Opposition UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema has instructed his MPs to continue disrupting parliamentary proceedings in demand for a new constitution.

Mr. Hichilema said if the proposed meeting by Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini for all MPs on Tuesday fails to chart a way forward on the constitution making process, all MP’s should continue to boycott business in the house.

He told a media briefing in Lusaka Sunday morning that the stance taken by the MPs is commendable and nationalistic.

Mr Hichilema also demanded that UPND Councilors should also join the protest by disrupting proceedings in the council chamber.

The UPND leader said his party supports the move taken by MPs and vowed that the UPND will join the Grand Coalition pushing for the new constitution.

Mr Hichilema also said his party will go ahead with planned demonstrations despite Police refusing to grant the opposition party a permit.

He also charged that Dr. Matibini is struggling to provide leadership in parliament due to interference on the legislature by the executive.

He further disclosed that UPND will give logistical support to demands for a new constitution should the Tuesday meeting fail to yield any positive results.

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has welcomed the ratification of the two Supreme Court judges and five High court judges whom President Michael Sata had recently appointment as puisne judges.

LAZ vice president George Chisanga says his association thus far respects the ratification of Justices Evans Hamaundu and Albert Wood who were appointed as Supreme Court Judges and Justices Betty Mwaka Mung’omba, Chilombo Phiri, Mwila Chitabo, William Mweemba and Charles Chanda who were appointed as High court judges.

Mr. Chisanga has told Qfm news in a telephone interview that his association’s respect for the ratification of the two Supreme Court judges and the five High Court Judges is in view of the fact the association has a duty, professionally and ethically, to respect the decisions of the appointing and ratifying authorities.

Mr. Chisanga however notes that his association hopes and expects that the two Supreme Court Judges and five High Court judges will rise to occasion and work tirelessly to ensure that the quality of the country’s justice is improved upon.

He says the association also expects that the seven judges are going to be judicial activists as well as respect their responsibility of accountability to public.

The LAZ vice president says this is because the country is currently going through a challenging moment as far as the delivery of Justice is concerned.

He says his association to this end does not expect the Judges whose appointments have ratified to be comprised at any time or for any reason in their work.

Patriotic Front (PF) in Shibuyunji District has called on Newly Elected Katuba Member of Parliament Jonas Shakafuswa to resign on moral grounds.

Shibuyunji District Youth Secretary Gideon Mule has said that the ruling PF in Shibuyunji District find the utterances of Mr. Shakafuswa on the floor of the House in Parliament on Friday as inimical to the values and principles upon which the Nation is founded.

Mr. Mule has told Qfm news that it is also sad that Mr. Shakafuswa has shown the Nation that he is allegedly immature and ignorant of the common aspirations of the people of Zambia.

Shibuyunji District Youth Secretary further notes that the people of Katuba deserve a better representative.

In his maiden speech to parliament, Mr Shakafuswa said that Zambia was being governed by a cartel of few individuals assisted by the family forest.

Shakafuswa said as a result there was massive mediocrity because people were not appointed on merit but consanguinity, a criteria that had completely compromised the governance of the country.

Shakafuswa has said that for the first time, he was in agreement with President Michael Sata that the Patriotic Front (PF) was a party with useless MPs because ´most of them had failed the Head of State.

“The PF has no agenda because of resorting to using pangas when it comes to addressing issues. For us Mr. Speaker it is not strange because President Sata is on record having said that he has useless MPs and I have realized that the same useless MPs the Head of State was talking about are here in parliament. These are useless MPs,” said Shakafuswa.

Shakafuswa has warned the Patriotic Front to stop unleashing what he described as militias from Intercity bus terminus and Misisi compound from harassing innocent Zambians.

Shakafuswa said that it was strange that the PF government was using thugs organized from intercity bus terminus and Misisi compound to victimize and brutalise people perceived to be sympathizers of the opposition political parties.

[pullquote]“For us Mr. Speaker it is not strange because President Sata is on record having said that he has useless MPs and I have realized that the same useless MPs the Head of State was talking about are here in parliament. These are useless MPs,” said Shakafuswa.[/pullquote]

Making his maiden speech in parliament , Shakafuswa said that he was sent to parliament by Katuba residents for the purpose of delivering and important massage that with or without the PF, development would be delivered to Katuba.

He said that the people of Katuba were determined to participate in the development of the country by ensuring development was taken to Katuba.

“I have been sent to tell the Patriotic Front government that Zambia did not belong to them (PF) or their mothers but for everyone. Mr. Speaker Sir, there are issues the people out there must know about what transpired during the elections in Katuba. The people of Zambia and world over must know that Ministers and other government officials in the PF threatened people against voting for UPND candidates. They said that if they voted for the opposition, the PF as a party in government will not deliver development in the area.

We shall not allow PF to turn the country into a battle zone and take back the country into the 17th century,” said Shakafuswa.

He said that it was sad that the PF was using thugs from intercity bus terminus to victimize people in Katuba, adding that the violence that characterized the Katuba by-election was caused by PF militias from Kanyama and Misisi who were sent to attack and beat up innocent people in the area for not voting for the PF candidate.

Shakafuswa told parliament that his party and other individuals had recorded about 28 incidences, created by the PF, saying that all the reports of assaults and attacks were reported to the police.

“These 28 incidences we recorded were actual beatings and police were incapacitated, they could not do anything because of the threats from PF cadres and ministers,” he said as other Members of Parliament kept on shouting Sikazwe, Sikazwe, Sikazwe.

He said that during the poll day, a named minister went to Katuba and started beating people along hired thugs from Lusaka’s Intercity and Misisi compound.

Shakafuswa warned that the PF thugs were luck that the UPND defence team was restrained from hitting back, “They were luck that our defence team did not go for them. It would have been the end of their militia,” he said.

And Shakafuswa said that the loss of the Katuba seat by the PF was a lesson about the blowing wind of change against the kind of government the PF were providing to the people.

He said that the loss was the end of the PF, adding that it was uncalled for, for the PF to use violence in order to silence the people of Zambia.

“The loss by the PF in Katuba is the end of the party. They must not use violence because of their many shortcomings; the people will never be silenced. Kabimba is on record having said that the PF is the most violent party; Kabimba is on record of saying that the PF is the most indiscipline party and tribal, so we are not going to allow a tribal party which now scheming to promote a minor tribe and language to be taught in schools even in areas where it is not widely spoken,” said Shakafuswa.

Shakafuswa condemn the tribal talk and promotion by the PF, saying Zambians should not accept tribal colonialism under the PF.

The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has reaffirmed pledged to stand alongside the civil society, the Church and the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) in the demand for a new constitution.

UPND president Hakainde Hichilema says it also for this reason that his party commends all opposition Members of Parliament for the bold step they are taking in mounting pressure on the Patriotic Front (PF) government to deliver a new constitution.

Speaking this morning at media briefing held in Lusaka Mr. Hichilema has also observed that as the head of the legislature, the Speaker’s leadership in Parliament is also desirous in the constitution debates to ensure that this debate that started about 50 years ago reaches a conclusive end.

Mr. Hichilema has also called on President Michael Sata to stop alleged executive interference in the Parliamentary debates as was observed when Police officers on Friday last week surrounded Parliament when the House has its own rules and procedure of regulating conduct of business.

And the UPND leader has further warned that if the Police deny its rights to demonstrate persistently at Parliament over the constitution, his party will be left with no option but to demonstrate without recourse from the Police.

Meanwhile UPND Deputy Spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa has assured the Party President that he will convey the message to his fellow opposition members to carry on with their good behavior in parliament over the demand for the release of the constitution.

MORE than 2,850 retirees have sued Lusaka lawyer Nelly Mutti accusing her of deducting more than 51.5 million in legal fees without their consent.

According to documents filed in the Lusaka High Court, the former civil servants, who were represented by Ms Mutti of Lukona Chambers, say in their statement of claim that the legal practitioner deducted K51,571,097.73 without their consent.

The retirees, who were under the Voluntary Separation Association of Zambia (VSAZ), have since sued Ms Mutti as the first defendant and Attorney General Mumba Malila as the second defendant demanding a refund.

According to the claim, the deductions by Ms Mutti were in three categories, namely, 10 per cent legal fees, 10 per cent handling fees and 16 per cent value-added tax (VAT).

The deductions were made from the K468,161,166.23 that was released by the Government for the retirees through Lukona Chambers after they had a 2002 judgment that went in their favour.

This is in a matter in which Siachoke Simeza and 2,858 others have sued Ms Mutti from the Lukona Chambers claiming for a refund.

Ms Mutti had successfully represented the workers as they fought for their terminal benefits from the Government in 2002 before winning the case.

However, the retirees stated that upon winning the case, Ms Mutti allegedly started making deductions of 12.5 per cent when the Government started paying the money through her legal firm.

“The defendant never signed any agreement with the plaintiffs for the deductions of 10 per cent legal fees, 10 per cent disbursement fee of the 10 per cent legal and 16 per cent VAT whether with the voluntary separation association of Zambia or individually,” stated the claim.

They said although the retirees had been awarded costs in the previous case in which Ms Mutti represented the retirees, the legal practitioner had neglected to agree with the second defendant about the costs.

The retirees further claimed that the second defendant should pay any money that might be due to the retirees after tax and release any money for the retirees that might have been held after the 2002 judgment which went in their favour.

The claim by the retirees comes barely a few days after Ms Mutti sued the Government demanding 12.6 per cent, in legal fees, of K54,000,000 payment the Government made to her former clients.

This is a matter in which Ms Mutti sued the State through the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice Permanent Secretary Josephs Akafumba as first and second defendants in a case in which she offered legal services to 3,523 retrenched workers.

According to the statement of claim filed in the principal registry on February 24, Mutti said she acted as advocate on behalf of the workers whose employment was terminated by the Government under the public sector reform programme.

On December 15, 2006, the High Court entered judgment in favour of all the retrenched workers and a consent judgment was signed under which the Government was to pay the affected workers.

Students from all institutions of higher learning have decided to launch an independent fight for the release of the final draft constitution.

The students through the union mother body, the Zambia National Students Union have since held a meeting to formulate a road map on how the fight is to be undertaken.

University of Zambia Students Union-UNZASU President Steven Kyengula, Copperbelt University Students Union-COBUSU president, Evelyn Hone College Students Union President Timmy Chellah, National Institution for Public Administration-NIPA Student Union President Enock Chiwati were among student leaders that attended the meeting.

Patriotic Front (PF) Chilubi Member of Parliament Obious Chisala has condemned the recent behavior exhibited by the opposition Members of Parliament.

Mr. Chisala who is also Gender Deputy Minister said the disorderly behavior exhibited by the opposition MP’s deserves the serious condemnation from all well meaning Zambians.

During the House sitting this week, opposition members of parliament protested calling for the release of the final draft of the Constitution.

Mr. Chisala said the misconduct by MPs shows how they have deliberately ignored to recognise major developmental achievements government has made particularly in the Constitution making process.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that opposition MP’s conduct in parliament is a clear misrepresentation of the electorates who ushered them into office.

Mr. Chisala has since urged the MP’s to understand the processes and the stage at which the Constitution making process is and desist from embracing external negative influences.