Thursday, March 28, 2024

It’s within the Speaker’s right and authority to suspend the 48 UPND MPs-TIZ

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UPND MPs taking the 'walk of shame' out of Parliament after the suspension was announced
UPND MPs taking the ‘walk of shame’ out of Parliament after the suspension was announced

Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) Executive Director Wesley Chibamba has said the speaker is within his right and authority to suspend the 48 UPND MPs because they truly contravened the regulations of the August house set forth.

Chibamba has however said TIZ as an organization that seeks to promote good governance is worried about the timeliness of the disciplinary action.

The TIZ Executive Director further stated that his organization is concerned about the speaker’s decision because it seems like there are still some political tension in Zambia at the moment due to the arrest of the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema on treason charges.

Chibamba noted that the suspending the UPND members of parliament might only fuel the already existing tension between the PF led Government and Opposition UPND along with their sympathizers.

And the TIZ Executive Director said it was going to be prudent for the speaker to be cautious of the timing before taking any action, stating that it is very possible to do the right thing at a wrong or inopportune time.

He has since urged the various arms Government through their respective institutions to be sensitive to the political undercurrents obtaining in Zambia right now as they exercise their authority and duties.

“Perception is a very potent source of misunderstanding as such perceptions need to be very well managed. At the moment, the suspension of the UPND Members of Parliament maybe perceived as further attempts to silence the voice of the UPND, regardless of whether this is true or not.”

“There is already a perception that democracy and other freedoms it espouses is being stifled by the current regime. The suspended Members of Parliament are representatives of the people in their various constituencies, their suspensions entails that people in 48 constituencies will not have representation in the legislature for 30 days the electorate may not see it as punishment on the erring MPs but on themselves for supporting the opposition.”

“TIZ would like to remind all the political players, especially elected leaders, that they have a responsibility to be accountable to the electorate. All decisions made and actions taken must be in the interest of the people that gave them the mandate to govern and/ or represent them” Chibamba said

65 COMMENTS

    • The speaker has no connection and is as neutral as I’m when im analysing politics and or anything else.

      I like him call things fair and square. I’m on partisan in politics.

      I know I’m the best at what I do.

      Speaker should extend the suspension for me

      I have a PhD

      Thanks

      Bb2014,2016

    • Zambia is again a one party state! Mwanya with na ka green! You will see the hardships come into play now! Celebrating the demise of democracy – you may hate HH but not to the detriment of the hard fought for multiparty democracy. I was visiting Manchester – UK and arrived during their polling week. I never saw any cadres urinating and vomiting in public or abusing people’s liberties. You know why? They are civilised and have jobs to go to!

    • In RSA parliament, Jacob Zuma has been called a mafia, a thief by the opposition. There have been fights but NOT one day have opposition MPs been suspended.

      Authoritarianism & brutalization of the opposition by PF regime has killed our democracy. Now all institutions are for service of one drunkard instead of serving the masses.

      Ex-Katondo Street conman now turned PF minister of home affairs Mr. Kapyongo was even threatening the UPND MPs with violence.

    • very negative bunch of losers, look how they are all wearing black. Extend their suspension as long as their leader is at Mukobeko! Bye!

    • THE ACTION BY THE SPEAKER WAS LONG OVERDUE
      HH AND HIS COHORTS HAVE BEEN TAUNTING AND DISRESPECTING AUTHORITY LIKE NAUGHTY TRIBALISTS THAT THEY ARE
      BUT WHEN DESERVED RETRIBUTION IS METED OUT THEY CRY FOUL
      DID THEY EXPECT TO BE PATTED ON THEIR BACKS FOR THEIR CHILDISH BEHAVIOUR
      ZAMBIANS HAVE HAD ENOUGH NONSENSE

    • I thank Mr Speaker for the bold decision made.. He is truly a man who excises discipline when it is required.. I have seen some evil comment here by Maloza who want our Parliament to be like that of south Africa, Mwebantu sure even if it is inferiority complex at work should we admire such nonsense to be happening in our parley? This are people we do not want who admires everything regardless of how bad it is as long as it is cumming from overseas. id..ot

    • The TIZ should have also told us if walking out on the President and claiming they do not recognize the President while recognizing his appointees is representative of their constituency.

    • It is a tragedy that TIZ is now being lead by a person whose tribe blinds him from seeing that dictatorship is taking root in Zambia.

  1. He has authority but he’s emotionally unstable.

    When the UPND filed a petition to protest the 2016 elections, the President was supposed to hand over power to you Mr. Speaker. But he did not. The nation was not told as to why the President abrogated the Constitution and refuse to hand over power to you.

    Well, now we know why. Mr. Speaker, you are very unstable person. Your emotionalism is a danger to peace and stability.

    The President is well aware. He knows you very well. You weren’t going to handle the business of the country well. Be it known unto you henceforth, that the President doesn’t trust you, and the people of Zambia don’t trust you either.

    • Why doesn’t Matibini drown in his voluminous robes and choke on Lungu’s vomit and die? I would like to dance on his grave.

    • LOMBE,
      GO AND READ THE CONSTITUTION AGAIN.THERE WAS NO RE RUN FOR THE PRESIDENT TO HAND OVER POWER TO THE SPEAKER.
      THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT SAY SAY THAT AS LONG AS THERE IS A PETITION,THEN THE PRESIDENT HAS TO HANDOVER POWER TO THE SPEAKER. LUNGU WAS DECLARED A WINNER BY ECZ AND IT WAS UPND CONSTITUTION RIGHT TO PETITION THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS AS DID BUT THAT DID NOT MEAN LUNGU HAS TO SURRENDER POWER TO THIS SPEAKER.NO WAYS.THIS IS WERE YOU ALWAYS GET IT LONG.

  2. There’s no rule of law in Zambia, only the rule of dictators .How else could you describe GRZ refusing court orders to allow RB his passport back?

  3. The timing was perfect, it’s only UPND who are hell bent on creating a perception of extreme tension in Zambia in their quest to topple the government. UPND have crossed many lines and someone needs to stand up to their rhetoric to bring back sanity, law and order to Zambian politics. We will not sympathize with a bunch of selfish people on a crusade to enrich themselves. If they mean well, let them demonstrate this in a civil manner. We are sick and tired of them and if the government fails to put them on the straight and narrow, then people of this great country will confine them to the dustbins where they belong. It’s a pity the other opposition parties are not capitalizing on their buffoonery

  4. The most backward party and MPs to ever grace the leadership of this nation. I am ashamed of this leadership in Zambia! Ignorance. Imagine being ruled by such Under Five Card Clinic people.

    • That’s because they are the bloggers. It’s what they do when sitting in parliament, now that they are suspended they have more time to scavenge for the impact of their actions.

  5. The three wings of government have demonstrated maturity and responsibility. No person should threaten them as they discharge their duties. I commend the speaker and the judiciary for their maturity in handling Under Fives.

    • I am just wondering – TIZ so what should the Speaker have done to these MPs? Whilst agreeing with the Speaker’s action you are saying the punishment is harsh or ill-timed – but you do not suggest what would have been an appropriate action.

  6. These guys must not even pose for a a photo in front of the building saying “National Assembly of Zambia!” They are diluting the good name of this national treasure and institution!

  7. These UPNDonkeys were tolerated for far too long, their behaviour today is because they misunderstood tolerance to mean weakness.
    There is no right time to arrest an offender or mete out discipline, otherwise UPNDonkeys would take that as weakness, they are so U5!

  8. I think that whatever is happening to UPNDonkeys now is good for their growth. How can a whole bunch of grown ups be misled by an underfive baby still.on infant vaccinations?

  9. BA TIZ, THE RULE OF LAW HAS NO TIMING. THE LAW IS SUPPOSED TO BE APPLIED IMMEDIATELY A CRIME IS COMMITTED. DO NOT USE ALANGIZI TYPE OF ADVICE LIKE “IT WILL NOT LOOK GOOD”, “YOU MAY BE MISUNDERSTOOD” ETC. YOU ARE DEALING WITH A GROUP OF PERSONS WHOSE MAIN AIM IS TO DISCREDIT THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE OF PRIDE AFTER BEING REJECTED BY THE ELECTORATE. THE PF GOVERNMENT MUST BE FAIR BUT FIRM. THEY SHOULD NOT TOLERATE NONSENSE. THIS IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE USING THEIR MONEY TO MOUNT AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO MISLEAD DONORS THAT THERE IS DICTATORSHIP IN ZAMBIA WHEN THERE IS NONE.

  10. It not a question of right or authority but must be within the law. You do not wake up in the morning and say
    ‘ balachimona lelo’.

  11. Peaceful protest is a constitutional right; the right to free expression and conscience. And the upnd MPS have a right to protest, peacefully. So the Speaker has no authority to suspend MPs that exercise their right to peaceful protest. What the Speaker has done is symptomatic of the dictatorship and dystopia that Zambia has become.

  12. No one should be apologizing. The MPs met their objective.They wanted to humiliate to ECL and they did. He got pissed off demanded punishment. The consequences have followed. Let them endure the suspension with pride. When you fight for something you don’t need to be apologetic about your actions. The speaker like wise should stand firm. That is the objective way. Our democracy is still intact though in flux. Equilibrium will follow after some time. All system will eventually self correct.

  13. @Maloza 1.7 do you really follow world events? In April opposition MPs were barred from entering Parliament when Zuma was addressing it.Heavily armed police were used to stop Malema and company because it was anticipated that they were going to disrupt the president’s speech. But of course you only read what favours your interest. By the way has anyone come to harass you over the insults against Lungu?

    • @Maloza 1.7, also do you know that each house has its own rules that governs it? You can not say just because its done in RSA then it should also be done here. not at all

  14. Well done Mr Speaker though you could have given them 90 days!!!WELL SAID TIZ TOO BUT NEVER MIND,THE TIMING BY THE SPEAKER IS CORRECT.
    As for you “divide & rule”,your 48 mps are from 3.5 provinces,is that half of Zambia?be real man.this is why your upnd lose elections because you overrate yourselves!!!those 48 mps are from southern,western,n/western and tonga speaking areas of central province.there is no mp among those 48 from Copperbelt,Lsk,Luapula,Northern,Muchinga and Eastern.moreover,if there is any mp from cb or lsk,those maybe 2 or 3.SURELY CAN CALL THIS HALF OF ZAMBIA?AMAZING!!!
    48 UPND MPs ARE OUT OF PARLIAMENT FOR 30 DAYS AND ITS LIFE AS USUAL IN ZAMBIA CURRENTLY!!GOD BLESS ZAMBIA!!

  15. Give it to them hard and sharp enough to penetrate their thick donkey heads. I can assure you that its the only language they will understand. You cannot possibly reason with a donkey.
    By going to court to challenge their suspension you can see clearly that they are feeling the pinch. They thought that everybody would be pleading with them and thus they became pompous.
    Shove the disciplinary code up their a.r.s.e.s if necessary to help them grow up.

  16. @Wesley Chibamba:
    You are just another version of PF Mongrels and you have no functional brains at all with your head full of Mat.uvi or faecal matter.
    How come you only see something wrong with the UPND and turning a blind eye to reality about PF. When the UPND filed a petition, Lungu was supposed to hand over power to the Speaker but didn’t do that – SO even with your very stu.pid and weird mindset didn’t you see anything wrong with that? Lungu is somebody who is supposed to defend the constitution to the last man but is the first to break instead. Why did you choose to keep quiet then only to some up with your stu.pidity about UPND now? You are the kind of people called mother fckers and suc.kers!! I will write and make a complaint to TIZ Head Office about your unbecoming conduct…

  17. The remaining UPNDonkey MPs who were not suspended are not daring to misbehave or challenge the Speaker. Clearly the last thing on their mind is to be suspended or expelled and lose their seats. That shows that discipline will be instilled in these UPNDonkeys.
    You see, even if they are donkeys, they know very well that if elections were held today to fill vacant parliamentary seats, the Donkeys know that there is no guarantee that they retain their seats. That is why they are in court because they do not want to lose their seats.
    So UPNDonkeys, behave yourselves or else you stand for re-election, or even join your U5 in Mukobeko.

  18. @abilima suspension should be meted out if there was an offence. Peaceful protest is not an offence; in fact it’s allowed in our constitution, assuming there is still a constitutional democracy in Zambia. Stated differently, if Zambia is still a democracy, then the Speaker has acted ultra vires

  19. Use-less Wesley; this is the u-s-eless speaker Zambia has ever had;and this one of the u-se-less decision he has made

  20. Suspension may not be right but my worry is that MPs from NWP are not doing anything for their province but have opted to engage in unproductive political fights. You promised to bring development to the area by ensuring the wealth being unearthed there is used to better people’s lives. What are you going to tell your people in 2021? That we’re fighting Lungu that’s why we direct full fill our promises? .

  21. But what kind of suspension is this where you deprive them of a salary? Not even half salary? I guess the next time they boycott the President’s speech their seats will be declared vacant!

  22. Ba Speaker of National Assembly nabapwa. Why is he becoming partisan as well. He is now following the court trends who are always supporting PF. We are tired. We need a sane government

    • More like we need a sane opposition. This UPND opposition has turned our country and our National Assembly into a circus. They have boycotted presidential national address while expecting to bring development to their constituencies, what kind of thinking is that? There is no parliament without the president! This is a simple fact understood by grade 9 pupils of civics. You cannot be part of what doesn’t exist unless you are really twisted!
      UPND need to start practicing decent and human centrist politics, unlike their current lumpenizing and antagonistic approach.
      This suspension was long over due and from where I stand the Speaker has exercised great restraint for a long time. No more childish antics in our National Assembly!

  23. African thinking- You can do all the wrong no punishment for as long as their leader is in custody. TIZ disappointing to say the least.

  24. UPND 2021 will be : We fought and insulted every body we found on our way the past five years including the president we are strong vote for us. It was in his power period, No salary chapter closed.

  25. They threatened to stay away from parlay on Tuesday so that they could go and see their leader, God is great he has granted them more than enough time to spend with their god, why then do they want to go to court? It can only be madness.

  26. The law should take it’s course, there is nothing like timing, if that’s want you do Mr.Wesley Chibamba then you are not fit to run your organization. No we can arrest that thief because the mother died yesterday. Action should be taken there and then as long as there is proof or suspicion.

  27. Failures always boycott, Notional prayers, African freedom day, Labour day, Independence day and now presidential address, boycotting. This type of behavior led to the down fall of UNIP due to hero worshipping of individuals without thinking.

  28. If it walks like a Party Cadre, but denies it,
    And quacks like a Party Cadre, but he denies it,
    Then it is a Party Cadre in denial. Plain and simple.

  29. Whether wrong or good timing I commend the speaker for the bold decision he has taken. Let us call a spade a spade. The 48 UPND MPs did not consider the interest of their electorates! Some where just following blindly without consideration of the consequence! Such type of behaviour is suitable for secondary school pupils or university students who in most cases act on mob influence! Mr. Speaker consider even extending the period of suspension so that the concerned MPs should regret for their selfish motive

  30. If the rest are dunderheads, we don’t mind Zambia being a One Part State! Meanwhile, development goes on! Even Lombe is begging for a position for his U5 on a silver platter! When MPs protest, the President should have handed power to the speaker? What level of immaturity is this? Guys you should go for vaccinations!

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