of very real threat and planned disorder. Gay rights can’t be implemented in Zambia because society does not understand the acts it infers, and because of Risk of new HIV cases increasing; thus affecting a poor economy.

  8. If people are able to deliberately misinterpret the constitution and get away with it then that is proof enough that it is weak. Ka Miyanada needs to learn to stay silent at times, he is completely off the mark on this one.

    • @Kay at 13: your advice for me to stay silent has exposed your lack of understanding of what you are debating. If I remain silent you will continue passing on your lack of understanding to other innocent listeners/readers/bloggers.

      LESSON NUMBER ONE: if there will be no people misinterpreting the law then there will be NO NEED for judges and/or courts! Brig Gen Miyanda///

    • @Patriot Abroad at 12: I agree generally on POA. However no need for Judge in Chambers as the amendment I took to Parliament which I am always vilified for provided only for NOTIFICATION to Police; Police have insisted on the myth of the PERMIT which is NOT current law!

      Note also that the POA exists in England, India and other Commonwealth countries with various modifications. Brig Gen Miyanda///

  9. @Wanzelu at14: pse see my reply to Dr Wabo at 8.1. I agree with you on POA. One of the Commissioners is LAZ President Mr Chisanga. He raised similar issues as yours and we were both in agreement. Above statement is ZANIS news report that has left out a lot. It has been my lonely fight that we fight for the respect of the laws we already have. During my submission I also observed that there is an abuse of Commissions as a tool for managing the country. This method should be the exception rather than the rule bcoz it is costly. After all why are people elected? Why should they use is as unpaid consultants? I agree with you. Brig Gen Godfrey Miyanda/// NB: I did not submit on defamation but I have some views on that maybe on another occasion.

  10. Miyanda absolutely right especially over these chaps called gays. They should not even be near anywhere our constitution. This is how Zambian I can I say about you General. Stop gays. They will worsen our costitution.

    • @Core at 17: No and Yes.
      1. See replies to @Mwanawikwitu at 3.1 at 11.42, @Dr Wabo at 8.1 at 10.00, @Mzambia at 10.3, @Kay at 13.1 at 11.15, @Wanzelu at 14 at 10.33 and @Patriot Abroad at 12 not yet posted.
      2. Law is dynamic, is a living thing and always moves forwards and, though rarely, even backwards. But ” new constitution” connotes something that does not exist, as though there is a vacuum. This is a misnomer here but was applicable to South Africa bcoz of circumstances of their struggle and the existing law that totally ignored or did not recognize existence of indigenous people.
      3. Thus we can “panel beat” the current one to make it appear “new”. Problem is politicians always look for votes and tend to promise things they will not do. NEW is attractive to voters. Brig Gen…

  11. Editor, pse post my reply to @Patriot Abroad at 12 posted much earlier than @Kay. Brig Gen Miyanda///

  12. Miyanda is very right! Mr. miyanda please 2016 step up your campaign otherwise at the moment no one is of presidetial material than you are. GO 2016 GO!

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