THE Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition filed by Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda in which he sought the court’s interpretation of some provisions in the amended Constitution which he alleged were inconsistent and did not represent the interests of Zambians.
Gen Miyanda, who is Heritage Party president, wanted the court to determine what he termed as breaches, inconsistencies, decisions or omissions contained in the 2016 amended Constitution.
In a judgment delivered on Friday by a bench of three judges headed by judge Annie Sitali, the court dismissed the petition but noted the case raised important constitutional arguments which were of great interest to the public.
“We wish to point out that the petition raises fundamental questions such as, ‘Can a constitutional amendment be unconstitutional?’. To allege, as the petitioner has done, that a constitutional provision is unconstitutional is to impute incoherence and inconsistency,” she stated.
In his petition, Gen. Miyanda charged that the amending of the preamble by introducing new words that significantly changed the character of the state and nation of Zambia, without the sanction of the people through a referendum, was inconsistent with the Constitution, and further that it was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
Brig Gen Miyanda also stated that the decision by the executive to combine the holding of the general elections and the referendum at the same time was inconsistent with public policy, and further that it was based on improper considerations and was not reasonably justifiable in a democratic state.
However, justice Sitali said there was nothing in the Referendum Act that prohibited the holding of the referendum alongside the general elections.
“We therefore find no merit in the petitioner’s claims and we dismiss it accordingly,” she said.
Justice Sitali also dismissed claims by Gen Miyanda that the decision by the executive to direct the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to conduct the general election simultaneously with the referendum on August 11, 2016 was in bad faith and was inconsistent.
Justice Sitali said the petitioner’s claim that the announcement by the President in early 2016, that he had decided to dissolve Parliament in May 2016 was unconstitutional and contrary to article 81(5) (6) and (7) of the constitution, was premised on wrong provisions of the law and lacked merit.
Brig General Miyanda is right , a referendum should have been sought for the changes.Please don’t cause a traffic incident ,PF looks for excuses to clamp down on petitioners.
Brig Gen Miyanda, the Heritage party at one time was a viable opposition but your preoccupation with matters that do not affect the everyday person has made your party almost obsolete. When you were sent to Sandhurst for your senior officer training they taught you the 7 Ps (proper prior planning prevents p.iss poor performance) an adage that can be applied to everyday activity! You have let down the average Zambian who looked up to you to bring a viable opposition- where are you to talk about prison conditions and yet even you too had suffered for years in prison, you have been silent on real issues such as the maize floor price as well-matters affecting the everyday man and woman!
Please PF courts, kuli chililo, that’s why people insult Jonathan, when you have a funeral you don’t have to work as per zambian tradition,,, we haven’t buried ba kasonde yet,,,
Upnd 12th commandment. Never accept court ruling which are against them and label all judges involved as crooks maroon and corrupt. If ruling was in their favour then judges have shamed the pf.
The court noted and then dismissed “important constitutional arguments which were of great interest to the public”.
In whose interest is this court acting?
How do you dismiss something of great interest to the public? This annie mulenga(sitali) seems to be heading everything at the constitutional court.
What a legacy this Constitutional Court is building!
The composition on this Constitutional Court must be disbanded with change in government for it is just another High Court!
The composition on this Constitutional Court must be disbanded with change in government for it is just another High Court!
Very unfortunate that We as Citizens of Zambia do not take such matters seriously. The man is fighting for us yet people oppose him. There are a lot of floes in the amended constitution with current PF Government taking advantage of such. Very sad that the constitutional court dismisses such a petition just to Impress Lungu. Young Zambians will realize soon that these leaders we have meant no good for their future. General Miyanda meant good for the people..
Brig General Miyanda is my man, no matter what.. I would be pleased to be in communication with him. Brig General is you ever see this please let me know how to contact you on my email [email protected] We still need to prepare for our future as a nation with such decent minds as the General’s. I really wish to be in communication with Brig General Miyanda. I am a young Zambian ( well I am 44 years right now) away from home but passionate about the political goings-on in my great country…
I know what you mean brother, I really wish I could meet him too.
He’s been very consistent.. a true soldier of the soil.
Anyone expecting anything from this PF’s Kangaroo court is naive. The one time they tried to show impartiality was when the ministers occupied their positions illegally. But even then it was an academic farce to hoodwink the masses that they were independent. Nothing came out of it as the ruling came after the abuse.
As for BGG Miyanda, good on you sir. You know very well the outcome of these cases, but your conscience is intact, your integrity is intact… That’s all you can ask for in this Lungu dictatorship.
We know the commandment you’re using badala.
IT SEEMS THE COURTS MOTTO IS “THE COURT THAT MAKES ZAMBIAN’S LOOK STUPID”.
You just have to show that you think like a donkey and raise a matter in court or spend a few days in police cells in order to qualify for a position as a vice president of UPNDonkeys. Currently underfive is considering three applications, Kambwili, Saviour Chishimba, Miyanda.
Ubupuba bwale kuchinfya, you are overwhelmed by stupidity, hit and jealousy.
The opposition and its hoodlum “intellegentsia” members and supporters will continue to undermine the government and our institutions. It is a strategy they hatched to forcefully remove a constitutionally and democratically elected government. Like the General above (who has crashed his party from a 4 mp+councillors party to a social media circus with no hand in governance) they seek to get power by totally ignoring the grassroot population and the very institutions they believe in. This cheap shot by a failed politician who has become irrelevant and obsolete has FLOPPED!!
**trending in RSA: UDM/EFF threaten to pull out of coalition with DA in key municipalities accusing it of bullying its partners** REMIND YOU OF A POLITICAL PARTY HERE IN ZED WITH SIMILAR TACTICS???
How could thi be, these judges are mad in the head:
“In a judgment delivered on Friday by a bench of three judges headed by judge Annie Sitali, the court dismissed the petition but noted the case raised important constitutional arguments which were of great interest to the public.”
Too dull to hear the ACTUAL ARGUMENTS of the Generals petition.!!!!
Anything or any judgement by the 3 PF Concourt cadre judges Anne Sitali, Mungeni Mulenga and Palanio Mulonda is a waste of time not even worth listening to.
These 3 maggots sold their souls a long time ago to PF each one of them makes that court moribund, useless and irrelevant. Moreover, none of them qualifies to be a constitutional court judge both by academic qualification and the requisite experience. The whole thing must be disbanded and those mother fckng PF judges should be ashamed of themselves!
We know the commandments you are using badala. We now understand you very well. You are not different from kids. A kid only loves the parents when they him toys but deny them once the result is known.
@ so, so and so, typical thinking of UPNDonkeys. Badaala ba Chilyata, you forget that Judge Palan Mulonda voted with Judge Chibbomba during the final petition sitting? Now that is what I call UPNDonkey, complete with your cultural insults.
How many petitions is this Constitutional Court going to throw away or dismiss?
Gen. Miranda is 1 of those Zambians who wants to see everything fail just to prove his point or dislike of certain person. Unfortunately # of Zambians have fallen in that trap. You can allow yourself to hate for 5 years without progressing. For the Gen, he’s been hating from time he launched his party. He misguidedly opposed referendum but now wants to disguise his error by filing public interest petition. Your petition Gen was selfserving because history will remember you & those who opposed referendum as having denied Zambians most progressive bill of rights ever. You can’t change that. It’s not too late however for you to change your attitude. Governance is not about individuals but country. You are petty if you focus on individuals. Try to look @ both +ves & -ves. Every GRZ is…
Dull PF Cadet. Do you even know what Miyanda’s petition was based on?
Imwe fyonse ni political rhetoric between PF and UPND.
Great general indeed. Our courts can never be trusted especially that one sided prosecutions r still common.
Cont… Try to look @ both +ves & -ves. Every GRZ is called by God to deliver on something. God Bless Zambia
Is the constitutional court above all courts in Zambia?
To decree Zambia a Christian state is unconstitutional. Why is government taking a horse to the river and forcing it to drink the water?
Disband the the so called constuetional court failures of judges.
Comment:
Poor Miyanda, everything he touches turns to ash!
Hi,this court is merely a joke. Maybe if these judges need to be taken for a refresher court probably in south Africa where the rule of law applies. The Zambian courts throughout the African continent is the only with the highest cases of nolles.
Why is it so! May the learned lawyers update me on this very important issue.
I am worried about the rulings that come out of this court. I would have thought the learned judges would have interrogated further the breaches, inconsistencies etc that the retired General sought a ruling upon because even if the constitutional court is not a law making body it is a court for interpretation and guidance to laymen like Miyanda.
What do we expect from UPNDonkeys
Her judgment was correct, for the simple fact that any amendment becomes part of the Constitution itself, upon its passing. However I disagree with the wording of it where she said ”we found no merit in the petitioner’s claims and we dismiss it accordingly,” This is because any contradictions between content or intent within the Constitution might require interpretation and holdings of the same Court and she should have included this in her judgment to give credit to his petition. Even though it would be impossible to declare a part of the Constitution “unconstitutional”, believe it or not, Miyanda raised some very important points. To me, it is an injustice to say the case had no merit!
If he or any other citizen that care about this country needed to know, they could certainly…
HOW I WISHED THIS RULING WAS DONE BY A FULL BENCH
Judge Anne sitali again.. this woman..is she a mother and Zambian.????what does she want..?
is’nt this same court tha’t told some ministers to refund the emoluments and yet update no cent has been paid back.
If the media reports on this case are a true reflection of how the Constitutional Court arrived at the verdict to dismiss the case, then it is as clear as daylight they are evidently contradicting themselves. It’s easy to see how this kind of mediocrity and mistrial by this same Con Court over the past election petition has turned our motherland Zambia into a bad joke.
Well done Brig Gen Godfrey Miyanda. Actually, going by recent Govt trend of doing things, I won’t be surprised to hear the Executive arm has distanced itself from the ‘Judiciary’. It’s Govt by trial-and-error. So, meantime keep that file on this case near your, sir while we pray that sanity prevails in our Country. …Now, did I say pray? Looks like I have to notify the Police. Which statutes of law?
I wish the General had been the defacto Number one oppositional leader in Zambia! He is more sensible than all the crowns put together! Elias Chipimo had some promise but when he started saying the President should accommodate a loser, I lost faith in him!
@BRABUS, your contributions is trial and error! HAzaluza HAgain!