By Elias Munshya This past weekend His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, flew to Monze to hand over Chinese constructed houses for officers of the Zambia Correctional Service. The Zambia Correctional Service is one of the security wings over which President Lungu, as commander in chief, presides. President Lungu’s incursions into Choma and
By Elias Munshya Malawian Pentecostals must be very proud of themselves. They have managed to get one of them to become President of Malawi. What a great honour and privilege. Rev. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera is not only a member of the Pentecostal fraternity; but one of the classical Pentecostals’ well-known figure across Southern Africa and indeed the world. He has
By Elias Munshya Our concern for the viability of our country is what drives us. It is never to be malicious. But to believe that our country can be and do better. We find no pleasure in assailing this President and his clueless cabinet. However, if we are to inspire development among our people, we must challenge him and his
By Elias Munshya Pan-Africanism has serious deficits, as a philosophy for the African. It has so far failed to help Africans imagine a future that goes beyond useless slogans. Pan-Africanism cannot spur African imagination any longer as it is deeply steeped in victimhood. Africans, according to Pan-Africanism, are victims – victims of forces outside the African. And to defeat those
By Elias Munshya Honourable Dora Siliya, the minister of information and broadcasting, issued a statement on May 17, 2020, condemning the behaviour of ruling PF cadres who had invaded several radio stations in Muchinga Province. The conduct of PF thugs is unwelcome. This behaviour is a detriment to the development of both common sense and the rule of law. The
By Elias Munshya The two government ministers, based on their performance when announcing the COVID-19 deaths, seem to have acted so well for the camera that some of our people think that they are a couple made from heaven. I do not think heaven, but perhaps hell. I am a Pentecostal after all. How we elevate thieves and celebrate them,
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 The commotion over Bill 10’s proposal to Christianise the Zambian constitution is in my opinion, wholly unnecessary and a waste of time. Zambia is already a Christian nation. It has been a Christian nation. White Christian missionaries brought education and Christianised much of the Zambian territory. Indigenous African evangelists such as Rev. David Kaunda of Malawi brought
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 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 Zambia has excellent legal minds. It has exceptional jurists. However, there is something fundamentally problematic within the Zambian legal system that continues to tolerate mediocrity. When ZCCM-IH obtained the ex-parte Order from the Lusaka High Court to begin liquidating KCM, we sounded the alarm. The alarm was really not about whether Vedanta was the right investor or
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, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. She who comes to tribalism must come with pure tribal hands. You cannot be an impumba mukowa and yet choke our nation with useless, baseless, and senseless tribal nonsense. What is even more concerning is that Mr Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM) has not repented from his vicious tribalism and tribal bait over the years. The
This is the media statement issued by the Law Association of Zambia The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has followed with keen interest the public debate that has raged following revelations of a piece of land granted to President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in the Kingdom of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland. LAZ has also noted the serious insinuations and allegations
President Trump has declassified the Nunes’ Memo. Please find it below. Download it read it and let us know what you think. -Elias Munshya 370598711-House-Intelligence-Committee-Report-On-FISA-Abuses
By Elias Munshya, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) is now requiring that its licensed lawyers and paralegals create and abide by an individual Statement of Principles that acknowledges their obligation to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion generally and in their behavior towards colleagues, employees, clients and the public (emphasis mine). Apparently, this is part of
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. Dictatorships rise not by the deliberate acts of its perpetrators, but by the silent ambivalence of its tolerators. No one truly lives and plans to become a dictator. Mobutu never planned to be one, and neither did Idi Amin Dada. These gentlemen found themselves in situations which appeared conducive to stretch their power, their
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, LLM, MBA, M.DIV. I commend parliament for considering changes to the Law Association of Zambia Act (LAZ Act). I agree that the LAZ Act needed reform to make it more responsive to present realities. However, the proposed Law Societies of Zambia Bill that is being considered to replace the LAZ Act requires further work for it to
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. Chingola resident Dominic Liswaniso Lungowe and several other colleagues of his have sued both Konkola Copper Mines Plc (KCM) and Vedanta Resources Plc in the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Technology and Construction Court. This court’s equivalency in Zambia is the High Court of Zambia. For obvious reasons, both KCM and Vedanta objected
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, LLM, MBA, MDIV (of the Alberta Bar) The 2016 amendments of the 1991 constitution of Zambia need revision. I would be the last person to dispute that fact. From language that is ambiguous to plainly ridiculous provisions, Constitution 2016 need to be reformed. Wanting to change the constitution is one thing, however, and the process used is
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:
Here is the Tax Tribunal Act (2015). TAX APPEALS TRIBUNAL ACT 2015 It comes courtesy of http://www.zambialii.org. Thank you, – eliasmunshya.org
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
Dear readers: Here is Justice Sichinga’s ruling in Sibongile Zulu v. Attorney General and Electoral Commission of Zambia (2016) in PDF format. Just click below and download. Sibongile Zulu v Attorney General and others (2016) We will be reviewing this ruling in the next few hours and we shall share our analysis with followers of eliasmunshya.org and readers of the
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 For a nation that should be benefiting from the legal expertise of its lawyers, it is quite absurd that Zambian regulations forbid lawyers from publishing on legal matters without permission from the Law Association of Zambia. It is rather despondent that in a modern democracy we should have such a rule in place. There is
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
We have Justice Lengalelenga’s ruling in the GBM case. Please click and download. Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba v Attorney General & Others – 2015.HP.1279-2 Just click and download and read it for yourselves. Sincerely, Elias Munshya, LLB, LLM, MBA, MDIV
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, LL.B., LL.M., M.Div. Justice Christopher Mushabati, a commissioner at the Electoral Commission of Zambia (the “Commission”) has issued what seems to be an official directive from the Commission about the Grade 12 requirement for running in the 2016 elections. According to him, only a school certificate as defined by the Examinations Council of Zambia (the “Council”), will be
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, LLM, MBA, M.Div. History will be very kind to Petersen Zagaze. I am not a very good music critic, and so this article will not try to critic Zagaze’s music, but his lyrics. No artist has managed to get the ire of the ruling bourgeoisie like he has done. The 2005 single Munyaule was a controversial song. The lyrics
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.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 94,000 times in 2015. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 4 days for that many people to see it. Click here to see
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, LLM, MBA, M.Div. The pentecostal movement is here to stay. Dismissed as a passing fad, its resiliency has baffled many critics. With several streams expressing its identity the time has come for Pentecostalism to define and redefine its attitude towards the state, particularly in a country like Zambia which claims to be a Christian nation. President Lungu’s religious
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
