KUWAIT 4 ZAMBIA 0

DARIO Bonetti on December 31 recorded his third loss as Zambia national soccer team coach when the Chipolopolo were trounced by underweights Kuwait in an international friendly at Dreamland Ground in Cairo, Egypt.

Bonetti’s first loss was the 0-1 loss to Libya in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, his second a 2-1 loss to Ethiopia in the quarter-finals of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Senior Challenge in Dar es Salaam.

The Italian has won four and drawn two since his engagement in July.

The last time Zambia lost by such a heavy defeat was at the 2008 Ghana Africa Cup of Nations when Cameroon ran riot with a 5-1 victory.

Bonetti, who joined the team in Cairo on the night of December 29, could just watch as Yousef Alsulaiman, Barder Almutwa and Fahad Alenezi were on target for Kuwait.

Kuwait started the game a more coordinated side and kept the Zambian defence busy.

Almutwa was the first to test Zambian goalkeeper Jacob Banda when he fired a powerful short just five minutes into the match but the Zesco United custodian accounted for himself well and parried the volley out for a corner, which was wasted.

Kuwait finally broke the deadlock when Alsulaiman fired a cracker outside the box and beat Banda for the opener on 10 minutes.

The goal unsettled the Chipolopolo and Kuwait did not take long to double the lead when Alenezi capitalised on a defensive miscommunication in the Zambian team and passed the ball to Alsulaiman, who sent it into the far right corner to beat Banda, making it 2-0 on 12 minutes.

More miseries were still coming for the Chipolopolo, who looked disorganised at the back, and Al Fadel Amier almost scored the third goal when he received a pass from Alenezi, who was left unmarked by Emmanuel Mbola but the striker headed wide.

The Kuwaitis, however, got the third goal in the 20th minute when again unmarked Almutwa beat advancing Banda and put the ball into an empty net to increase the tally to 3 – 0 for his team.

Alenezi, who was a thorn in the Zambian defence, sealed the day’s work with his 35th minute goal.

Zambia only managed to create one clear-cut chance in the first half when Signs Chibambo passed the ball to Isaac Chansa but the Orlando Pirates midfielder shot wide.

In the second half, the Kuwait technicians knew the damage had already been done and substituted their most influential players Alenezi, goalkeeper Nawaf Alkhaldi and Alsulaiman.

Zambian coach Dario Bonetti then responded by removing Kennedy Mudenda for Zesco youthful player Kangwa Chileshe and Thomas Nyirenda for Simon Silwimba and the game changed.

It was Zambia who started controlling the proceedings but rattling the inside of the net still proved a difficult task as Kuwait were solid at the back.

The Zambian defence, which was marshalled by skipper Billy Mwanza and goalkeeper Banda, improved and kept the scoreline at four.

Rainford Kalaba threatened Kuwait goalkeeper Saleh Sanad with a long powerful volley but it missed the post by inches.

Kampamba Chintu picked a knock during training and missed the game.

The team is expected home on January 2.

The Federation of Free Trade Unions in Zambia (FFTUZ) has challenged the UPND-PF pact to give Zambians an inclusive shadow cabinet to give the electorate an opportunity to scrutinise the leaders.

FFTUZ president Joyce Simukoko said keeping the position of pact presidency and that of the shadow cabinet secret will not work for the opposition because Zambians have moved a step ahead in understanding governance.

Ms Simukoko was commenting on the secret document which outlines a shadow cabinet of an opposition Patriotic Front (PF) government after this year’s elections.

She said opposition political parties, especially the pact, stand to lose because the ruling MMD has already started selling their preferred candidate to the electorate.

“Ambushing Zambians at the last minute will disadvantage the pact,” Ms Simukoko said.
[pullquote]“Time is not on the side of the UPND-PF pact. Whether they stand as individual parties or as a pact because Zambians need time to weigh who can lead them,” Ms Simukoko said.[/pullquote]
She said Zambians are already frustrated with the pact’s conduct from the time it was formed and any delay in announcing the way forward as the country approaches the 2011 elections will frustrate their supporters even more.

“Time is not on the side of the UPND-PF pact. Whether they stand as individual parties or as a pact because Zambians need time to weigh who can lead them,” Ms Simukoko said.

She said whatever decision the pact will come up with, MMD will have an advantage.

Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) information officer MacDonald Chipenzi said the revelation of the PF shadow cabinet will cast doubts on whether the pact is still in place.

Mr Chipenzi said it is important for the UPND/PF pact to give Zambians a shadow cabinet of the pact and not of the PF alone.

“For people to have confidence in the pact, the leaders must show that they are united by giving us a shadow cabinet of the pact,” he said.

And Mr Chipenzi said the shadow cabinet of PF has given PF president Michael Sata three portfolios, which is not conducive to democracy.

According to a document obtained in Lusaka, Mr Sata, apart from being the shadow president, has also allocated himself the portfolio of Minister of Defence and Security and that of Local Government and Housing.

Prominent on the list of would-be ministers are PF secretary-general Wynter Kabimba as Vice-President, Mandevu MP Jean Kapata, who has been allocated the Ministry of Home Affairs and Willie Nsanda as Minister of Transport.

Others are prominent Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Mwamba, who has been allocated the Ministry of Gender, while Chipili PF MP Davis Mwila is tipped to be minister of Foreign Affairs.

Roan MP Chishimba Kambwili is tipped to be the Minister of Finance and National Planning, while PF vice-president and Lusaka Central MP Guy Scott has been allocated the Ministry of Agriculture.

UPND Copperbelt youth chairman Joe Kalusa has been positioned to be Minister of Youth and Sport.

There is no need for the PF/UPND pact to continue withholding the name of its presidential candidate because there is little time left to campaign as the republican president Rupiah Banda has gone flat out campaigning PF Spokesperson Given Lubinda has observed.

Mr. Lubinda acknowledged the need to quickly name the PF/UPND pact presidential candidate.

Mr. Lubinda said though he has been loudest in calling for patience from Zambians on the matter, he is equally concerned with the delay in naming the Pact’s presidential candidate.

“To think that the pact still has time and can continue withholding the name of its presidential candidate is wishful thinking,” Mr Lubinda said.

Mr Lubinda noted that President Rupiah Banda is using every opportunity to sell himself to the Zambians ahead of the 2011 elections.

He warned that the longer the PF/UPND pact delays in naming its presidential candidate the more difficult things would become for the pact to sell the candidate to the people.
[ QFM ]

By Elias Munshya wa Munshya

This last week will be the nineteenth anniversary of President Chiluba’s declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation done on 29th December 1991, and the seventh anniversary of Roy Clarke’s “Mfuwe” article, written on January 1 2004. The controversy, interest and debate generated by these two events are still fresh in theological, academic, legal and journalistic circles many years after. Curiously, there is nothing that links the two events together more bizarrely than the court case involving the 2004 deportation order made against Roy Clarke. What the judges said about Christianity and Christian values in the Roy Clarke case is so relevant in giving us the glimpse into judicial attitudes to the Declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation. While there has not been any legal or constitutional challenge to the declaration itself, the case of “Attorney General v Clarke” exposes some inconsistencies within judicial reasoning over the Declaration. Consequently, in examining this relationship this article explores why in this case the Supreme Court may have gotten wrong the relevance of Christian values in Zambian society.

Roy Clarke in his weekly column of The Post, did a piece he entitled “Mfuwe” where he satirically characterised the Zambian cabinet as animals. Taking animal metaphors from the tourist enclave of Mfuwe, Clarke used expressions such as King Elephant Muwelewele in obvious reference to President Mwanawasa. He also used the Baboon metaphor to satirise then vice-president Nevers Mumba. This Mfuwe article greatly displeased the Mwanawasa government, and Clarke was ordered deported on January 3 2004 by Hon. Gen. Ronnie Shikapwashya the then Minister of Home Affairs. Major reasons for so deciding were that as a white man, Clarke deliberately used racist language. Additionally, it was claimed that what he did was contrary to Zambian cultural values.

Unsurprisingly, Roy Clarke appealed against the Hon. Minister’s decision. After granting him an injunction, the Hon. Justice Philip Musonda of the Lusaka High Court latter quashed the deportation order. In his ruling, Justice Musonda declared freedom of expression to be sacrosanct. He mentioned that even if Clarke’s piece was “irritating, offensive or shocking” it still fell within the confines of speech that must be protected by the Constitution of Zambia. Controversially, Justice Musonda added that deporting Roy Clarke would go against the Christian values espoused by Zambia a Christian nation. The preservation of the family is one such Christian value. Consequently, if Clarke were to be deported, his wife and children would be deprived of his presence thereby contradicting Christian values which Zambia embraces.

As can been gleaned from Justice Musonda’s other judicial opinions, arriving at this conclusion should have been natural for him. He is a fervent believer in press freedom and holds the doctrine of separation of powers very dearly. He is also a courageous judge. He at one time reversed the decision of an administrative tribunal presided over by judges, a court his senior. One of his university students remarked that he based the incorruptibility of the judicial office to that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

After Justice Musonda’s verdict restoring Roy Clarke’s permanent residence status, Zambia’s Attorney General appealed against this ruling. The Zambian government felt that Justice Musonda was wrong to allow Roy Clarke to stay. GRZ interceded with the Supreme Court to have another look at the case. The Supreme Court bench sitting with Zambia’s most senior Justices-Chief Justice Ernest Sakala, Deputy Chief Justice David Lewanika, and Justices Dennis Chirwa, Florence Mumba, Peter Chitengi, Sandson Silomba, and Christopher Mushabati- dismissed the government’s appeal. However, in dismissing the appeal and upholding Justice Musonda’s decision, the Supreme Court nevertheless fervently disagreed with almost all the reasons given by Justice Musonda. This article limits itself to the “Christian nation” and “Christian values” reasons. From Justice Musonda’s opinion, Christianity as espoused by Zambia’s status as a Christian nation provides some values that can be legally and constitutionally relied on. As such, he invoked the importance of those Christian values to Roy Clarke’s situation. Accordingly, if Roy Clarke were deported he would be deprived of family. This deprivation is unnecessary according to Justice Musonda, as it goes against Christian values in a Christian nation.

In disagreeing with Justice Musonda on the relevance of “Christian nation values”, the Supreme Court ruled that the Declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation lacked juridical value. Since it lacked juridical value, the Christian nation declaration or Christian values cannot be relied on constitutionally. The honourable justices of the Supreme Court even castigated Justice Musonda by stating, “We must say here that we disapprove of this kind of approach by a Judge.” It seems then that what the Supreme Court wanted to concentrate on with regard to Roy Clarke’s case was points of law, statutes, or indeed common law principles. The Supreme Court did not want to tolerate personal opinions or even the so called “Christian values.” Particularly, the thought that Justice Musonda may have regarded Christian values as a source of law was principally problematic for the Supremes.

However, what is confusing as the opinion continues is that the Supreme Court justices themselves, do exactly what they are condemning Justice Musonda for. They condemned Musonda for invoking Christian values and yet they too veer off from discussing only relevant statutes and case law to go on to invoke the relevance of Zambian cultural values. The Court stated: “We have no doubt that in every other country you cannot say and write things using words and expressions that are not in consonance with the cultural values and norms of the people of that country.” As such, while criticizing Musonda, the Supreme Court created an unnecessary dichotomy between “cultural values” and “Christian values.” With the latter having no juridical value, while the former does. Additionally, the court failed to consider the extent to which these very cultural values have been influenced by Christian values. While Musonda may have linked the two, the Supreme Court found it relevant to separate them. Essentially, then what it refers to as Zambian cultural values have juridical value while Christian nation values do not.

What the Supreme Court may have missed here is that Zambian cultural values are inextricably linked to Christian values. The Declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation did not necessarily create a new set of values for Zambia, but rather affirmed Zambian traditional cultural values which are mostly affirmative of Christianity. Justice Musonda should not have been reprimanded for his “Christian values” opinion. It was the Supreme Court that needed to see that Zambians adhere very dearly to Christian values—and the Christian nation declaration is just one way of showing that. Therefore, the claim that the Christian nation declaration and Christian values lack juridical value is quite worrying.

[pullquote]
Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) spokesperson Given Lubinda has described as rubbish the story of a purported PF shadow cabinet published in today’s Zambia Daily Mail.

Mr. Lubinda said some of the names listed in the purported secret document are questionable and that it should not be believed.

He said Mr. Sata cannot appointment Joe Kalusa to his cabinet following recent attacks the UPND copperbelt youth chairman launched on the PF.

Mr. Lubinda pointed out that the purported appointment of Kasama central Member of Parliament Geoffrey Mwamba as a shadow minister in charge of gender is questionable following the incident where he battered his wife.

He said the document is an alleged ploy to destabilize the PF a matter he described as impossible.
The people purported to be in the shadow cabinet include PF secretary-general Wynter Kabimba as Vice-President, Mandevu MP Jean Kapata, who has been allocated the Ministry of Home Affairs and Willie Nsanda as Minister of Transport.

Others are prominent Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Mwamba popularly known as GBM, who has been allocated the Ministry of Gender, while Chipili PF MP Davis Mwila is tipped to be minister of Foreign Affairs.

Outspoken UPND Copperbelt youth Chairman Joe Kalusa has been positioned to be Minister of Youth and Sport.
[ QFM ]

Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) spokesperson John Nyawali has said the commission cannot question or investigate the sources of campaign finances which President Rupiah Banda has been donating to various NGOs and individual citizens.

Mr. Nyawali said the commission was limited in its mandate because the sitting president enjoyed absolute immunity to such investigations.

He was reacting to numerous calls from the civil society organisations who were calling on the commission to extend their investigations of money laundering to the ruling party.

But Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) has accused the DEC of being selective in the application of law.
TIZ president Reuben Lifuka said it was wrong for the DEC to hide behind the law of immunity which the president enjoyed, saying DEC should ask whether the president was committing any wrongs enough to warrant investigations.

He said the DEC was exhibiting double standards by finding it easy to investigate opposition party leaders.