
THE Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) says the Director of Public Prosecutions enjoys Constitutional discretion to decide on which cases to prosecute or discontinue.
LAZ president Musa Mwenye said yesterday that DPP Chalwe Mchenga exercised his constitutional discretion when he decided not to appeal against the acquittal of former President Chiluba.
“The DPP enjoys Constitutional protection and independence and the Constitution is very clear on that. He exercises discretion whether to appeal or not,” Mr Mwenye said when he featured on Radio Phoenix’s Let The People Talk programme.
He said even the courts were perfectly right when they ruled that the DPP cannot be compelled to appeal against Dr Chiluba’s case.
He said Mr Mchenga is perfectly within his right to refuse to step down in the wake of public pressure for him to do so and that people should respect that right.
Mr Mwenye said LAZ cannot sanction the DPP because of the Constitutional nature of his office.
“As far as LAZ is concerned, the DPP is untouchable by us because State lawyers don’t need to have practising certificates. We can’t punish the DPP because he is a Constitutional office holder and he enjoys Constitutional tenure to that extent,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Government Spokesperson Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha dismissed Mr Mwenye’s claims that Constitution making failed because government bulldozed the process.
In an interview yesterday, Gen Shikapwasha said the government never bulldozed the process but was merely taking leadership as expected of any government.
“In any manner of constitution making, the government takes leadership and we were mandated by the people to make a new constitution. So as government, we consulted various stakeholders and others who participated in the process. They were more than those who stayed away,” Gen Shikapwasha said.
On the same programme yesterday, Mr Mwenye blamed the failure of the Constitution-making process on Government.
He alleged that the government ignored advice from key stakeholders and that there was no consensus on the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) Act and the process.
But Gen Shikapwasha said in any Constitution making process, not everyone agrees on everything but the majority takes the day.
He said as a man leading a credible and statutory institution, Mr Mwenye should not blame government because it is clear that the opposition failed the Constitution-making process.
He said government did everything possible to ensure that the country has a new Constitution but the opposition sabotaged the process.
[Zambia Daily Mail]