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Zambia Betraying a trust |
POLITICS
President
Frederick Chiluba’s failure to make his intentions known
on whether he intends to stand for a third five-year term of office,
has betrayed the trust many Zambians had placed in him
Standing for a third-term of office is a breach of Zambia’s Constitution which limits the country’s presidency to two five-year terms. Also, Chiluba seems to be going against his own statement that he would never seek another term of office after ruling for ten years. He had told his supporters way back in 1996: «When my term of office comes to an end, do not even think of retaining me, because when a person gets old, he runs out of ideas». Chiluba is also on record as appealing to fellow African leaders never to cling to power — «Such practice breeds dictatorships».
However, in the wake of some Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) supporters calling for a change to the Constitution to allow President Chiluba to stand for a third term, the President has allowed the debate to continue.
Changing the Constitution
It should be noted that Zambia’s Constitution has been changed three times.
The first was in 1970 to usher in a single party state. President Kenneth Kaunda’s (KK) government justified the move to ban opposition parties, on the ground of preserving national unity.
The second change came in 1990, when the winds of democracy sweeping across Africa forced KK to repeal Article 4 of the Constitution and re-introduce multiparty politics.
The third change came in 1996 following KK‘s re-emergence from political retirement. Many people said this was aimed at barring KK from challenging Chiluba, especially as an Article was introduced into the Constitution allowing only second generation Zambians to contest the presidency — KK‘s parents came from Malawi.
Should the on-going debate lead to another constitutional change, this will be the fourth in Zambia’s 37 years of independence!
Sylvia Masebo, a former MMD official, and now the Zambia Republican Party’s General-Secretary, says the third term debate is no accident but has been initiated by President Chiluba himself in order to remain in office.
She insists: «To beat Chiluba’s scheming, all the Opposition groups and parties must unite and fight him as one. This includes those people who have been expelled from the MMD». (Zambia is due to hold presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of this year).
A nation divided
The fact is, the current debate is dividing the nation, and even the MMD now has divisions in party ranks. One group led by Vice-President Christon Tembo is against Chiluba standing again for office. Tembo is among 59 Members of Parliament (MP)s (43 of them from the ruling MMD) who, on 11 April, signed a declaration rejecting a third term for President Chiluba. Another notable signatory was Godfrey Miyanda who is the MMD‘s vice-president and Minister for Basic Education in the government. And fifteen of the 22-member MMD National Executive Committee have already voiced their opposition to a constitutional change.
Government reaction
People-power has been invoked to express national disapproval of the President’s intentions. There’s been a honking of horns and whistles blown in the streets of the major towns, and all those against Chiluba’s intentions have been urged to wear green ribbons. All this has provoked a strong reaction from the authorities. Police are now patrolling the streets, arresting those drivers honking their horns as well as people caught whistling. They are then charged with «conduct likely to breach the peace» and are only released after paying an admission-of-guilt fine. The police are also refusing permits to those organisations, including church-sponsored organisations wishing to hold anti-third term rallies.
Chiluba has already sacked four ministers who openly opposed his third term bid. It is feared that more heads will roll before this year’s elections. He has also «retired» six senior officers from the Zambia Intelligence Security Services.
To spearhead Chiluba’s effort, a group of MMD cadres calling itself the «MMD Youth Task Force» has emerged on the scene. Already some of their actions have been condemned. They have, for instance, been blamed for racial insults against the MP for Lusaka Central, Dipak Patel. They have also been held responsible for attacks on another Zambian-Indian, the Agriculture Minister, Suresh Desai, during a recent Southern Province MMD congress. Such actions prompted Legal Affairs Minister Vincent Malambo to call for their arrest. Malambo described their racial insults as a breach of Section 70 of the Penal Code that criminalises racial insults.
Already, a state of emergency has unofficially been invoked. Those found on the streets or simply just standing outside their houses after 22.00 hours are arrested and locked up in police cells. They are then charged with «loitering» and only released after payment of an admission-of-guilt fine.
Indeed, there is cause for concern in today’s Zambia!
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