CHIPANGALI Member of Parliament, Vincent Mwale has said that his seat cannot be declared vacant despite having campaigned for Patriotic Front(PF)in the Malambo parliamentary by-election.
The Sports Minister told Breeze News monitored in Chipata on Wednesday that unlike former Kasama Member of Parliament, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba who joined UPND he remains an MMD member.
Mr Mwale explained that the constitution was clear that in such situations, a parliamentary seat could only be declared vacant by the speaker if an MP crosses the floor.
He said that by campaigning for the PF in the Malambo parliamentary by-election, he was merely supporting PF adding that the decision was sanctioned by MMD president Nevers Mumba.
Mr Mwale also pointed that people need to understand that Mr Mwamba had violated three constitutions over his decision to accept to become UPND Vice president for Administration.
These are the country’s constitution, the PF constitution and the UPND Party constitution.
Speaker of the National Assembly, Patrick Matibini on Tuesday declared the Kasama Central seat Vacant stating that by virtue of accepting the position of Vice President, Mr Mwamba had become an office bearer of the UPND and consequently had become a member of the party.
It’s very clear the speaker is compromised if not corrupt and the whole political system at the moment is rotten with wastage of resources
Matibini is the worst speaker ever. Not a grain of integrity in him.
We need to define what constitutes crossing over. GBM said clearly that he did not resign from PF. So how can you say he crossed over? By accepting to be a campaign manger for PF Vincent Mwale also crossed over. So do all those MPs who join other parties to campaign for them and even insult the leaders of their own parties. They effectively cross over and their seats should be declared vacant, if Matibini has any such powers.
These are the facts,Mwale accepted to be PF Campaign Manager for the Malambo Constituency by-election; GBM accepted to be VP for UPND. The action by both men is the same. If one seat is declared vacant so should be the other, but we have a useless, spineless puppet speaker….Ifintu ni Lungu-shedding chase!
What is not in dispute is that our politics have no well defined ethics; we will eventually find our footing and get there someday.
However urguing that a person should get away with theft simply because their neighbour got away with a similar offence does make reasoning.
Substitute ” does” with “does not”
Vincent, Please come out in the open. Why have you crossed to PF? answer is simple, because you are scared that you will lose your seat. If you are confident, you would resign from MMD.
It is so stupid, that these Ministers have broke the one Zambian notion KK encouraged. Just because Lungu is Easterner, all MPs in Eastern have crossed parties.
Let’s see what happens next year..
Be sober minded. Vincent Mwale has not left the MMD, he simply endorsed a candidate other than that in his party (In the US. Republican Jon Huntsman endorsed Obama in 2008). GBM has left the Patriotic Front party and a notice has been made to parliament to this effect. The Speaker is not compromised, he is simply stating the obvious.
I just cant understand what is difficult to understand here, supporting and actually being part of are too different things. Vincent just supported PF, he has no position in PF!! GBM has accepted a party position in UPND that makes him a member of UPND. No party anywhere in the world allows their members to belong to two parties. one can lender support as Collin Powell did when he supported Obama for president while being a Republican. But he did not join Democrats and remained republican. To me this was a very straight forward case that only dander heads could not understands!!!!! I don’t like Mathibini for being a cartel member but on this one he has acted above board!!!!!
For all those saying Mwale and Coy simply “SUPPORTED”, I would to like hear your say if Ronaldo (CR7), just in a ECL final game only, dons a Barca Shirt, actually plays for Barca and Scores against R.Madrid. And Barca wins!!!!. I am sure the Madrid Fans will be excited, since “HE IS ONLY SUPPORTING BARCA?”
Its very interesting how people go on top of the hill accusing other people of compromised integrity. You mean its so hard for you to understand what the constitution provides on this issue. The issue of supporting a party is very different from actually crossing over to take up a position in another party. GBM, Mucheleka, Mutati, Namugala, Lungwangwa, Situmbeko, Edgar Ngoma…etc all supported different parties during the jan 20th elections…..Non of their seats are nullified. But the current issue here is that GBM accepted to take up a position (a permanent) in the UPND. That is unconstitutional period! So please, leave the speaker out of this, he was js following laid down provisions.
Out of curiosity, does the Zambian constitution say anywhere that one cannot be a member of two associations?
@ Seasoned Engineer
One small issue, can you please point at one provision which give right to the Speaker to declare seat vacant without “due process of law”?
As a “head”of the National Assembly, Speaker is a part of LEGISLATURE [Art. 63(1)(c)] and not of JUDICATURE [Art. 91(1)(2)(3)]
and thus ONLY authority which may determine question of membership in the National Assembly is CLEARLY defined in Art. 72 of the Constitution.
Therefore, Hon. Speaker has exceeded his Constitutional powers and illegally acted in and area of EXCLUSIVE domain of JUDICATURE.
@ Seasoned Engineer, but Vincent Mwale MMD, accepted to be Campaign Manager for PF…how different is that from GBM accepting to be VP…is it the rank?
Think before you talk. You can’t come here and start yapping nonsense in the name of God. The issue of GBM is very clear such that himself accepted the ruling of the speaker, Dr Matibini. Let us show maturity in the manner we make comments. Please let us our English responsibly.
@ Seasoned Engineer, I salute you sir.
Crossing over should not be interpreted in terms of only talking up a position in another party. What if the party you are supporting at the moment has no position to give you? You are part of them even if you have no position.
Dull bloggers from zwd, listern for the last time. Vincent mwale was campain manager. That is not a permanent position in Pf. The permanent position is election chairman. If he assumed the role of election chairman then he crossed over and you can then question speaker. Vincent did not take up any constitutional position in Pf therefore he shouldn’t be equated to gbms’s case. I hope mwaumfwa nomba ba under5 politicians
It is just hopeless constitution , crossing and strong support are one and the same thing. Each of them choose to favor one and dislike the other.
I think we need to be real in a way we are articulating issues.The constitution is clear n loud n it’s pointless for us to be talking about GBM.Let him just go n recontest the seat coz the man wz wrong
VIVA MATIBINI continue with good work…..at first they used to say dat PF is causing unnecessary by elections but on this one it’s UPND doing dat.People let’s remember what happened to Tentamashimba n the question is who wz the speaker by then?Lets read our Constitution n avoid unsubstance attack on Dr Matibini….UPND lawyers study the matter very well n give us ur well faithfull conclusion than us listening to people without direction.VIVA Matibini n do ur work
Thank you Seasoned Engineer and lupe,
I hope these undp members or whatever the party name is, have learned a lesson from this discussion. It may make them start reasoning and ask hh questions on whatever he talks about. The characters don’t even think about hh’s speeches, they have zero IQ to analyse even situations. These are the chaps that have gone and still live abroad tarnishing the name “Zambia” specially politically. They have no capacity to analyse hh speeches and actions to the extent that they have killed the party. I was a fanatic supporter of UPND under Mazoka until shame came over it in the leadership crisis with the under five with his money just as it is with GBM. Pompous chaps who have no respect for the voter. UPND is now unpd..no direction….no leadership….no…
This matibini must be deported to Zimbabwe matebele land next year
You mean Shona land and not Matabele
The constitution Is not good simple all these mp that support other parties are not working for there parties and they go to court to continue occupying there seats while doing political prostitution
Mr. Mwale, embroidery apart, it is shameful that at your young age you have exchanged your integrity for few pieces of silver and thus joined the swelling ranks of old political prostitutes.
Enjoy your ill goten welth at the cost of integrity. You have fallen at the first important step of your short political life.
Shame, you had a chance to become somebody, instead just another hooker……….
Iwe boi vincent I like ur thinking bt wht u are saying now is totally rubbish,coz what GBM has done is the same to what u ve done,don’t act like zambians are dormant NO!!!!!!!! We know u guys,pipo lik u only want greener pastures!!!! Stop rubbishing over GBM s actions ok!!!!!!
My dear ?makondo
That’s your world where you do not look for greener pastures…. You may be that unique but it is rare to have characters of your type because even GBM and hh are looking for greener pastures while you refrain….typical of you!!!
If you have nothing else to call greener pastures, by the way, why not stop breathing so that you stop being/living/ drop dead?
Time waster…Fuma apa babombeko ichinto ya chalo….watupanga ifyongo.
ZAMBIAN POLITICIANS ARE ALWAYS CHILDISH RELATIVE TO POLITICIANS IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES ARE DEVELOPING AND GROWING THEIR ECONOMIES, BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE THEIR FOCUS IS. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ANY NEIGHBORING COUNTRY BORROWING A LOT OF MONEY FROM INTERNATIONAL LENDERS THE WAY ZAMBIA IS DOING IT? THIEVES HAVE STOLEN AND FINISHED OUR MONEY, AND NOW THEY ARE ALL OVER, TRYING TO FILL THE GAPS THRU HEAVY BORROWING DUE TO THE MONEY THEY HAVE STOLEN.AND NOW ARE TRYING TO KEEP UP APPEARANCES BY PRETENDING THE ECONOMY IS RUNNING WELL.
BIG THIEF IS BURRIED AT EMBASSY PARK AFTER BEING RECALLED EARLIER THAN HE EXPECTED
So it would mean Mutati and others would have lost their seats for campaigning for HH. People please use your knowledge. GMB is a vice president of Upnd so how can he be a PF member? Change the constitution to bar a Republican President from appointing ministers from outside his party.
No. Mutati and others did not accept positions of Campaign Managers. The issue by the speakers argument is that GBM accepted a position in another party. Vincent Mwale also accepted a position in another party
Imagine the congestion of traffic in town today as our corrupt police officers will be route lining the airport route for President Mutharika who is coming in and will go back without adding any value to the country
So imwe ba PF it’s ok for your wife to be sleeping with another man, as long as they don’t get married? Those MPs who are working for parties other than those who sponsored them equally have abrogated the law. But since the speaker is the one enjoying will not see anything wrong with that.
Tiye nazo bane.
i will wait to hear what Nevers Mumba will say about him endorsing this. he has often denied that he auctioned the party to the PF for a diplomatic appointment
For some time i have been just observing this issue of crossing over. After reading a lot of comments i have come to think that these two issues are truly different. Here is a question: Suppose the PF wanted to appoint GBM as their party veep now, will he relinguish his appt at UPND to go and serve in his party? Or will he hold on to both appts? Under which constitution? For those making references to other MPs who supported different parties during by election, Supporting a football team does not make you a member of that team but playing in that team makes you a member of that team. This is my simple understanding.
@ proud
Sleeping is not a problem but having sex is a problem coz thats what marriage is all about even the bible its written that way, just like supporting a party is not a problem but becoming a leader of that party is the biggest problem.
Mr Mwale is right, remember when masebo and GBM campaigned for UPND and endorsed the candidature of UPND and HH, the speaker didn’t declare the seats vacant? This time it was actual accepting party position and hence rendered invalid to be representing people of kasama under PF. This was a foolish move by GBM or maybe ni sukulu chabe ba GBM is small
Attorney General and Another v Lewanika and Others (S.C.Z. Judgment No. 2 of 1994) [1994] ZMSC 3 (10 February 1994); (19
He (A.G) argued that under Article 67 of the Constitution the Composition of the National Assembly consists of 150 elected members; 8 nominated members, and the Speaker. He said the elected members are those of the political parties or independent members. Entry to the National Assembly is through political parties or independent members – there is no other way. In a multiparty political era a member can only stand as a member of a political party or as an independent. Once one has been elected Article 71(2)(c) of the Constitution requires that he should pay allegiance to a party on whose ticket he was he ….
Now to who does MMD & UPND ministers pay their…
Thia party thing is useless that why we need to amend the constitution. Do you realise that most voters do not belong to any part. These are the people who are offended by these by-elections. Let us vote for persons not party or club. PF for instance has no party cards hence it is difficult to prove who is a cadre or not.
Get my point from now on we will vote for a person not a party. Let us have a partless country we shall enjoy peace.
A country without parties, ministers, DC. It can work!!
A philosopher student.
The painful truth is that he is PF and he can’t declare himself formally as PF for fear of losing his seat.Why can’t he be a campaign manager for his party.
You think Vincent can lose in Chipangali? Did you not learn anything with the Dora saga in Petauke recently?
Pf IS THE WORST CORRUPT PARTY AND SO SELFISH AND THEY HAVE BROUGHT CONFUSSION ESPECIALLY AFTER DEMISE OF LATE SATA.Confussion yeka and more poverty and corruption.Jesus save us from this messy.
This looks like Gadaffi’s son!
I have often wondered how some bloggers always support what HH says without analysing whether the issues HH is raising have merit. I often wondered to my self, “did these people go to school and if they went to school what education levels did they attain?” Then some one wrote about how he was approached by a politician he named and was asked by the said politician to start posting comments favourable to the said politician, in return the blogger would get paid.
THAT IS WHEN IT HIT ME. BLOGGERS WHO COMMENT ON EACH AND EVERY ARTICLE AND ALWAYS IN FAVOUR OF HH ARE PAID BY HH TO BLOG. HOW CHEAP CAN ONE GET?
How much is a blog? Under the cicurmstances it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make some extra ngwee.
Look at the ambiguity of all these arguments. I’ll add one more; crossing the floor is walking (crawling, frogjumping,etc) from one end of the floor to the other.
Viakulolafye, what if MMD (or any other party for that matter) also appointed Vincent campaign manager was he going to hold on to the two positions.
My point being interpretation of the law should not be left to one man commando units like Matibini. This should have gone to a full bench of the supreme court & reference was going to be made to all related pieces of legislation before arriving at a conclusive argument.
The constitution needs to be rewritten to put some clarity to these issues.
Can one appoint a campaign manager who is not a member of his party? The answer is YES. In the USA people (especially from the media) have been hired as campaign managers although they do not necessarily support the candidate’s party. Can you hold a senior position in a political party without being a member of that party? The answer is NO. No normal political party will appoint a person to a senior position without that person being a member. Can some one belong to two different political party? Again the answer is NO.
VINCENT MWALE WAS APPOINTED CAMPAIGN MANAGER WAY AFTER HIS PARTY HAD DECIDED NOT TO TAKE PARTY IN THE BY ELECTIONS. WILL VINCENT MWALE JOIN THE PF. THE ANSWER IS YES BUT HE WILL ONLY JOIN AFTER PARLIAMENT HAS BEEN DISSOLVED.
This issue is synonymous with dual citizenship. The current constitution says you renounce your Congolese citizenship before you become Zambian, you can’t have it both ways. The new constitution will allow dual citizenship, therefore it follows parties should also allow dual membership and this way every one will live happily therafter!
HH and GBM did not see this coming and they got a rude shock of their schemes. However crossing over has not been well defined and that causes problems and speculations about this issue. Nonetheless even Vincent Mwale does not understand what crossing over really is hence his petty response to this issue. It would be in the best interest of the nation for the learned constitutional lawyers to explain this issue and make it clear. As it stands, a precedent is being set even when the issue is not clearly defined.
@ 17 viakulolavye using your analogy of football, Hon. Mwale was not just a supporter, but a Captain in an opposing team, helping it win. GBM, equally became an assistant Coach in an opposing team. Where is the difference.
…what ever the argument…my focus is on the K7m about to be flushed in da toilet……
…I can be a managing director of Airtel and get a job as MD MTN…all I will do is give a month’s notice…till then I’m Airtel employee…GBM appointment can be effective the time the current house is dissolved which is just a few months from now…..
The constitution is encouraging political prostitution. It is like a married w/man having sex outside marriage and continues enjoying the benefits or suffers adverse effects of such a relationship. When one seeks divorce, then the other is granted an injunction so that the marriage doesnt dissolve despite having STIs in that home. Who can enjoy such a marriage?
So you see Mwine Munzi how the argument can go on & on. Now you bring in the media & normal political parties.
The constitution should not be left to speculation. Interpretation of law should be seen to be clear if we are to have confidence in it.
Americans don’t have ambiguous laws like crossing the floor. A Congressman does not lose their sit if they have a different opinion to that of their President.
NB I have deliberately used the word President.
Imwe bafimbwi campain manager is not a permanent position. The position is Elections chairman of which Vincent was not.
This is insane! Seriously why are we even arguing about this? Both gentlemen crossed over meaning the seat is vacant. Vincent Mwale cannot even try to justify himself because his move is the same as GBM. Mwale can’t be with PF and remain an MMD member? You choose the party you believe in and has morals. You can’t have your cake and eat it too (once you’ve eaten your cake, you won’t have it anymore). How does Zambia manged being run by such a government? This really floors me and the reason I think our economy is plummeting. People shouldn’t join politics with no merits or grounds to simply get paid. PF really needs to re-evaluate the people they have in their party. I try to understand President Lungu’s hiring decisions and what they’re based on. Seem’s these people all have…