Patriotic Front Presidential hopeful Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba says the Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti was careless in her decision to bar the nine PF members of parliament from attending Parliamentary sessions.
The Speaker of the national assembly recently suspended nine PF lawmakers from attending sessions and drawing salaries on account of election nullification by the High Court despite appealing.
Yesterday the Concourt Judge Palan Musonda ruled that members of parliament whose seats have been nullified by the High Court but have appealed should remain in parliament.
And featuring on Millennium TV last evening, Ambassador Mwamba said it is shameful that the speaker made such a decision.
He said the law stipulates that one is innocent until proven guilty.
“The Speaker was careless in her decision, especially that she is a lawyer of many years and very qualified to be a judge. Her decision was political,” he said.
Ambassador Mwamba said Concourt’s decision to allow the nine PF MPs to attend sessions promotes democracy.
“The PF members of parliament appealed because they felt their petitions were improperly handled and their seats unfairly nullified. The Concourt will make the final determination in these matters and we will accept the ruling,” Ambassador Mwamba said.
“The MPs have a right to exhaust the due processes of the law because it is provided for in the constitution and it is part of the judicial system. The decision is good for the young democracy and strengthens the institutions in the country,” he said.
And asked if the same decision was going to be made if the PF was in power, Ambassador Mwamba said President Hichilema was acquitted several times by the same judicial system.
“If the institutions were compromised the country would not have produced an opposition President. The same decision was going to happen even during the PF. The institutions were not compromised because President Hichilema has acquitted several times and assertions that the judicially was compromised under PF was just propaganda,,” Ambassador Mwamba said.
Not compromised at all because the same court directed the paying back of pf miniters’ salaries against the then sitting president. I think they have tried. Waste of resources by the speaker.
Cheap article. I thought it would inform us where the Speaker erred since you claim she;s a very experienced lawyer.
She’s upnd what do you expect?
Its always best to have references of error so that us laymen can understand her decision equally Mwamba’s assertions. Its good the Con court intervened in the matter so that Bowman can enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of democracy.
The speaker was right to ask the members to leave so that they could clear themselves. However she should not have ordered the withholding of their salaries because then that was as good as declaring the seat vacant which is the preserve of the con court…the con court as usual failed to add substance to their rulings. Anyway as SC JS once said there is need to relook at the persons sitting on our constitutional court….
She is a upnd cadre and worst speaker in history
The issue is and was that the learned speaker was adequately informed that the matter she was dealing with already had 2 precedence set by courts of law before she became speaker and the only thing she needed to do was apply the same principle. Case laws and the rulings where cited for her to understand and apply but she opted to trash the precedence and try to re-set them based on how she narrowly understood the matter even as she NOT sat under the Judiciary part of Govt but Legislative part.
Secondly she knows that any matter in court can not be challenged and she decided to do that. Her name has been dented for ever because she has disappointed since she is the very first ever FEMALE SPEAKER. She DECIDED TO PLAY POLITICS. WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY LOST!
If Nelly is a UPND cadre , then so is Palma Musonda. Therefore GRZ need to check the credential of this Palan Musonda , as far as I know – aren’t this Musonda the same concourt judges that voted in favor of Lungu for a third term?
Isn’t he one of the judges that allowed Lungu stay carry on his duties in 2016 instd of leaving the office vacant until declared wina. Including those illegal ministers, Palan Musonda was there & voted in favor. Musonda is a pf cadre and GRZ shd now start purging these cadres still serving in GRZ key positions cos stupid things like these will continue happening.
This ruling is going nowhere naimwe, wait and see. But for Palan , he has just exposed himself . Atleast GRZ don’t ve to find these cadres still occupying offices but they are slowly reviewing themselves. There was another at MOH also employing relatives.
That Chiluba guard must just shut up after his failed rigging Now yapping even just seeing a house fly. Where is creativeness???