The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has said that the party has not ruled out moving an impeachment motion against President Edgar Lungu when Parliament reconvenes.
In an interview with QTV News, UPND presidential advisor Douglas Syakalima said that his party has observed that President Lungu has allegedly continued to transgress in relation to the Republican Constitution.
Mr. Syakalima, who is also Chirundu Member of Parliament, stated that the UPND cannot allow President Lungu to continue transgressing in the manner he is doing.
Mr. Syakalima sated that his party had plans to move another motion of impeachment against the President during the just ended sitting of Parliament but could not do so in view of the time it took Parliament to approve the 2019 national budget before adjourning indefinitely.
Mr Syakalima said that the UPND feels duty bound to institute all necessary measures to help the Country.
Early in March this year, UPND filed a motion in parliament to impeach President Edgar Lungu for allegedly violated the constitution in a motion moved by Mazabuka Central Member of Parliament Gary Nkombo and seconded by Roan PF MP Chishimba Kambwili.
According to a document obtained from the Clerk of the National Assembly, the UPND had obtained the signatures of one-third of the 167-member parliament who are in support the motion. Zambia’s constitutions requires the support of two-thirds of the National Assembly for such a proposal to succeed.
Some of the alleged constitutional breaches that President Lungu violated the constitution when he failed to hand over power to the Speaker of the National Assembly when the presidential petition was filed.
Other charges are that President Lungu procured public debt which is beyond the capacity of the nation to sustain contrary to provisions of Article 198 (c) of the Constitution.
The also alleged that President Lungu breached the constitution when he interfered with the operations of ZCCM-IH when he directed the company to discontinue proceedings that it had commenced for the recovery of debt from First Quantum Minerals to the detriment of the people of Zambia.
The party further alleged that President Lungu engaged in acts of corruption by the unprecedented procurement of personal wealth and assets using the short period that he has held the office of President.
The other charges regards the disposal of NRDC land, transferring of proceeds of the sale of Mukula logs to ZAFFICO and not Consolidated Fund as requested by law and the procurement of fire tenders and ambulances.
The motion has not been debated in parliament since its deferment to the June seating
Baby cry it’s time to sell your manifesto to the voters. Time wasted is never recovered
COSMIC DAY DREAING – BUILDING CASTLES IN THE AIR, THE LAZY MAN’S DAILY BREAD.
Checks and balances in a rather weird manner. When others are strategising on the way forward, the incessant whining and complaining and witchhunting and pettiness continues in the other camp. Comedy of errors engulfs the UPNDEADs. It’s many light years away folks. The Milky Way is about 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 km (about 100,000 light years or about 30 kpc) across. The Sun does not lie near the center of our Galaxy. It lies about 8 kpc from the center on what is known as the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. Such is the imagination of the UPNDEAD coming into power unless evil wins over righteousness. How did we end up with such cosmic aliens? Chimbwis no plan.
PF is very much vulnerable. But lucky to have disillusioned, and politically impotent main opposition with zero strategy and national agenda. They have more hotheads than strategists if any. Siakalima, Dr. Bene, and Sejani have misled HH for way too long on things they have no means to achieve. Kindly mention 1 agenda item you have succeeded or a bill you sponsored and it passed in the chambers of the August House. You have nothing to show your constituents that you are worth representing them other than useless walks-outs and statements. You risk being replaced by emerging parties. Since the unfortunate death of Mazoka, UPND has lamentably failed to define its voice in a democracy as main opposition.
Fellow UPND Members,
We are disllosioned by our party leadership. With this leadership we have no chance to get into power.
We need to demand for leadership change in our party. If this is not done, even when Edgar is gone we have no chance . Not with this leadership of our ours.
Even if this insane UPND party and their delusional president HH had the numbers in parliament, what makes them think that HH will automatically be president if ECL is impeached? This whole UPND belongs in a mental asylum because they keep doing the same things over and over again!
This conclude one thing.
1. HH knows he CANNOT beat LUNGU on the ballot.
2. He has to SHOW and PRETEND to his EXTERNAL SPONSORS that – He is REALLY trying to REMOVE Lungu from power.
So then let’s try IMPEACHMENT
The problem is that:
He does not have the numbers in parliament. The only people he is FOOLING are IGNORANT people in the UPNP grassroots.
It looks like he stopped having a dream of becoming the president a long time ago. All that he is left with are NIGHTMARES.
This is a guy who is suppose to inspire the NEW ZAMBIA.
Yet he has been beaten by OLD GRANDIES such as SATA and RB.
**** Bro HH… stick to doing Business. You can still help Zambia to develop. You DON’T have to be President.
Shut the mines. Leave minerals in the ground until future generations develop better management systems for minerals management. Meantime, legalize it. Grow the economy. Create green well paying jobs. Heal the Nation. End poverty. That is Sinkamba sustainble strategy for National Development.
Makes lots of sense!
I understand UPND want to exercise their democratic rights. But sometimes it’s worth looking at voters perceptions. UPND need to ask themselves, first, they do not have the numbers in Parley, we know that, BUT do they have peoples support? WITHOUT that this, above strategy, is USELESS. After the elections, ECL was weak, public perception was poor, THAT WAS THE RIGHT TIME TO HAVE MOVED FORWARD with impeachment or any other st.u.pidity that the UPND strategists were thinking about. NOW ECL has consolidated his position, exercised his dictatorship practices and scare off many, he`s been vindicated as eligible for 2021, he is selling his achievements, Zambians are silent on Wheelbarrows, eSwantinni, VIP jets. Therefore, UPND plan stands out to be USELESS.
There’s something seriously wrong with this Upnd.
MCD.
PF cadres and hired guns are always suffocating Lusaka Times with their bootlicking.
Do you know 62 PF MPs are willing to vote for impeachment of Lungu?
Do you know who is behind this all?
You are just jokers.
Go ask Lungu. He is in constant fear of losing power. He knows his VP, ministers from North and East do not want him. They are fedup with his thefts and marginalising of indigenous in all spheres of life.
When the dream of winning tripartite elections turns into a matter of perennial ballot rejection, such hallucinations are not strange.
Good luck even if you don’t have the numbers to pass a single motion in Zambia and your chances are forever remote.!
The suffering of many Zambians is plainly out there to see, forget UPND, its MPs, HH and its supporters, what strategies? what input? what measures ? what advice have you to help the majority Zambians get out from the capture of the most vicious, corrupt, thieving cartel since Zambia became independent? Your main concern should be the suffering of many Zambians and since you know better please help the people of Zambia and not worry about these others you hate with a vengeance.
Back Upnd will impeachment make HH a Republican president? Just go out to market your party instead of wasting time.
The hypocrisy of some of you is what is destroying the little democracy we have in Zambia. How can they market their party when they are not allowed to even distribute free food to mango eating, suffering people in Petauke? How does the victim become the one to be blamed? The truth is there is no morality in our politics, both the political players and their supporters will support the side they support regardless of what is wrong. So are we saying that even on moral grounds these things should not be discussed and not be on record just because the opposition does not have the numbers? So MPs are just mere rubber stamps of the supreme leaders rather than principled public elected people who should be principled and while able to tow party lines, they should also be able to exercise moral…
Pluralist what’s democratic about Hakainde Hichilema. In a democratic atmosphere this man would have handed his mantle to another person. …lost to Levy twice, Rupiah once to Sata twice (he came 2nd to Sata in 2016), lost to Lungu twice. Surely don’t you have other people in Upnd who can compete? Besides your constitution has limits to which one can be president but HH has over stayed by four years. In Bemba we say akafumbe ukunona baka mwena ku bwaiche….roughly the true colors of a person can be seen by his behavior.
Concentrate on matters affecting our general population and win voters confidence, 2021 is near. Leave ECL alone, his term is almost over. If you continue living in the past, you shall be irrelevant to Zambian politics. Have a strategy.
Sata never wasted time tp impeach rb over zamtel.
They are talking about 10 united. Following day its impeachment.
Directionless party will cause PF to win effortlessly.
My sincere advise is UPENDI please start preparing for 2026.
Impeachment means we have election within 3 months. Then 2021 we have general elections
Honestly is upendi a serious party
Zambia is a circus and our politicians are the clueless clowns…sadly .What are they doing about the millions in poverty and lacking clean water?
Almost everyone can yap and rant in the disorganised figureless structure. Everyone is a figurehead, spokesperson and public relationist in this disorganized only a Tonga-can-lead-it party. When Siakalima talks, I am constantly reminded of one Sejani, the one who coined the phrasal ugly-constant-pain in the Deads core flesh term “Only a Tonga to succeed Mazoka”. Maybe not until the likes of these individuals including their god pass away, being only mortals, will the real UPND have a grimmerest of hope to take up the mantles of leadership in this Almight God blessed great REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA. Meanwhile the curse continues. Tiyenayo dununa reverse curse iwe. They don’t know what has hit them since the 8/11 polls of 2016. Meanwhile CK is reportedly looking for chemical to wash his mouth…
… for having partook in the singing of the Deads nightmare single, DUNUNA REVERSE, their curse.
UPND means ICISUSHI CANUNKA PWI PWI PWI PWI
HH must be impeached for breaking the law of UPND party holding to it as if it’s a company
You are wasting your time
When the nation is suppose to unite over the issue of taxation of the mines. Really, who do upnd represent and who’s agenda do they stand for?????
Opposition Parties need to bring to the table many suffering that Zambians are going through which are many. For instance, the country is experiencing unprecedented high poverty levels in the country where by we have for the first time many companies not paying their workers, eg Napsa,Times of Zambia, Kasama council, Kabwe,Chipata,Ndola and many others. High taxes,unreasonable procurement of roads-which are highly priced compared to all African countries,purchase of over priced ambulances which are not working, most of them, mistreatment of zambian workers by some foreign companies ,inability to deal with owners of mines who are constantly laying off zambian workers, awarding of hefty salaries by ministers when zambian employees are getting meagre salaries, not allowing Opposition parties…
We need to examine the person who shouts thief the loudest. Actually, we may be forgiven to assume that the real thieves are parading and thinking of ways to cut corners and finish off looting the little wealth our country has to offer. One wonders if Zambia suffers from a leadership curse or it’s the curse of introducing street vendors or kaponyas into parliament that has lowered the standards of our leadership? The good thing is that we Zambian’s can put a stop to all this by voting these useless leaders out into oblivion.
Yours is one of the few sensible contributions I have seen, most of the comments are not addressing the morality, merits or demerits of the the points raised. All I see is people posturing and not seeking to ask the hard questions. So there should be no debates on governance issues because the opposition does not have the numbers? MPs and everyone should just campaign and not discuss other issues? I can never understand how independent minded people can not ask simple honest questions of themselves? Since when did we become so brain dead that we become the writing vessels of our God chosen ones without being factual? May be its true that democracy can not function in an environment of high levels of poverty, illiteracy and high levels of corruption.
Pluralist – There are no merits to what Syakalima is saying because it is time-wasting and unintelligible. There are a lot of very important issues on which the PF Government can be held accountable and impeachment is not one of them. This is a sheer waste of time by a less intelligent man representing a confused Opposition party. Why hasn’t this Party, for example, done a forensic audit of the cost of the Fire Engines and taken the evidence of theft, profiteering to Court? Instead they are busy making noise about it but no action. You want to call such a bunch of characters the “voices of the voiceless?” Think again. Very few people, I tell you, are interested to hear about an impeachment motion for ECL. So, unfortunately the bloggers here are right to dismiss this story by merely…
…….looking at the headline.
Kaunda used to say stupid *****!!!!! what type of thinking is this sometime it is good to keep quiet than yapping.
It will not work, no short cuts to state house.
The deads are lunatics…. as far as I can see,this Lungu guy is smarter than he is given credit for.
He is even more dangerous with power in his hands.
Come 2021,Lungu will be elected with ease…..
The ONLY A TONGA CAN LEAD party is in big $hit.
UPND should not waste time moving such motions in PF dominated parliament, it is wishful thinking. It is clear that this once a vibrant party has run out of ideas to dislodge PF from power. It s better they go flatout mobilizing the masses that have ditched them and give them some hope. This mediocre is discouraging even their current followers. They are better off concentrate on criticising and bringing these issue to light and explained to their supporters than wasting time trying to impeach the president. Besides the cases being alluted to do not seem concrete enough to have him impeached. Please change course of the Oxcart!
This conclude one thing.
1. HH knows he CANNOT beat LUNGU on the ballot.
2. He has to SHOW and PRETEND to his EXTERNAL SPONSORS that – He is REALLY trying to REMOVE Lungu from power.
So then let’s try IMPEACHMENT
The problem is that:
He does not have the numbers in parliament. The only people he is FOOLING are IGNORANT people in the UPNP grassroots.
It looks like he stopped having a dream of becoming the president a long time ago. All that he is left with are NIGHTMARES.
This is a guy who is suppose to inspire the NEW ZAMBIA.
Yet he has been beaten by OLD GRANDIES such as SATA and RB.
**** Bro HH… stick to doing Business. You can still help Zambia to develop. You DON’T have to be President.
So, is this nonsense from this dull man a Party position or his own dreaming?
Ask what he’s done for his constituents. Busy fighting non existent wars.
I STILL WONDER if UPND is THINKING of impeachment this day.UPND continue with your childish pranks of practicing POLITICAL CULTISM when PF/ECL is putting hot feet in your strongholds for preparation of 2021 general elections.Majority Citizens knows how desperate HH is for presidency , using PECULIAR METHODS like impeachment and jury will not work for UPND.Or else ECL will face weakest and disgraceful opposition political opponents than ever.
Tom and Jerry……….!!!
After you have seen that ECL will stand in 2021, you have even developed diarrhoea.people have advised you that this is the time to take advantage of the suffering of the people and go flat out to mobilize in readiness for 2021, you instead you start fighting a losing battle,ubo ebupuba abantu balannda.Any way all the best with your impeachment motion, which is a non starter
See why Sunday Chanda says these are useful I.d.iots?
Busy Goating instead of selling their manifesto….
And did you notice that Kambwili (the consultant) does not understand the meaning of the term “useful *****s”?
Please bo tonga party UPND sell your manifesto to the Zambian voters than wasting your time.Nobody in Zambia is interested in that nonsense!!!Your UPND has wasted too much time since 2016 on issues which have no meaning to any poor Zambian.Our people want to hear HOPE messages from you.Recall late Michael Sata always gave poor Zambians HOPE on daily basis as he spoke about ISSUES which affect the poor Zambians everyday hence defeating RB’s MMD in 2011 because majority voters bought into Mr Sata’s pro poor messages!!BUT THIS UPND IS CRUELESS,ITS A PARTY WITH NO DIRECTION,NOTHING TO OFFER THE POOR VOTERS!!!Anyway,continue your nonsense until your Kainde lose again for a record 6th time in 2021!!!
UPND senior members never cease to amaze me, it’s like they take too long to get over things. Syakalima is still dreaming about the impeachment motion instead of advising HH to start serious preparations for 2021. By the time they realize that they need to mobilize their Party their from would be miles away. In whose interest will Syakalima and colleagues impeach Edgar? NEVER IN NATIONAL interest but Hichilema’s. Zambia has had too many elections in a space of 8 years. People are fatigued, then Syakalima talks about impeachment. If you can’t think of new political tactics retire and leave those with new ideas. You are wasting time
“ONLY A TONGA CAN LEAD UPND” Says Ackson Sejani. HH and UPND are just wasting our valuable time to talk about something of more substance than this. This simply shows that these people are more preoccupied with having HH at state house than the welfare of Zambian people. Surely how do you want to move a motion that you know is already a BID? This is desperation of the worst form on the part of HH and his tribal grouping. It also confirms that HH knows that he cant beat ECL using a democratic mechanism, he has now resorted to non democratic strategy to deliver his appetite for presidency, now wonder in his message he is using the slogan PEOPLE POWER to incite the people to rise against the legitimately elected government, IT WILL NEVER WORK mambala.
Useless thinking. Why is HH afraid of ECL. This impeachment suggests that Edgar is a better candidate than Halloween Halloween. Edgar may God bless you to shame the ???? in HH.
Hold your horse UPND your time will come if ever it will when you will be in power through the ballot.
Usurping power through an impeachment will only bring further disunity in the country. Every leader has supporters and they will not be happy to see their hero humiliated. Moreover, what does the Constitution line up after an impeachment? Is it an election or the Veep taking over?
By the the way, even if it’s an election who says the opposite of ECL is HH? There are other contenders that have come on board who should not be underrated. It’s only at a government Boarding school where the opposite of dried Kapenta is beans because there are no alternatives, not so with man. My advise to the UPND is to ask them to reorganise the grassroot politics to enhance support in all corners of…
In Zed, everything is all about fire fighting. The speed trap project is a good example. Install, start charging the offenders and then research the complete system requirements later. In some instances, speed limits were installed much later after the cameras.
This story is just the same. When there is the real genuine time and chance to remove the president, think tanks are snoring. Then they start chipante pante in all directions hoping for the slughtest chance to kick the ball. I genuinely think this is time to work together with the government to uplift the lives of citizens. Not wasting time on unproductive motions
Stop this nonsense, NOW! What we need are solutions for the many challenges the people of Zambia are facing.
Be real. Open your eyes. This isn’t how you win the hearts of the Zambians.
In who’s interest is the same failed impeachment? upnd mps are just brain washed by their failed radical leader.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
UPND are the greatest transgressers; in relation to the Republican Constitution.. Pull the other other, Merry Christmas but Santa will not be filling your stocking, your motion will fail. Be nice UPND!
Syakalima is not a very clear-headed individual. It shocked me to discover that this drunkard is one of HH’s advisers. A few weeks ago, I found him totally drunk at some nondescript lodge in Kalundu where he was busy blubbering incoherent invective against the PF and ECL.
Why wasting time in politics while all human government are under destruction by Armageddon
Is this Trib.al Hacks’ presidential advisor? Just looking at his head and mouth, one can see that Trib.ak Hacks is heading nowhere. At best he is heading backwards. Surely these trib.als cannot be serious, just clowning all the time while expecting a miracle to happen for their trib.al leader. Only a xxxxx can lead upnd, now I agree, for how can any sensible person want to lead upnd anyway? You wonder why no one in upnd is challenging Trib.al Hacks? First ask yourself how and why anyone would fight over a dead horse!!
Useless
UPND should not waste peoples time and time trying to impeach a sitting President. Let them tell the people of Zambia how they will improve health care in the whole country when they come to power. Zambians continue to go to South Africa, India and other countries for medical procedures such as kidney transplant, dialysis etc. We have very well trained doctors who can perform those surgeries right here in Zambia but don’t have the necessary equipment such as MIR, CAT scanners. UPND should concentrate on educating Zambians why practicing democracy leads a country to development.
Most bloggers above have amazed me. Isn’t it true that Lungu has violated many constitution items? Is the government giving UPND chance to assemble and talk to the people? Any way, the person that will give the last laugh at us Zambians is Lungu himself.
UPND and their rubbish. Grow up.
Malabish of a political party.