Rev. Dr. Elias Munshya

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 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

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

  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

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

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. 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, 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 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

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 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

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

 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, 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