The Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA) has said that it is outraged by plans by the Patriotic Front to repeal the current Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) Act and replace it with an Act that will serve its own partisan interest.
In a statement released to the Media and signed by the Chairman Bishop Mambo, CiSCA said that it condemned in the strongest term the deteriorating rule of law and constitutionalism and called on the Republican President, who is also a lawyer, to tame his cadres and stop them from intimidating people who offer contrary views.
“As a former member of LAZ, we expect the President to come out strongly against his party members who are abusing their position to silence LAZ for simply exercising its role, ” read the statement.
Below is the full statement
PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
Lusaka, 27 March 2017
The Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA) is outraged by plans by the Patriotic Front to repeal the current Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) Act and replace it with an Act that will serve its own partisan interest. CiSCA strongly rejects this, yet another scheme, by a government that consistently and ashamedly manipulates the law to suit its own narrow partisan interests.
The proposal is not only impractical but further proves that the Patriotic Front wants to establish a one party dictatorial state by systemically silencing independent non partisan voices such as the independent media as they have done with the Post Newspaper, tried to do with Komboni Radio and Muvi TV and now the professional body of LAZ. As CiSCA we are convinced that this is a well calculated ploy to weaken the legal fraternity and consequently access to justice by all.
LAZ is an association of lawyers, and we all know that Hon. Kelvin Sampa is not a lawyer. We therefore wonder why he is moving a motion to destroy a club that he is not even a member of.
Below are some of the reasons we reject the proposals to repeal the LAZ act:
I. Having many associations will erode the integrity of the legal profession which LAZ has carried over the years.
II. LAZ is a strong voice that the nation needs. Silencing LAZ will weaken citizens’ ability to keep checks and balances on the government.
III. The creation of more associations will create a chaotic situation, and promote crookedness as the mechanisms for disciplining lawyers would be weakened.
IV. All jurisdictions in the Commonwealth have only one national association or council for lawyers.
V. Shutting down LAZ will render many citizens jobless and without a source of living as the association is an employer. Further, the association provides free legal support to the less privileged through facilities such as the National Legal Aid Clinic for Women and its mandatory pro bono requirement for all its members. Without LAZ, legal services will now be a preserve of Hon. Sampa and others who can afford legal fees.
What is even most unfortunate about this organised confusion is that those behind it have singled out LAZ President Ms. Linda Kasonde and have thrown all sorts of unfounded accusations against
her. They have called her names simply for speaking the truth that unsettles those in power.
Before being a President of LAZ, Ms. Kasonde is a citizen of this country who is entitled to freedom of expression as provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of Zambia . The Constitution clearly states that every citizen has a right to freedom of expression which includes the freedom to hold an opinion, and the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas, which is what LAZ – through Ms. Kasonde has done. No citizen of this country should be harassed or vilified for simply holding an opinion on national matters.
People driven, popularised constitutionalism in ZambiaIt is common knowledge that LAZ is not run by an individual, and all the statements issued by the association through its president are a result of extensive consultations. A LAZ statement is not a result of the imagination of one person, but it is a collective responsibility of lawyers that make LAZ. These lawyers include state counsels, government officials and private practitioners. The role of Ms. Kasonde is to simply project the collective view and professional opinion of these lawyers. To target her just because she is the current President of LAZ is barbaric. It is an act aimed at separating an individual from an organisation.
If there are people concerned about how LAZ is operating, let them use the right channels provided by the LAZ Act instead of abusing their presence in Parliament, and sending cadres to overrun a legal entity playing its legal role.
To this end, we condemn in the strongest term the deteriorating rule of law and constitutionalism. We call on the Republican President who is also a lawyer to tame his cadres and stop them from intimidating people who offer contrary views. As a former member of LAZ, we expect the President to come out strongly against his party members who are abusing their position to silence LAZ for simply exercising its role. But even if the President does not do anything, we will not sit back. Any injustice cannot carry on forever.
Injustice has always had a short lifespan. We warn Hon. Sampa and those he is working with on this injustice against LAZ and by extension us the Zambian people that contrary to the current Executive we are not gullible and we know what the manoeuvres are about. . Soon, this will come back to haunt the same people who are currently excited about destroying LAZ. The Patriotic Front needs to realise that since they are in power they have the responsibility and are accountable to all the Zambian people and should not expect any less criticism from all non-state actors. It is ridiculous of them to expect every non-state institution and individuals to sing their praises. Do they need a Grade 8 Civics lesson on ‘checks and balances?’
Issued by:
Bishop John Mambo
Chairperson – #CivilSocietyConstitutionAgenda #CiSCA
Off topic sorry
Hi fellow Zedians,
I am trying to go back to Zambia to do a farming Business. My idea is to develop a farming business concept similar to Zambeef. I need people to work with, anyone interested in earning money as a share holder or as part of management. I will be setting up a whatsapp page where we can discuss. I am a qualified agriculture person specialised in crop production. The idea is farm, process, sale finished product.
Zambians are funny and never think seriously when talking. How can you say MPs that are not Lawyers have no interest in LAZ when the LAZ Act that BROUHT LAZ into existence was formulated by the same MPs. Current LAZ is partsan, and clearly against the government. They defend criminals instead of ordinary zambians. They have themselves to blame.
“Xenophobia Is Happening In India. Africans Are Being Attacked”
Racism, prejudice and xenophobia are rampant in India.
My observation is, the UPND cadres are worse.
I would love to see UPND a s a Party de-registered. They are synonymous with anything that is wrong about the country’s stability.
PF cadres are exemplary and act superbly from what I have seen
Thanks
BB2014,16
@Mushota – chinyo kununka!
Pay no mind to this mushota.
She is confused and flip flops dependind on that womens time of the month.
Mushota is ryt as i Buck teeth proves mushotas words!
this civil societies hidden aims is to create confusions.
@1 I AM INTERESTED IF YOU ARE TRULY SERIOUS. BUT, I CAN’T DISCUSS ANY FURTHER THAN THIS ON THIS MEDIA FULL OF UNSERIOUS BLOGGERS. BUT, HOW AM I GOING TO KNOW IT’S YOU ON WHATSAPP?
@1.5 I AM NOT A FAN OF MUSHOTA BUT IN THIS CASE SHE’S 100% RIGHT.
The loony @Beak Tooth Lung has his bubble burst by one press of the right button by the equally maverick @Mushota! He’s been found out for what he truly is; a lowlife troll masquerading as an intellectual and cyber hero..!
‘All jurisdictions in the Commonwealth have only one national association or council for lawyers.’
Really? A Bishopo nimwe a loya?
Bishop Mambo,
You gun has holes even st the back – i mean, even on the same side facing you.
You have shot yourself not only in the legs but everywhere.
You want to promote freedom of speech and the exercise of Rights.
But why do you want to silence the pf cadres from exercising their right over the constitution and any Act?
It is their right, that is what they feel about the Act, so why stop them, why get agree?
Why champion freedom of speech with a bias? Are you a real activist?
Weigh your ways!!!
People please spare your wrath at Mushota. She is sending a message using what is called reverse psychology. Ever heard of that?
My advice is lets exhuast all legal channels before we resort to “you poke my eye ,I poke yours also” strategy. That said UPND should give the courts a deadline of upto 2018 May to hear the case otherwise??????????????. After that plan B must be put in place.
VIVA UPND.
when is this Bishop Maaaaaambo dying. just asking. surely we all know that we need an independent LAZ and not the catel driven LAZ by the Nchito family and Kasonde.
He’s learned intolerance from the best , Museveni and Uncle Bob Mugabe the two overstayed bandit leaders of east and southern Africa.
Mambo and others i have been telling you that Lungu is a hypocrite and not a true Christian and Christians for Lungu have been blinded. The level of intimidation under Lungu and PF has taken us back to KK days. Lungu and his thugs like Kaizer are behind every move being taken by his cadres who include Kamba and kelvin. sadly KK has been quiet. sadly we Zambians are so passive that we fear Lungu who will not be in plot 1 forever. KK wamuyaya is no longer in plot 1 and so it will happen to Lungu who has been blinded. how can a nation being led by a so called Christian experience the political deaths and intimidation which those with different views are facing?
So what ? Do something about it together with you Halusa Hagain we see…..muzazinyela ba upnd,just wait.Muzasila,even Andyford mayele banda will do better come 2021.Mukose noku kosa
LAZ in its present form is useless. Why is it difficult for Mambo to acknowledge that LAZ is partisan? There is nothing that Zambians will lose or miss if LAZ were to be disbanded, restructured or scrapped.
Bishop Mambo has lost the plot and is looking more senile than ever. He is trying to remain relevant to the Zambian political scene by trying to relive the heydays of the oasis forum. I don’t know why he doesn’t just come out and say he has joined politics. Just look at his ngo, cisca: why didn’t they vigorously campaign for the BOR when the chance presented itself? We all know ngo’s hidden political ambitions unfortunately for the Bishop, he is a has-been who needs to concentrate on uplifting the needs of the less privileged now rather than launching a political career to please his masters who fund him (who are hell bent on regime change!).
He is a despicable fella at a personal level…
Lungu is a thug who masquerades as a Christian. He directs all militia activities from state house. His tolorence and support for criminal activities by his inner circle should show the chatecter of the man.
Those who think otherwise are duped or ate living in denial..
@One Zambia -when Musa Mwenya supported PF when it was in opposition was it not being partisan? EL is not being advised well. He is taking a dangerous route in which he will walk alone. The people are parasites. They know how to jump trees when it suits them
@One Zambia -when Musa Mwenya supported PF when it was in opposition was it not being partisan? EL is not being advised well. He is taking a dangerous route in which he will walk alone. The people advising him are parasites. They know how to jump trees when it suits them
Let him tame frank bwalya. he is so arrogant and stupid
Zambians will one day wake up to find there is no country to talk about because every sector would have been compromised by Lungu. That will give him a free hand to do what ever he wants. Zambians should rise up now before it is too late. Lungu is up to no good. If a policeman can be drunk on the job and threaten a law maker in the wee hours of the morning shows how rotten the whole system has become.
Keep dreaming!!
The Don of Chawama even has Thugs like (Chimp)yongo, to maintain your law & order @ Home affairs, & another toxic violent “Political advisor” Kaizer.
With this Calibre of Stone throwers running things you have up to 2021 to enjoy state sponsored Violence, & Thuggery!
It’s as if there’s a shortage of normal people in Zambia to fill theses job vacancies, BUT we know Chakolwa uses Storm troopers to cower Zambians from challenging his corrupt mandate.
The president has no ears to hear people’s with his cadres. Just imagine up today nothing has been done against Kaizer Zulu.
Lungu probably laughed about that incident. It happened in front of him.
That is the character of the man. Zero integrity and zero morals. Only morals from a pit latrine in chawama.
Can the pf chaps explain the video circulating of two pf cadres busy poking each other in the matak0. They are dressed in pf regalia. Am sure that is ndanje kikiki he has been posting about wanting gays to be recognised and his gay partner. Dirty chaps. Lusaka times why are you not reporting on that video. We know lungu promotes homosexuality.
Levy used to be critised in everything and he used to answer back directly. Ecl is in the same way critised and the man never jumps to public hit back at critics. People surrounding Ecl are doing their jobs pretty well by not allowing Ecl answer to useless criticism. Why would deregistering of laz be connected to Ecl. Magufuli has closed down a lot private media and useless civil society groups and Tz is still not a one party state.
Bishop Mambo u are spot on. Lungu wants to establish a ONE MAN PARTY DICTATORSHIP having stolen the 2016 Election. Anybody who is opposed to Lungu’s sole objective is an Enemy. Hence Lungu wants Zambia to quit ICC, Disband Laz, Ban UPND MPs from Parliament, close the Post and other News Media. To stop Lungu on this disastrous path all Right Thinking Zambians must rally behind UPND Petitioners. The Vote Thief must be stopped or else 2021 Elections are as good as rigged.To achieve his Dictatorship objective Lungu is destroying Rule of Law, Constitutionalism, Good Governance and is violating Human Rights big time. The Petition Hearing Process will expose Lungu as a Vote Thief who is illegally clinging to power to consolidate his Vote Theft and Dictatorship. That is why Lungu must accept to…
Coming from a spent force like Maambo. Upnd just campaign hard instead of insulting Edgar. All parties have cadres but we only see the evil if the cadre belongs to another party.
iwe comment on the video of you and you pf friend shafting each other in the backside. kikiki
These upnd cadres smashed property at the court premises and no one talks about it??
Because it is caders from one party that promise violence if rallies are not cancelled and demonstrate with out premits
Mushota does is a ghost he or she does not exist. He or she is paid to make comments.
Mushota will always be BB each year because she speaks as she sees things ..she’ll attack Lungu over some issue, she’ll praise HH too, she’ll not support a tax evader. In short she’s the only impartial contributor whether you agree with me or not.
“We warn Hon. Sampa and those he is working with on this injustice against LAZ and by extension us the Zambian people that contrary to the current Executive we are not gullible and we know what the manoeuvres are about…” SPARES US THE NONSENSE, BISHOP!! Hon. Kelvin Sampa is an elected mp who was duly elected by ZAMBIANS in Kasama IN A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION-you bishop are not elected so which Zambians do you represent???? Your ngo is funded by foreigners who have an ulterior motive that is not endorsed or supported by Zambians you claim to represent!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO THREATEN OR WARN OUR CHOSEN MPs AS WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO CHOOSES OR ELECTS THE BOARDS OF THESE NGOs AND WHOSE INTEREST YOU HAVE AS PRIORITY-OURS OR THE NEO-COLONIAL MASTERS YOU BOW TO!!
He He, The President to do what? We don’t have the KKs or the Mwanawasa’s any more. Those were Presidents who were action oriented.
Agony is claiming to be the president only to have your rally cancelled by the real president. Kikiki.
HH only has to call more rallies and public gatherings and let lungu panic and hang himself with dictatorial moves cancelling them.
All this while IMF and the international community watch. And the international legitimacy lungu craves , Kaya.
It’s called giving the budding dictator enough rope to hang himself. All by remote control.
Madness is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result…really sad. That officer from Chainama Institute of Mental Disorders seemed to have a point…
Oval head.
Hehe hehe you see HH is playing a remote control game with the visionless one.
All he has to do is call for rallies and let lungu panic and site deteriorating security and have them cancelled. Better still if he jails some UPND members. Hehe.hehehe.
And in same breath the visionless one calls for investores saying stable security….no one will invest in a country that call itself democratic with unstable political and security situation.
Lungu wants to copy MU7 and mugabe. What his advisors are not telling him is the the Zambian situation is completely different.
Uganda is a strategic country that hosts US bases. The US has to tolerate MU7.
Mugabe tookover a very rich country. They have diamonds, gold, platinum in some of the richest mines in the world. Zimbabwe. Only SA was more advanced than Zimbabwe. Mugabe knew this and knew he could weather the storm.
Now lungu. All he has is that large US embassy as a bargaing chip. And some bankrupt copper mines with Chinese amd Indians scrapping. Lungu will soon find out the West will not blink to squeeze him.
‘@ HH OVAL HEAD You have made my day, this is agony.Heart ache at its best Kwashala ukuchita collapse ku chikonko.
Munene
Hehehe ati chikonko.
Hehehe each time lungu cancelles a rally you make their day ba UPND. All the more reason to show the world and other citizens the dictatorship in the making.
You see democracy and all the associated freedoms do not mix with corruption , thuggery and incompetence…the 2 camps are not mutual. So one has to go.
.
I don’t support PF but I think LAZ has outlived it’s usefulness. The next step should be the establishment of other schools similar to ZIALE so that Cartels in the law profession can be curbed.
Who ordains these chaps? Isn’t John Mambo facing contempt charges over the Zambezi Portland issue? His friend Richard Luonde is now in politics full-time. Whatever John Mambo says is partisan, he’s not trying to defend LAZ, he’s earning a living. LAZ can defend itself
Up to now LAZ President Ms Linda Kasonde and her entire Executive have failed to discipline Ms Martha Mushipe a Lawyer for the Supreme Leader HH of the UPND… and the Bishop has not said anything and he thinks he can be trusted…
LAZ is compromised by the cartel and thats causing others to be uncomfortable. we have to bring sanity in LAZ. they are behaving like cadres
Lamentations: Kaizer Zulu is not arrested. Killers of Ruth Mbandu have been left scot-free. Mapenzi’s Killers are still wearing Police Uniform. Fans and players were unnecessarily teargased at the stadium, very unprofessional. A ZAF sergeant is killed in cold blood in Police custody, right in the domain of the Police. All this is happening – And the Police Command is intact – Glaring incompetence. No consequences. In all this and many others not highlighted here, the Police just goes Scott free, And life goes on! Ah
That is because lungu uses the police as PF militia. The police command is safe as long as they harrasse the opposition and free press.
Bishop Mambo,
You gun has holes even st the back – i mean, even on the same side facing you.
You have shot yourself not only in the legs but everywhere.
You want to promote freedom of speech and the exercise of Rights.
But why do you want to silence the pf cadres from exercising their right over the constitution and any Act?
It is their right, that is what they feel about the Act, so why stop them, why get agree?
Why champion freedom of speech with a bias? Are you a real activist?
Weigh your ways!!!
It seems Spaka like lilo is employed as a full time blogger on LT
This thing with LAZ is overrated. The association conducted itself with open hostility to gov’t and has an unfortunate, mouthy, mouth piece in Ms Kasonde, whose professional characteristic is that of a quarrelsome toddler.
Oval Head Lungu, your friends at ZNBC who everyday worship Lungu everyday have not been paid their salaries, right now they are striking. That is the mistake you dunderhead followers make, worshiping and kneeling down like a fool for a fellow human being who breathe the same air like you. You forget the same human being can be selfish, self centered and power hungry. You add all these attributes together and you get a dictator who will kill and abuse his people for the sake of power. So wake up and smell the coffee Oval Head and your dunderhead cadres, at the end of the day only the man you worship is benefiting while you wallow in poverty.
We have many trade unions, so we can have many laz association, no hassle about, as many political parties we have, that’s democracy.