Sayifwanda retains her Zambezi seat

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:36:13 +0000

The Supreme Court has thrown out a Patriotic Front  petition challenging the election of MMD Zambezi East Member of Parliament Sarah Sayifwanda.

Ms. Sayifwanda described the action by the Supreme Court to throw out  the petition by Tom Makondo as a lesson to those who want to abuse the justice system of the country.

She said that the petition was unusual because the people that petitioned wanted to abuse the courts of law.

“My petition was unusual because my petitioners from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) wanted to abuse the justice system of the country,” says MMD Zambezi East Member of Parliament Sara Sayifwanda.

In an interview, Ms. Sayifwanda said that God in heaven had shamed those that wanted to abuse the justice system fop the country by taking advantage of the country’s legal system.

She said that the appetite shown by those that were connected to the powers that be to abuse the justice system of the country would not help them to get away, adding that the petition failed to succeed because it was total abuse of the law.

“My petition was unusual, after winning the 2011 General Elections, the ruling PF candidate in the Zambezi East Constituency election petitioned me together with his independent counterpart. But without following procedure they went to the Supreme Court to seek justice which in my opinion was total abuse of the justice system. Praise the Lord that Supreme Court Judge Gregory Phiri dismissed the applicant because it could not be challenged in the High Court,” she said.

Ms. Sayifwanda said that the Zambian justice system had reached a level where people should believe and have trust in the judiciary if they wanted to find justice.

She said it was total selfishness for those that were in the ruling party to think that they owned the justice system of the country and that the outcome of her petition by the losing PF candidate was a lesson enough that not all was lost in the country’s judicial system.

And Ms. Sayifwanda has appealed to traditional leaders to maintain their low profile as custodian of tradition and culture by not actively participating in politics.

She said that taking sides would not help at all cost but create division in the constituency.

Ms. Sayifwanda was saying this after one of the chiefs in Zambezi East proposed that Ms. Sayifwanda must not contest and leave room for his preferred candidate, a move which has been described as undemocratic and a threat to the traditional leadership.

She said political leadership was by the choice of the people and not anointing like traditional leadership.

“That is why I am urging these traditional leaders to stop being political, the must stop because they will fail to take charge of their chiefdoms. It is important for chiefs or any other traditional leader to basically embrace all players. The message here is clear, Lets respect the choice of the people,” she said.