THE Constitutional Court of Zambia has this morning declared Lumezi Parliamentary Candidate as duly elected Member for Lumezi Constituency.

The Court said Mr Zulu it cannot find any evidence to warrant overturning the election after determining that Ms Chisulo Zelipa who had challenged the election failed to prove that the Lumezi lawmaker has no Grade 12 Certificate and participated in the bribery of voters during the 2021 General elections.

In a sharp turn from its previous ruling in the Malanji case, the Court firmly stated that the burden to prove that a candidate has no Grade 12 squarely lies on the alleger and not the Respondent.

The Court says it was satisfied that, even if the evidential burden was to shift to Mr Zulu, the Lumezi lawmaker clearly proved he had a Grade 12 Certificate which made the Electoral Commission of Zambia accept his nomination.

According to the Court, Munir Zulu had shown that he was born in 1987 and completed his education at LICEF contrary to some purported and unverified evidence obtained by Ms Chisulo from social media that the Grade 12 certificate issued in 1988 belonged to Mr Zulu.

The Court also said there was no merit in the allegations that Mr Zulu participated in malpractices and bribery in Lumezi Constituency by merely promising that he was going to make donations to the people of Lumezi.

The Constitutional Court also said that challenging nomination of candidates must be done within the time provided by the Constitution.

The Court dismissed all the allegations that were levelled against the Lumezi lawmaker as lacking merit and ordered that each party must bear own costs.

Kitwe Catholic Priest Fr. Patrick Mupula has said wide-spread poverty and hunger in Zambia is diminishing the human dignity of its citizens.

Fr. Mupula of St. Michael and Noah Parish in Chambobli said Zambians should be pragmatic to overcome challenges of poverty and hunger.

He said there is a need to utilise national resources for the benefit of many suffering Zambians.

Preaching when celebrating Mass in St. George Chapel in Kitwe, Fr. Mupula said the 58 years of Zambia’s independence are just on paper.

“Today Jesus is telling us to open our hearts and reflect on our lives. God will judge us based on how we treat the poor in our homes. We will not be judged based on the Church uniform or Church position. In your homes, how do you treat the poor? How do you treat people with nothing? These days it is a big sin to be poor in Zambia. If you are poor even in your family no one will value you. Even in Church, when you are poor no one will value you. Even if you are severely sick the Church will not even announce your sickness. But a rich person will only sneeze and it will be announced that someone is sick. So during judgment God will only assess us based on our hearts. You and I, what are we doing to inherit the kingdom of God,” Fr. Mupula preached.

“People we consider to be sinners will lead us in the kingdom of God. People will least expect to inherit the kingdom of God because we are not utilising our possession for the good of society. In the end it will gnash our teeth. In Zambia, the gnashing of teeth has already started right here on earth. Above, we will only continue the gnashing of teeth we have started on earth. In Zambia wherever you go people are gnashing their teeth. Just travelling on this road from Mufulira to Mokambo you gnash your teeth. When you are sick and go to the hospital here in Kitwe the bad smell in the hospital will kill you before they even start treating you. People in Zambia, especially the poor, are already gnashing their teeth as they live. Travelling on the road from Ndola to Kapiri Mposhi, you drive while gnashing your teeth. These days when you visit the sick in their homes you will see how people are suffering. The high prices of mealie meal are making people gnash their teeth here on earth,” Fr. Mupula said.

He added:”Suffering has already started on earth; we will just go and continue when we go above. Every day we listen to leaders reading long speeches but nothing is happening on the ground. The other day we were celebrating independence. 58 years of independence is just a name on paper, go to various houses and see how people are suffering. People are gnashing their teeth. There is poverty and hunger in many families. Hunger negatively affects the dignity of a human person. Hunger diminishes the dignity of a human person. Let us ask God in today’s Mass to help us become good people. We pray that God opens our hearts to enable us to use good things he has given us for the benefit of humanity. Not a situation where some are eating and celebrating while others are just watching on television how people in front are enjoying life. We are all suffering and gnashing our teeth when God has given us many good things that should help us in life. What have we done wrong to God such that every day we are gnashing our teeth?”

Meanwhile, UPND Kankoyo Member of Parliament Heartson Mabeta has questioned if fallen freedom fighters would be happy with the current state of Zambia 58 years after independence.

“I am trying hard to celebrate independence but my heart is very weak. My Heart is weak because my mind keeps on thinking about: That Former Mpelembe Drilling Employee who lost their Job on redundancy without getting any benefits despite ZCCM-IH having paid management at Mpelembe Drilling in full.hat teacher who was recruited in 2020 and 2021 but has never received her first salary. The bus driver who still has to go through Kitwe to get to Ndola because the Mufulira Mukambo and Mufulira Ndola Road remains in a poor state despite the government having paid 267 million kwacha to Inyatsi in 2017,” Mr. Mabeta posted on facebook.

“That poor young man who can’t get a job at Mopani despite having concluded their skills training program because the mine has been paralyzed by Glencoe who are still buying all the copper from Mopani at a very low price despite Copper selling at a record high price.58 despite being independent, we are still asking IMF for the second time after our debt being written off in 2005, to convince the people we owe money to cancel some of the money we borrowed from them because we have no capacity to pay back. Is this really the independence our forefathers would be proud to have died for if they were to come back to life just for a minute today?”

Former Democratic Party (DP) leader Harry Kalaba has been appointed and installed as President of a new political party called Citizens First (CP).

Mr. Kalaba, the former Foreign Affairs Minister, last July resigned from DP after internal wrangles over the party presidency.

During a briefing at Southern Sun Hotel in Lusaka on Wednesday morning, Mr. Kalaba said he has accepted to lead CP as President after his efforts to register a political party called Liberty was allegedly frustrated by President Hakainde Hichilema.

In his speech, Mr. Kalaba said President Hichilema should focus on addressing the many challenges that the people of Zambia are faced with rather than fighting him.

“You will recall that I applied to the Registrar of Societies for the formation of the Liberty Party. It was brought to my attention that the Republican President had taken keen interest in my application and instructions were given from his office to ensure that all efforts are made to delay the approval of the Liberty Party until at least a few years before elections. It is sad that while the President has gone around the world parading himself as the restorer of peace and democracy in Zambia, the evidence on the ground however is pointing in the opposite direction. Sooner rather than later these lies will be exposed and made bare for all to see someone for who they really are,” Mr. Kalaba said.

“While a few elements within the state machinery were busy trying to frustrate the cause of the Liberty Party, the Citizens First Party was formed and its leadership has appointed me to be its President and torch bearer. I have wholeheartedly accepted this responsibility and trust that we will work together with the leadership of the CFP and other opposition political party leaders to ensure that we address the challenges the country is currently faced with,” he said.

Mr. Kalaba called for unity of purpose among Zambians to fight various challenges affecting the nation.

“It is my prayer that if there is anything this announcement will accomplish; it is to send a message to the Citizens out there that help is on the way. Help is on the Way! That help will not just come from Harry Kalaba alone, but when all these leaders here present put their collective effort and wisdom together we will certainly correct the course of this nation and bring us back to the path of productivity. We will be able to arrest the subjective fight against graft that has characterized the current government while they continue to abuse national resources. We will be able to assure youths that they do not need to change their name or use their middle name to get employed. We will be able to reassure them that it is ok to trust but they need to trust the right people who will not betray them and sell them off along with national assets to the highest foreign bidder. We will be able to assure the mother that their dignity will be restored, all they need to do is wait a little while longer, help is on the way. 2026 may seem far off, but the journey has to start now,” Mr. Kalaba said.

He said it was awkward that after 58 years of independence, the majority of Zambians are still wallowing in abject poverty and can barely afford one meal a day.

“It is embarrassing that after 58 years of independence, the majority of our people are still wallowing in abject poverty and can barely afford one meal a day. The price of essential commodities continues to rise at an alarming rate and are beyond the reach of most Zambians and yet those in leadership seem to be preoccupied with the quest of driving a tribal or regional wedge in order to further divide the nation while creating opportunities for foreign interest at the expense of the majority Zambians. Never before has Zambia been this polarized,” he noted.

“Finally, I want to call upon well-meaning Zambians to join our movement as we seek to work together with all political players, civic leaders, the church, the madrasa’s, the civil servants, the youths who were fed a lie during the 2021 elections, the farmers who were promised timely delivery of inputs, the retired officers who were used and abandoned and all men and women of goodwill to join us so that we can sing an anthem of unity together as one as we set ourselves on that path to restore and live the One Zambia One Nation Moto. I thank you and God Bless You and God Bless the Republic of Zambia,” Mr. Kalaba said.

Opposition political party leaders that attended the briefing included Wynter Kabimba of Economic Front, New Heritage Party’s Chishala Kateka, Sean Tembo of PeP and Chilufya Tayali of Economic and Equity Party.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kalaba predicted that 2023 shall bring with it serious hardship through price hikes following the removal of subsidies on fuel at the end of the year.

“As I take up the mantle of leadership of the CFP, I would like to remind the Republican President and P.S Matembo to focus on addressing the many challenges that the people of Zambia are faced with rather than fighting Harry Kalaba. The challenge this country is faced with is greater than Harry Kalaba. As you can see by the people present today, we in the opposition have come to realize that there is more that unites us than that which divides us. We are therefore seeking to have a common ground through which we shall address all manners of political vices and challenges with civility and unity of purpose. I accept the honor bestowed upon me as President of the Citizens First Party and I want to call upon the people of Zambia to seek hope in the face of despair. I also want us to remind ourselves that we need to brace ourselves as we get into 2023 which shall bring with it serious hardship through price hikes following the removal of subsidies on fuel at the end of the year, but do not despair, let’s be more united than ever before and through unity of purpose we shall overcome all the challenges,” Mr. Kalaba said.

Patriots for Economic Progress – PeP President Sean Tembo says President Hakainde Hichilema is the most fake president that Zambia has ever had, as he always tries to project a false image that his government is performing well, and yet it is a total disaster.

Mr Tembo explained that the recent revelation that about half of the newly recruited teachers have not been paid their salaries for three (3) months now, adds to the long list of people who have provided goods or services to Hakainde’s Government and have not been paid.

He added that the farmers who sold their maize to the Government through the Food Reserve Agency – FRA have not been paid.

“This includes his praise singers who are always in our inbox with messages of “tikambilenkoni”,” Mr Tembo said

Mr Tembo mentioned that the youths who were employed as Enumerators by the Government through Zambia Statistics Agency – Zamstats during the just ended census exercise have still not been paid.

“It’s been two (2) months now but the Government keeps on changing its statement on this matter, monga nimukazi wamene bagwila uhule,” he stated

He noted that the athletes who represented the country during the commonwealth games a few months ago were never paid their allowances, instead, the Ministry of Youth and Sport Permanent Secretary, Kangwa Chileshe decided to insult them by telling them that they can be replaced anytime.

“The DSA allowances we are talking about was just about $300 per night, the entire UPND Government has the foul language of a Kachasu Brewer. competing namanyozo with us in the opposition,” Mr Tembo noted

Mr Tembo disclosed that all suppliers who were owed by the Government when UPND took over, have not been paid a single Ngwee, under the pretext that they are still being audited and Hakainde does not understand that there has to be continuity of Government despite changes in administrations, and the business community needs to have confidence that the Government of the Republic of Zambia will honor its financial obligations regardless of who the President is.

He further disclosed that as the biggest player in any economy, the business practices of a Government has a direct impact on the economy, here in Zambia, everyone now know that Hakainde’s Government doesn’t like to pay nkongole (credit), even to small creditors like peasant farmers, youths who conducted the census, athletes who represented the country at commonwealth games etcetera.

“Indeed, Hakainde Hichilema is the equivalent of a father who is always smartly dressed to the public and smelling of expensive perfume but ninshi kunyuma akangiwa kugula unga mambala,” Mr Tembo said