By Elias Munshya Last week, Zambia’s Justice Minister offered quite staggering statistics of divorces in Zambia. He said that in the four years between 2016 and 2019, Zambian courts recorded 61,000 divorces. Sixty thousand marriages were dissolved in Zambia’s local courts, while 1,000 marriages dissolved in the High Court of Zambia. For those unfamiliar with our system – local courts
By Elias Munshya The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has a very fancy and lofty leader in Justice Esau Chulu. Just a few weeks ago, the elections body claimed to have put together a body of eminent Zambians to advise the constitutionally elected body. However, what we see coming from the ECZ has the potential of churning our country into
By Elias Munshya Power is easy to abuse. There is this sense endemic in those who wield guns and bombs to think that they are somehow invincible. To this theme, we must return. Daily. If not monthly. But frequently we should. We will continue writing. And talking. And teaching. We will continue to demand. And demonstrate. We will continue to
by Elias Munshya There is definitely a series of stories that can be told about President Frederick Chiluba’s privatisation program. It had its own positives and its negatives. It could definitely have been done better. But privatisation, we needed to do. There was no alternative. Several of our citizens insist that those companies were “assets”. Indeed, they were. But years
By Elias Munshya When you are broke as a country, it matters where you are directing your energies and efforts. It makes no sense that at the time that one dollar is trading at K20, we should be wasting our brains and our common sense on a question that will not resolve the price of bread or the value of
by Elias Munshya Never have we, and neither should we, object to the Honourable Minister of Religious Affairs Rev. Godfridah Sumaili exercising her constitutional right to belong and campaign for her political party of choice. As a citizen of this country, she has the right to belong and promote a party of her personal choice. In fact, as a member
By Elias Munshya Occasionally, law students from Zambian law schools do contact me for some “dissertation ideas”. Some find our blog very helpful in helping them narrow down a topic or two. While http://www.eliasmunshya.org is meant for the general audience, we are humbled at how we are contributing to the budding legal scholarship in Zambia. Here then are some dissertation
Disclaimer: Elias Munshya and Munshya Law are not responsible for any inaccuracies of this draft report. This is a draft report which becomes official after the Committee presents it to the Zambian parliament using parliamentary procedure. Should any one require specific legal advise arising from any issues in this document, kindly consult members of the Zambian bar – except perhaps
By Elias Munshya When Justice Minister Given Lubinda announced efforts to amend the Constitution of Zambia, he did it with a great deal of arrogance and an inexcusable insult to the people of Zambia. My friend, the Attorney General, took no time in implementing this devious plan. At first, we were told that the effort was just clean up some
The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Bill 10) appears to have some footprints of the Pentecostal mindset in so far as the Declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation is concerned. Nevertheless, this footprint is not quite what it promises to be. There is a need for Pentecostals to push back against this idea that the faith should be
By Elias Munshya Bill 10 is obviously a disaster. You cannot bring together hundreds of people for 14 days and expect that within that time frame, you can come up with anything sensible. That the NDF was a complete sham is seen by the fruits and surrogates it has borne. You shall know them by their fruits cannot be more
By Elias Munshya Bill 10 proposes to abolish the multi-religious character of the Republic of Zambia that is enshrined in the Constitution of Zambia – in both the entrenched and the unentrenched provisions. With due respect to my vocal Pentecostal sisters and brothers – Zambia is a multi-religious nation. And the history and suspicion that we Pentecostals have had to
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been published as Bill 10. Very soon, it will be presented to the parliament of Zambia for debate, consideration, and possible enactment. To say that Bill 10 has significant problems is an understatement. Bill 10 is a disaster and its effect on the constitutional architecture of
We have a copy of the Constitution-Amendment-BILL, courtesy of https://acazambia.org. Here it is: Constitution-Amendment-BILL
by Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. Munshya Law (www.munshyalaw.com), is a Canadian immigration law firm based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Elias Munshya is the principal of the law firm. Munshya is a member of the Law Society of Alberta. He holds various academic and professional degrees including an MBA in Law, an LLM, and an LLB from England. We want
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. It is strange that ZCCM-IH went ex-parte to the Lusaka High Court to apply that Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) be placed under liquidation, or to be technically correct, under “provisional liquidation”. From the look of things, this Application and its resultant Order seems to have been obtained in the cover of the night. It
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. President Lungu knows or ought to know, that Honorable Margaret Mwanakatwe MP is struggling with an apparent illness requiring urgent treatment. However, I am wondering why despite this notorious fact, the president still maintains her at the ministry of finance. Is the president taking advantage of a woman’s illness for his political ends? As
By Elias Munshya, BA, MA, LLB, MDIV., MBA, LLM We doubt whether this Chifire contempt case will help restore faith or respect for the Zambian Supreme Court, the respect which it deserves and desperately needs. This Chifire decision, particularly the sentencing, will not help matters at all. The Court will not garner more respect than it previously had before the
By Elias Munshya, BA, MA, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. A discussion of this nature places a demand upon us to situate this issue within elementary concepts. Zambia’s administrative law is developing very quickly. As should be expected in a burgeoning democracy, the executive state is shedding-off much of its responsibility and assigning it to statutory bodies. Changes in the administrative
E. Munshya, LLM., MBA, MDIV The shortage of lawyers in Zambia is catastrophic. The country of 15 million people currently has only 1,500 members of the bar. This is a diminutive 1 lawyer per 10,000 citizens. For the sake of comparison, Alberta has about 10,000 active lawyers in a population of 4.3 million; 1 lawyer per 400 citizens. Disturbing as
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. (of the Alberta Bar) In April 2018, Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) will unleash over 300 new lawyers in Zambia which will bring the total number of Zambian legal practitioners to 1,400. Remarkably, about half of all these lawyers have qualified in the last 5 years. A bar which was just 700
By Elias Munshya, LLM. MBA, MDIV. A lot has been said about this case. I will try to make it as plain simple as possible. Magistrate Benjamin Mwelwa was hearing a criminal case. The parties were as follows: The People (represented by prosecutors from the Anti-Corruption Commission and the DPP), and the accused (represented by lawyers). In Zambia and elsewhere
I wrote because I believe in Zambia. I wrote because those who claim to hold dear the rule of law, must act when the rule of law gets threatened by the acts of those who are entrusted to protect it. I wrote to reiterate our country’s support for the men and women who serve as members of the
E. Munshya, LLM. MBA, M.DIV. We really do not know all the facts surrounding Mr. Mumba Yachi’s arrest. From the public domain, we understand that he has been arrested for obtaining a Zambian passport and identity documents on false pretences. He on the other hand, it is being reported, asserts that he is a descendant of Lumpa exiles who had
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. In Chiwempala It was a bright sunny Chiwempala morning in 1992. Some looked extremely old, but they all appeared exhausted. I cannot quite remember seeing the young or the children among them. I can vividly remember the women, the old women. Their wrinkled faces with pleasantly wrapped ifitambala on their heads. I can’t quite recall
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. When a president declares a state of emergency, or as we are now calling it, a state of a situation which, if allowed to continue, “may lead to a state of emergency”, he needs not be second guessed. Our laws and our constitution empower the head of our republic, in good judgment, to assess
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, MDIV. Zambia’s minister of religious affairs and national guidance, the Honourable Reverend Godfridah Sumaili spoke with the Zambia Blog Talk Radio on Saturday, May 20, 2017. I found her sentiments in that interview to be deeply disturbing. Rev. Sumaili sounds like a very good person. However, tyranny when perpetrated by good people is very difficult
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. Professional regulation of lawyers must be undergirded by several principles. First, the legal profession must be self-regulating. Self-regulation in the context of lawyers means that lawyers license themselves, assess the ritual fitness of practitioners, discipline themselves and promulgate their own rules of conduct. The principle of self-regulation is very important and must always be
By Elias Munshya, MBA, LLM, M.DIV. Now that the Zambian parliament could be debating ways to revamp the way lawyers are regulated in Zambia, it is prudent to investigate how the Zambian statutes regulating legal practitioners compare with those in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The SADC region obviously includes several countries who do not follow the English
By Elias Munshya, BA, MA, MA, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. It is a little more complex than I explain in this article. But let me try to be as clear as I can. The current laws in Zambia regarding marriage and divorce are deeply steeped in colonialism and need urgent reform. Basically, during colonialism, Britain created roughly two categories of marriage
By Elias Munshya, BA, LLB, MA, MA, LLM, MBA, MDIV. March 6, 2017 was a sad day for Zambia. Eight souls perished in a stampede as they gathered to receive food handouts from a church organisation known as Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC). This church organisation was first registered in the Philippines in about 1914 and from humble beginnings and
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. It is rather shocking, and very surprising that the Zambia Police command has now banned its police personnel from marrying foreigners on the pretext that these foreign spouses could end up being foreign spies. Additionally, the command is asking police men and women who are married to foreigners to inform the Inspector General of Police
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. Even if President Lungu were to turn water into wine, there is just no way the Zambezi provinces (Northwestern, Barotse and Southern) would vote for him and his ruling Patriotic Front. Not now and not in 2021. Without the Zambezi provinces, President Lungu and the Patriotic Front remain hugely dependent on at least two big
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. The Zambian state daily exercises power over the population in various ways. However, the Zambian state exercises this power through designated officers tasked with the duty to perform and exercise this power. The exercise of this power generally belongs to a branch of the law known as administrative law. The power that administrative bodies
By Elias Munshya & Michael Chishala “A person who has twice held office as President,” states Article 106(3) of Zambia’s Constitution 2016, “is not eligible for election as President.” However, Article 106 (6) further explains that a Vice-President, or another person who assumes the presidency due to a by-election, will not be deemed to have held office if they have served
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. Change must come to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ). LAZ in its current form lacks the institutional strength needed to serve Zambians. However, the debates about the future of the Association seems to be so polarised that it is sometimes confusing to tell what exactly is going on. The genuine calls for the
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. Words alleged to have come out of Mr. Amos Chanda’s mouth concerning the judiciary were concerning. In fact, they were dangerous. I cannot belabour any further on the points raised by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ). President Lungu has defended his spokesman. He is saying that we all misunderstood Mr. Chanda. I hope that
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. Justice E. L. Musona on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 delivered his ruling in the Munali Constituency parliamentary petition. It is a 56-page judgment imbued with story. Good story is what makes a good case. In fact, stories win cases. A trial is a story. Gathering of evidence involves story telling. Unless you learn to
By E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. The law, like life itself, is not an exact science. Or perhaps we could say, the law is both a science and an art, with the art part being much more pronounced. Since time immemorial, the desire for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth has consumed the common law
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV Where should Zambians go to enforce the Bill of Rights? Should it be the Constitutional Court (ConCourt)? Or the High Court? Or can Zambians go to both? Why can’t both the High Court and the Constitutional Court have concurrent jurisdiction? The rulings coming from the ConCourt seems to suggest that they do not want
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV The decision of the Constitutional Court to not hear Mr. Hichilema and Mr. Mwamba’s presidential electoral petition is really not about which of the several views expressed by the judges is “right” or “wrong”. Both the minority and the majority in the case may have been right. Judicial decision making is sometimes not about
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV It is common knowledge that the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has issued a circular reminding Zambian legal practitioners that they must obtain permission from both LAZ and its Legal Practitioners Committee before they comment on legal subjects in Zambia. I have taken Isaac M. Mwanza’s (of YALI) position that the laws and regulations
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV The so called divisions we think have emerged in the aftermath of the August 11 elections could be good for our democracy. They show that our democracy is working, and working very well. If the people of Zambezi feel that they are not being heard, there is no better way to demonstrate their displeasure
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. There is no better way to win an election than to win an election. For those who win elections, they win elections by winning elections. Those who want to win an election must win an election by winning an election and not winning a court case. In 2006, Michael Chilufya Sata of the Patriotic Front
We made the following assumptions: Some constituencies in Western Province are yet to report. So we are giving HH a 10,000 vote spread for each constituency. Two constituencies are yet to report in Southern Province, we have given HH a 20,000 vote spread for each constituency. Some constituencies in Lusaka have not reported so we have given EL a very
Zambia’s Constitutional Court Ruling on Cabinet Ministers Courtesy of our friend Machipisha Mwisho, we now have the Zambian Constitutional Court ruling in the case where petitioners had challenged cabinet ministers’ continued stay in office after parliamentary dissolution. Please find the ruling below. All you have to do is to download it. Steven Katuka & LAZ vs AG & Others On
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV Our nation is in crisis. We have suddenly realised that we too are a violent nation. The so called oasis of peace, we think we are, has been challenged a great deal by recent events. Zambians known for hospitality made headlines in April, 2016 when they looted shops owned by foreigners. Suddenly, right before
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV Ours should be a theology of hospitality, not arrogance. An evangelical political theology in Zambia must begin reassessing the theory and practice of its Christian faith, particularly as it relates to the relationship between the Church and the state. Zambia is not a church; it is a liberal republic. We cannot run Zambia is if
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. On May 27, 2016, Justice Marvin Mwanamwambwa, the Deputy Chief Justice of Zambia and acting Chief Justice signed Statutory Instrument No. 37 of 2016 promulgating the rules of the Constitutional Court (C Court). It takes more than a Colosseum of judges to create a court system. Operationalisation of the Court simply means one thing:
By E. Munshya LLM, MBA, MDIV The functions and objects of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) are very important in our system of law, government and politics. LAZ’s mandate is primarily derived from two statutes: The Law Association of Zambia Act and the Legal Practitioners Act. Under the LAZ Act, LAZ’s objectives can be broadly divided into the following:
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV Let us suppose that a Mr. Derrick Mumba goes into the business of selling newspapers in Milenge. Let us call it, The Past Newspaper (no pun intended). Mr. Mumba intends to work in a field he is passionate about and to make some money out of it. This would be a win-win. The government of Zambia
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. Reports that Malawians have invaded Zambia to vote should be evaluated within the ambit of history, for without such an analysis we will become rumour mongers and liars who want to create a storm in a cup of tobwa, the east’s favourite drink. There are no Malawians that are invading Zambia to vote, or whose
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, MDIV. (Barrister & Solicitor) On May 10, 2016 at Kabwe Justice Dominic Y. Sichinga issued his decision in the Sibongile Zulu v. Electoral Commission of Zambia and Attorney General case. I provide an analysis of the decision using a question to answer format. Why was the case decided in the High Court instead of the
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. The subject of the constitution of Zambia can be confusing to experts and laymen alike. To avoid some confusion, I will use the term “1991 constitution” to refer to the original Mvunga constitution of 1991. Actually, the current constitution in force in Zambia is the 1991 constitution. However, this 1991 constitution has undergone at
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, M.Div. Zambia is more than Lusaka. Zambia is more than Ndola. It is dangerous to judge the republic of Zambia by the standards of urban Zambia. It is ridiculous that a portion of 750,000 kilometres squared should be used as the standard for the whole. The problem with the G12 requirements is really not about what
By E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.Div. In view of the recent bus road accidents, an administrative body entrusted with licensing bus and transport companies, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA), issued suspension notices to several bus companies for a month and requested that their respective bus drivers undergo refresher driving lessons. RTSA acted after road accidents involving buses as
By E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA. There is just no way of insulating ourselves from the brutality of language. No matter how much care we take, there will always be some level of absurdity and ambiguousness in the language of legislation. Even simple words cannot escape from the burden of misunderstanding. Nothing challenges our obsession with gleaning the meaning of
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MDIV. In the Zambian doctrine of separation of powers, each branch of government has a distinct role to play and no one branch should interfere in the other’s function. Parliament makes the law, the executive implements the law while the judiciary interprets the law. But this doctrine is quite subtle. Our system of government does allow
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MDiv. There is nowhere to hide anymore. Big corporations that dare pollute our rivers and poison our waters should be held accountable anywhere around the world. A word of caution to big companies, please treat all stakeholders well and be socially responsible. Polluting our rivers and poisoning the sacred springs of Chingola will result in dire
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, M.Div. His Excellency Emmanuel Mwamba, High Commissioner of the Republic of Zambia to the Republic of South Africa has applied to the ruling Patriotic Front to be considered for adoption as a parliamentary candidate in Matero. Mr. Mwamba’s political background is very well known. He was the principal architect of candidate Edgar Lungu’s media strategy in
E. Munshya, LLB., LLM, M.Div., MBA To borrow from the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Zambia has a written constitution which “says what it says and does not say what it does not say”. Barring some concepts that are deeply tied to constitutionalism, the Zambian constitution should be interpreted from the intention of its written text. It is not surprising that
E. Munshya, LL.B., LL.M., M.Div. It is a national crisis when you have university graduates who cannot read, cannot write and cannot spell. It is a national disaster if you have graduates who cannot reason or engage in critical thinking. In Zambia, we face a huge crisis in tertiary education. This column has for the past two weeks addressed the
By E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.Div. Nothing can get more politically bizarre than the sudden announcement that Elias Chipimo, Miles Sampa and Eric Chanda would form an electoral alliance to defeat the incumbent Patriotic Front (PF) government. This Sampa-Chipimo-Chanda (SCC) alliance is bizarre on so many levels. First, Elias Chipimo appears to be quite a level headed gentleman. But he
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.Div. Surprise, surprise. Now that we have read the new constitution we are quickly realising just how much of a blessing, and a controversy it has become. I would be surprised if a constitution did not evoke opposite emotions and everything in between. Beginning from the Grade 12 qualifications to the omission of deputy minister positions,
E. Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.Div. In the recent constitution amendment signed by President Edgar Lungu is a provision that is both absurd and confusing. According to Article 70 (1) (d), a person is eligible to be elected as a Member of Parliament, if that person “has obtained, as a minimum academic qualification, a grade twelve certificate or its equivalent”.
You can download Zambia’s constitution as amended. Please note that the constitution is not necessarily a new constitution but is an amendment of the 1991 Constitution. This is why it is called the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act of 2016. Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.Div. Download here. Just click below and you will have it. Constitution of Zambia (Amendment)
E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div. In his 2008 dissertation, theologian and historian Dr. Andriano Chalwe wrote the following about Bishop Sky Zibani Banda: “Banda will be remembered for his generosity.” He was right. Out of the many tributes pouring in about the late Bishop Banda, one theme is very dominant: he was kind and generous servant of the Zambian church.
By E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div., MBA To all police officers, please serve Zambians impartially. Do not shoot the innocent. Do not curtail liberties of our people. Protect President Lungu just as much as you would protect others. If you do not behave well and choose to behave like monsters, note that the world is watching, and politicians will not protect
When the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) released its results two weeks ago, I expressed my concern at the low passing rate. I am not alone in this concern. I have been asked some questions. I would like to answer them in turn.
E. Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.Div. Fifty-one years after independence, we are a nation of “njala” and legal “load shedding”. In this context, it is not physical hunger I am talking about, but legal hunger. In a population of 15 million people, a paltry 1,500 are members of the Zambian bar. This is a crisis. It cannot continue any more. We
By Elias Munshya, LL.M., MBA, M.Div. On Sunday October 18, 2015 President Edgar Lungu did something that was quite consistent with the practices of many of his predecessors: associate the Zambian state with the Christian religion. From its founding to the present, Zambia has wrestled with the question of what should be the correct relationship between faith and politics in
By Elias Munshya, LL.M., MBA, M.Div. A business corporation on the Copperbelt is alleged to have polluted the Kafue River system in Chingola causing death and untold suffering among the local residents. While these remain allegations at the moment, ethical questions are being asked about what should be appropriate relationship between companies, profits and their ethical obligations to the various
By Elias Munshya, LLB (Hons), LLM, M.Div. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the sole interpreter of the treaties and acts of the institutions of the European Union (EU). The African Union (AU) has not adopted a court similar to the role provided by the ECJ to the EU. Nevertheless, if and when the AU establishes such a court,
By Elias Munshya, LL.M, M.B.A., M.Div. Under both English and Zambian law, the defence of insanity applies if it is established that at the time of committing a crime, the accused was under the defect of reason from the disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he
By Elias Munshya, MBA, LL.M, M.Div. Recently, Zambia’s newly installed Chief Justice Irene Mambilima reminded the legal community of the need to use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). According to Slapper & Kelly (2009: 391) ADR is a means of resolving disputes without resorting to court action. It is available in civil cases but not criminal cases. ADR includes Arbitration, Mediation,
By Elias Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, M.Div. Administrative law is that branch of law that governs the scope and activities of government agencies. Government agencies are daily making important decisions that affect Zambian citizens. However, in the discharge of their functions administrative bodies must act with “fairness”. Together with the right to an unbiased judge, the right “to a fair
Elias Munshya, LLM, MDiv., MA, MBA To say that Zambia’s new defence minister is a political neophyte is an understatement. President Lungu’s choice is surprising, shocking and ultimately contentious. From the little I have gathered, the Patriotic Front diehards are quite angry at the turn of events. They are equally shocked. I share with them feelings of deep doubt and uncertainty
Elias Munshya, LLM, M.Div. President Edgar Chagwa Lungu has indicated that he will support dual nationality for Zambians. While we do not yet know the shape this initiative will take, it is important for us to support it. The last time a government tried to reform this area of law, it was severely defeated. Dr. Rupiah Banda of the Movement
E. Munshya, LLM, M.Div. Chama Fumba’s “A Lungu Anabwera” is most likely defamatory, disparaging, insulting and slanderous. No matter how we spin it, stating that President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a “clueless drunkard from Chawama who came with suitcases full of ‘Kachasu’” is, quite probably, defamatory. The problem is not really whether Chama has defamed, but rather what we should
