Wed, 19 Jul 2017 10:02:25 +0000
…LAZ RISKS BEING DISBANDED AS LAWYERS MULL
By AARON CHIYANZO
THE Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has been roundly condemned with some lawyers suggesting the association could be disbanded and its president, Linda Kasonde impeached for issuing a divisive statement bordering on alarming the situation.
According to Kabwe Member of Parliament, Tutwa Ngulube, the LAZ statement did not even qualify to be a legal opinion but a political statement.
He described the sentiments in the statement that cast doubt on the reasons for the invocation of Article 31, as annoying not only to the people that have lost property in the acts of arson and sabotage, but all people that supported the proclamation.
Mr Ngulube charged that it was unreasonable for the association to say that there was no situation worth of compelling the Head of State to declare a threatened state of emergency amid the fires and acts of sabotage that had rocked the country.
The law maker said even Members of Parliament who supported the invocation of Article 31 and even extended its period, did so because they were concerned with what had been happening in the country.
He reminded the LAZ President, Ms Kasonde that she had survived the first attempt to have her impeached but that she was not going to survive it this time.
“She has already forgotten how she was almost impeached. She won’t survive it this time. It’s such statements that almost called for the disbanding of the association,” said Mr Ngulube.
Mr Ngulube pointed out that court buildings had so far been burnt, markets torched, a media house was petrol bombed and that Zesco pylons were sabotaged.
Mr Ngulube wondered what warranted the invocation of Article 31 to the association if the acts of terror so far experienced were not enough.
He also warned that LAZ now risked being disbanded because it had gone back to its old ways of stretching its hand beyond relevance.
Mr Ngulube said that the statement by LAZ was a torture on the victims of the unfortunate acts of terror whose scars were still bleeding.
And Patriotic Front (PF) member of the publicity committee Brian Hapunda has registered his disappointment over the speculative LAZ statement.
“It is very unfortunate that the LAZ president went ahead to give a speculative statement when the nation expected her to give a nonpartisan opinion to guide the nation and we are wondering what is the role of LAZ.
“It is very unfortunate and we wish to call upon the legal fraternity that they must rise up and protect the integrity of LAZ because under its current circumstance, we can safely say LAZ has been turned into a political pundit and they enjoy to negatively criticize the government of the day,” Mr. Hapunda said.
