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
Read moreBy 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
Read moreBy 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:
Read moreE. 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
Read moreE. 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
Read moreBy 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
Read moreE. 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,
Read moreE. 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”.
Read moreBy 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
Read moreKuli ba Mama Kaseba: Intanshi mutende! Before I proceed any further, let me state out-rightly what this letter is not about. As a person who strongly believes in women’s rights, I must commend your decision to stand as presidential candidate within days of burying your spouse. Indeed, every woman must aspire to provide leadership to this great country. Your
Read moreE. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The President of the Republic of Zambia, Michael Chilufya Sata has died. He died in a London hospital on 28 October 2014. Sata died the same week that the nation was celebrating 50 years of independence from Great Britain. The question grappling the nation right now is whether the nation’s Vice-President Guy Lindsay Scott satisfies
Read moreE. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div Never in the short history of our republic have we had a vice-president who is as marginalised as Guy Lindsay Scott. Effectively, this Patriotic Front government has managed to reduce the vice-president of our republic to a non-entity. As if it is not enough that Scott has no clue of much of the stuff happening
Read moreE. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. Personal sabotage should know its constraints. But just when you think that stuff cannot get any worse, that is when it usually does. It is one thing to make a small mistake, or perhaps, to misspeak once in a while. We are all human after all. But when you are part of a cabinet handling
Read moreBy E. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. The question is not really about whether President Sata is sick or not. The question is about how the nation and its political players should conduct themselves in moments of alleged presidential illness. When a president falls ill, or rather when allegations of presidential illness become apparent, we as a people have some choices.
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya In 2008, as President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was reflecting on his legacy, one issue he had to confront was whether he had any regrets in choosing Nevers Mumba for his Vice-President from 2003 to 2004. According to Malupenga (2010), President Mwanawasa hoped that in future Zambians will come to the same conclusion he had come
Read moreBy Elias Munshya wa Munshya Dr. Nevers Sekwila Mumba believes that political parties are not the centre of the political process, people are. As such, he sees nothing wrong with changing parties, starting new ones, disbanding others and going back to the parties that disowned him. Political parties for Nevers are tools that a person can use to aspire for
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya It is Frank Talk time on prime time television in the early 1990s. One evening, the whole nation is listening in as journalist Frank Mutubila introduces his guest on ZNBC TV. Pastor Nevers Mumba sits confidently in his chair. Next to him is his wife. They are appearing on a program that follows and features
Read moreE. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. In our democracy, there should be no reason why the police command should be wasting taxpayers’ bullets and teargas to chase Hakainde Hichilema (HH) out of the Eastern Province. Bullets and teargas should be for criminals and not ordinary citizens. Reports that Inspector-General (IG) Stella Libongani had sent a battalion of police and soldiers to
Read moreE. Munshya, LLB (Hons), MA, MDiv. President Levy Mwanawasa (Zambian President from 2002 to 2008) was a controversial figure. Without doubt he has gone into history as one of the most contentious presidents. Several things about Mwanawasa are contentious. Just how he was called from political retirement to become Chiluba’s preferred MMD presidential candidate ruffled a lot of feathers within
Read moreBy Elias Munshya, LLB(Hons), MA., M.Div. September 2009 on Radio Mano It is September 2009. In a few weeks, the people of Kasama Central are supposed to be voting in a by-election. The key candidates in this election are Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (PF) and Burton Mugala (MMD). Mwamba comes from the ruling family of Kasama. Mugala, on the other hand,
Read moreElias Munshya The era of pan-Africanism is over. Pan-Africanism has flopped. And it has flopped very miserably. It needs to be replaced, as it is no longer appropriate. Whatever is still alive in the beast of pan-Africanism should be exterminated. Africans must give up this dream and replace it with a vision that is more compatible with African realities. The
Read moreMunshya wa Munshya It was certain that the Patriotic Front party was going to win the Mansa by-election. We all expected the PF to win. Luapula is their stronghold after all. And no doubt, the people of Mansa Central showed that they have not changed a bit in their unwavering support for the don’t kubeba party and its leader Michael
Read moreMunshya wa Munshya “To insult or not to insult.” That has been the question we have had to contend with from our presidents since 1964. Zambia’s history with presidential foul language and insults is not new. We, in fact, started having presidential foul language as soon as our nation was born. In this article, I draw upon the history of
Read moreMunshya wa Munshya When a leader lacks a clear vision of what he exactly wants to accomplish, he spends his energy chasing shadows. Without a clear articulated economic vision for Zambia, President Sata and his PF government will continue punching in the dark. In Zambia, our greatest problem is not KCM or companies like that. Our biggest problem, especially right
Read moreMunshya wa Munshya From the instant that little known Emmanuel Mwamba was appointed President Frederick Chiluba’s personal assistant he became an instant sensation. The man would be seen defending and in many cases travailing for his boss. Chiluba had so much confidence in Mwamba that on several occasions, Chiluba deferred to Mwamba in many press appearances. Nothing should prepare a
Read moreE. Munshya, LLB (Hons), M.Div. Fighting for his political survival, Hon. Wynter Kabimba, made a very significant comment that his party has a clique of Bemba political hegemonists. Even Guy Scott has supported Wynter in these assertions. A daily newspaper has also, in its editorial, made the same allegations: there seems to be a Bemba clique within the PF that
Read moreBy Munshya wa Munshya Brigadier General Godfrey Kenneth Miyanda has objected very strongly to this paragraph in my article of 20 September 2013 in the Daily Nation Newspaper. This same article is also published on http://www.eliasmunshya.org. This is what I wrote: When Chiluba and his cohorts – Michael Sata and Miyanda to be exact – found great solace in the barbaric
Read moreBRIGADIER GENERAL GODFREY MIYANDA’S RESPONSE TO MUNSHYA WA MUNSHYA’S ARTICLE TITLED ‘WHEN A GENERAL CHERRY-PICKS HISTORY: MY RESPONSE TO GODFREY KENNETH MIYANDA’ Munshya wa Munshya’s article titled “When A General Cherry-Picks History: My Response to Godfrey Kenneth Miyanda by Munshya wa Munshya” seems to be responding to my article titled “Objection to Munshya wa Munshya’s Personal Attack” published on page
Read moreBy Munshya wa Munshya If history were tomatoes, we could all easily amble towards Soweto Market find vendors and from a variety of that fruit choose which kind we want. If history were a presidential candidate, we could easily exercise our franchise and choose from two competing chronicles. Indeed, if history were a brand of soft drinks, we could turn
Read moreBy Munshya wa Munshya Nothing shows the character of a president, or any person for that matter, than the battles she chooses to fight. The saying that action speaks louder than words becomes even more real for a nation, in the type of undertakings that a president decides to employ. There can be no doubt that both action and inaction
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya We are seeing the portrait of a very active and engaging leader from State House, a cobra in his own right. President Sata is appearing in more public events. He is seen commissioning or not commissioning roads, and he is being seen in public berating his juniors for what he perceives to be mediocre work.
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya On Tuesday, 3 September 2013 Justice Mungeni Siwale Mulenga ruled in the case in which Dora Siliya and others had sued the Attorney General and the Electoral Commission of Zambia for banning her and her friends. The media outlets have ably reported that Dora Siliya and her friends have won. Justice Mrs Mulenga reversed the
Read moreE. Munshya wa Munshya The beauty of Zambian democracy is that no president in Zambia holds a monopoly over political players be it in the ruling party or in opposition. In fact, Zambian democracy manifests itself greatly in the personal ambition of various political players. Without personal ambition, democracy would lose its value and we could quickly slip back into
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya It is common knowledge that the battles of succession for Patriotic Front leader President Michael Sata are now being fought openly. The vultures are not trying to hide anymore. They have come out in full force, making their intentions known. They are also trying to amass as much a following as they can get. The
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya Mr. Terry Musonda, a spokesman for the judiciary of Zambia has issued a statement in which he purports to clarify the issue that has engulfed our nation in recent days. The issue has been whether a respondent in an election petition, whose seat gets nullified, by the High Court should also, by strength of the
Read moreI should disagree with The Post, The ACC and the PF with the way s.22 of the Electoral Act read with ss.104 to 107 is being interpreted. Ultimately, the advise of the Solicitor General that the PF should attempt to ask the High Court to interpret these laws seem to be appropriate. Nevertheless, I just do not foresee a situation
Read moreElias Munshya, LLB (Hons), MA, Mdiv. The Issue President Michael Chilufya Sata in May 2013 used his powers as President of the Republic of Zambia to withdraw government recognition of one Henry Kanyanta Sosala as Senior Chief Mwamba of the Bemba people. According to President Sata, Sosala did “not fully undergo Bemba rituals for him to ascend to the throne
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya It should not calm any nerves to realize that an analysis of the majority ruling in Attorney General v Mutuna, Kajimanga and Musonda should begin by looking at a single sentence taken from its last paragraph. Acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda, stated in the last paragraphs of her over 120-paged opinion that: “Before we end,
Read moreI have not given up on Zambian Railways and neither have I given up on the Zambian people. I have not given up on the resolute will of our people to better our country and restore our future.I believe in Zambia and I believe in its destiny. But at the same time, I believe that we must change our systems
Read moreBy Munshya wa Munshya Over the issue of the lifting of Rupiah’s immunity, we are conflating too many issues and I am afraid it is becoming confusing for me. I have not said that what parliament did was FAIR. I have not even supported the action of parliament. I have not said what they said was good for the country.
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya On Friday, 15 March 2013, the Zambian parliament debated a motion that sought to remove the presidential immunity enjoyed by former president of Zambia, Dr. Rupiah Banda. The motion passed by 80 votes, with most of the opposition members of parliament staying away from the proceedings. A day earlier, on Thursday, lawyers of the former
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya The Birth of The Man Biographers differ about where and when Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was born. Even his names have raised controversy. Chiluba’s background had been such a thorny issue, that in the 1996 case of Lewanika and others v. Frederick Chiluba the Supreme Court of Zambia was invited to make a ruling on
Read moreBy E. Munshya wa Munshya The book The Declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation: Blessing or Curse is Gershom Ndhlovu’s debut book. It is available at amazon.com in kindle edition. It is a book for the modern person in many ways, first, as a publication utilizing modern technologies. And second, by how much it makes use of the Internet
Read moreMusamba Mumba, going by the name Proud Aushi or Proud Ushi Musamba Mumba is an active blogger whose political insight and prowess is exactly what Zambia needs. In moments of great political intimidation and paternalism Musamba speaks her mind out concerning issues affecting Zambians. She is a critic of President Sata and his Patriotic Front government. On Facebook she receives
Read moreBy Munshya wa Munshya Issues surrounding recent events in the MMD can be analyzed from different angles. However, in this article I wish to concentrate on only one angle. That is whether Major Kachingwe can succeed at law to have the courts invalidate the election of Nevers Mumba as MMD president. It is my opinion that it would be very
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Rev. Dr. Elias Munshya 