Thursday, March 28, 2024

Parley approves Threatened State of Emergency motion

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Members of Parliament

Parliament has approved President Edgar Lungu’s declaration of Article 31 to curb the recent fires that have rocked the country.

Last week, President Edgar Lungu sought parliamentary approval to the Preservation of the Public Security Act by invoking Article 31 of the Zambian Constitution.

Parliament adopted a motion tabled by Vice President Inonge Wina to confirm and extend the declaration of a state of threatened public emergency by President Lungu.

Out of 118 Members of Parliament eligible to vote, 85 voted in favor of the motion, while non of them voted against the motion, non of them voted in abstentia, and 34 did not take part.

All PF MPs supported the motion.

47 UPND MPs are serving a one month suspension for boycotting President Lungu’s address to the house.

“The results of the voting are as follows; the ‘I’s 85, the ‘NO’s zero, and abstentions zero. The ‘I’s have it. The question is resolved in the affirmative,” Deputy Speaker Catherine Namugala said.

62 COMMENTS

    • African politics is brutal. Its not for the faint hearted! If you enter politics without fighting injustice head on, just know that you are loser.

      Our fore fathers had it really easy to gain independence from the colonial masters because they were dealing with a civilised people who respected rule of law. They followed the laws strictly no matter how discriminatory they were. Some of the colonial laws like the POA are being used by our current leaders but in a harsh and brutal manner compared to how the colonial masters used them. People like KK and other freedom fighters were arrested fine. But they were assured of a fair trail by impartial judges who would apply the law of the day strictly and free them without any torture as the laws did not allow torture.

      If Mandela, Mugabe,KK…

    • If Mandela, Mugabe,KK and other freedom fighters were arrested under the current regimes after independence, I think most of them would be dead by now.

      I hope I have tried to explain why I say African politics is brutal.

      The only way to correct the madness in Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Rwanda Congo and many other African countries ruled by dictators is to use force. Without force, it is impossible to remove an African regime from power.

      There is no African country where change of power happened smoothly without bloodshed of the innocent citizens. In Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Ivory coast,and many others , people lost their lives in order to force the ruling party to surrender power or allow free and fair elections. In case people have forgotten, during KK people died in…

    • In case people have forgotten, during KK people died in the struggle to force KK to allow multiparty democracy . He still wanted to cling to power but the opposition’s condition were that an independent team run the ECZ not the madness ECZ Zambia.

      Anyone hoping to become a politician in Africa today must consider my view on change of power in Africa.

    • Twalapumwa fikkala fyesu…
      Especially that Zambians like to mock the drunk leaders. No more singing “…umwaume waku lutuku!”.

    • THIS WAS LONG OVERDUE. ANYWAY, AT LEAST THE MOTION HAS BEEN PASSED. WE CAN’T HAVE A GROUP OF LUNATICS BURNING PEOPLES’ HOUSES, ELECTRICITY PYLONS AND MARKETS. DURING THIS PERIOD THE POLICE AND OTHER LAW AND SECURITY ENFORCEMENT WINGS SHOULD ARREST THE CULPRITS.

    • Like the qualifications bill for MPs, this bill will also bite the same PF officials in their ass. Watch this space.

    • – Kenyan Professor of law PATRICK LUMUMBA: “There is need for HYGIENE IN ZAMBIA; that is the ONLY country in the world that I know where when an opposition leader blocks some motorcade, an offence of obstruction, it becomes an offence of treason”

      – Zambia is the only country where State of Emergency gets approved even without any investigation establishing that the Lusaka Market fire was arson.

  1. Even if lungu has proposed taking the wives of those MPs they still would have voted yes, That how bad things are in Zambia.

  2. That’s Democracy the majority wins and it means all MPs including UPND are collectively involved and abide by the resolution that’s how democracy works folks…

    • You mean that’s how democracy works IN AFRICA!

      Go and see how a REAL DEMOCRACY works somewhere else, then come back and comment.

    • @Dokotor,What do you know about Democracy…Let me tell you in the USA, them even change the rules just to get the majority…When the current AG was being confirmed they changed the rules to 51 instead of the required 58 and brought in the VP to vote just to get the majority…That’s how democracy works any where…You cannot rule a country if you have no numbers in Parliament that’s a fact…Read widely don’t just listen to some UPND inclined NGOs who are not accountable to the Zambian people…

  3. You cannot manage UPNDonkeys, they oppose anything and everything. If you offered to build a modern toilet for them they will oppose massively and senselessly.

    Need further proof that UPND are donkeys.

  4. SO WHAT NEXT. POLICE NOW YOUR DUTY IS TO BIEAT INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO ARE GOINT FOR OVERNIGHT, AND WHO TAKE PECIENTS TO THE HOSPITALS, WHO ARE GOING HOME AND IF THE NIGHT FINDS YOU ON THE WAY YOU NEED TO SPEND THE NIGHT IN THE COLD.

  5. It’s a sham! It’s really sad that Zambians can’t see what is unfolding before them. This is what it is to vote in bachimbwi no plan. Zambian leadership in vipers’ hands. You can only push people for so long. Everything unfolding right now was calculated a long ago.

  6. Blindness in purpose is the greatest threat to our society and our parliamentarians are the epitome of it…

  7. Very embarrasing state of affairs. I am just meeting a few business men here in London and we are currently in a bar at the dorcester hotel. I have just shown them this article and the business men are shaking their heads wondering why Zambians are letting thugs like pf destroy our economy. With state of emergency no sane business man will want to risk their investment with no freedoms. Anyway cheers to u all while I sip on Heineken here.

  8. “The results of the voting are as follows; the ‘I’s 85, the ‘NO’s zero, and abstentions zero. The ‘I’s have it. The question is resolved in the affirmative,” Deputy Speaker Catherine Namugala said.

    How can these overpaid morons wake up in the morning and tell their children they are MPs in a multiparty democratic country without shame? We are not going anywhere with these thieves.

  9. You can kiss goodbye a country of laws… say hi to dictatorship regime as it is now official.

    I thought they wanted to save face and rubber stamp this by saying they would wait for the return of the suspended MPs. How did they change that.

    It’s really painful to see a country falling apart… instead of progressively moving forward, we are matching backwards in very long strides. Sad!

  10. Parliament made up of Zombies. We have been down this road before with Kaunda and his UNIP. Did Kaunda succeed with his machinations ?

  11. Done and dusted!!90 days here we come and hope there will be no court sittings for those in jail such as kaili # 1 HH,Obvious Mwaliteta,Mukobelo,etc as their reward for ordering their cadres to burn Zambia!!
    In the current parliament,the opposition cannot win anything until we vote again in 2021.even if those 47 upnd MPs were present,they could have lost because UPND only has 57 MPs out of 163 or so MPs in the house.between now and 2021,the opposition cannot achieve anything via voting in parliament.one wonders why HH was even claiming of having won 2016 elections with those few mps from 3.5 provinces!!
    ZAMBIA POLICE NOW MUST UP THEIR GAME TO CAGE TERRORISTS!!!

  12. NOW LET US SEE WHO BURNS AND DESTROYS MARKETS IN ZAMBIA.THOSE WOULD BE ARSONIT THUGS WILL ROT BEHIND BARS.GOOD MOVE BY HIS EXCELLENCY

    • It is PF doing it…….now lungu has got the SOE he wanted to arrest the opposition ..no one will burn anything..

    • If within a month no one is arrested is for the crimes then no doubt it is PF that has been destroying property in this country. The fact is, this is being done to stifle opposition and dissenting views. Lungu has really taken compound primitive ways of life to state house.

  13. Pse LT mention that 10 UPND MPS walked out and didnt participate in the vote becoz they did not want to legitimize illegality. 46 Suspended UPND MPs did not participate in the debate or vote on the Motion. It follows therefore SOE is a purely Lungu and PF product design to further persecute HH and UPND Supporters. Victims of SOE should blame Lungu and PF.

    • So what is ‘illegal’ about the outcome? Please democracy is not just democracy when things go in your favour? No wonder you’re foolishly refused to accept the 2016 election results … to you democracy means agreeing with you. When are you going to wake up from your fantacies?

  14. IT SHOWS THAT UPND HAS BEEN BENEFITING FROM THE CURRENT SITUATION. BUT WITH A SOE, THEY WILL BE UNABLE TO CARRY OUT THEIR CLANDESTINE ACTIVITIES, HENCE THE REFUSAL TO TAKE PART.

    UPND IS ALWAYS ON THE WRONG SIDE OF SITUATIONS. INSTEAD OF BEING SEEN AS CONCERNED ABOUT THE ARSONIC ATTACKS, THEY CHOOSE TO OPPOSE ANY ATTEMPTS TO CORRECT THE SITUATION. ESPECIALLY NOW THAT THEY ARE PERCEIVED AS THE PERPETRATORS.

    IF YOUR HANDS ARE CLEAN, WHY SHOULD YOU BE AFRAID OF A SOE?

    • Chisenga

      “..IF YOUR HANDS ARE CLEAN, WHY SHOULD YOU BE AFRAID OF…the petition”

      That is what you must ask lungu….

      As the saying goes, if a suspected rapist refuses a DNA test then he has some thing to hide…

  15. Stanyina chiiikamba hh. Under this article courts can’t hear cases bwino bwino, so court appearances postponed indefinitely. So ni mukobeko bebele. Alaka clocker 4 yrs mu mukobeko

  16. Even those who have left their homes to come and look after someones wife in lusaka in the name of empathising with them should be sent back to their abandoned people. If they they resisit, boma should administer some discipline.

  17. Kwaza Kuutuka let the emergency of the security last forever and ever amen, for me since i dont drink bee , neither go after girls iam not affected by this pronouncement

  18. I watched how they discussed this motion in parliament. It was worthy watching. People are suffering after that market was burnt. Bring all culprits to book and make them understand the misery they have brought on fellow. Zambians.

    Ba upnd wake up u shud be seen to oppose in Parliament. It is your party which is finishing. U are losing popularity by looking like burning markets is normal. Start to be seen participating mwebana na mbwa.

  19. Zambia, proud and free?

    Bye bye to much fought for democracy.
    Bye bye to fair trial
    Bye bye to freedom of speech
    Bye bye to sanity

    Welcome to Zambia, land of work and joy in unity? Is it unity to oppress?

  20. Good morning good Zambians, go about your business normally.

    Good morning bad Zambians and donkeys, still want to torch innocent citizens or public property? I curse you with eternal diarhia.

  21. @15.2 Spaka, what petition naimwe? Not a shred of evidence from day one until the lawyers gave up on underfive. 14 days is 14 days bwana. If, sorry I mean when, your underfive is sentenced to 20 years in prison for his treason do you want him to serve 30 years or do life?
    Yaba, bu donkey nabo awe mwandi!!!

  22. No useless absconded MPs why didn’t they stay to ague and vote no, at least people should have said they tried and it should have been on record but no they opted to stay away, cowards fearing for the unknown.

  23. Good job! Voice of the wise and the reasoning! Go get ’em! Hazaluza Hagain. Useless tribal MPs are gathered in Namwala and in South Africa!

  24. “Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.”
    ? Albert Einstein

    Africans need to rethink their approach towards life, especially concerning discipline, responsibility and accountability. So far, we are a waste of God’s resources. How long will it take us to get civilized?

  25. MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO!

    States of Emergency in South Africa: the 1960s and 1980s
    One of the key instruments used by the apartheid government to neutralise political dissent was the State of Emergency (SOE). In periods when the government faced unprecedented internal revolt – both in 1960 and in the 1980s – an Emergency was declared. This resulted in the detention of thousands of political activists within a short space of time, and an exodus of some to a life in exile.

  26. @15.2 Spaka like lilo: PROCESSING A DNA SAMPLE TAKES LESS THAN ONE HOUR. THEREFORE WHY WOULD YOU TAKE MORE THAN 14 DAYS TO PROCESS A DNA SAMPLE? IT MEANS THERE IS NO EVIDENCE, YOU JUST WANT TO BE FIDGETING WITH THE SAMPLE AND IN THE PROCESS HOPE TO MANIPULATE THE OUTCOME. THE LABORATORY IN CHARGE OF PROCESSING SAMPLES HAS TOLD YOU THAT WHAT YOU BROUGHT HAS NO DNA IN IT. IT WAS ONLY WATER. NO SUBSTANCE BUT A CONCOCTION OF PRELIMINARIES.

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