Kabushi, Kwacha by-elections imminent

By NATION REPORTER

A SECOND run of by-elections in Kabushi and Kwacha Constituencies is imminent as Bowman Lusambo has announced his decision to petition the election of Bernard Kanengo following the Constitutional Court judgement that has declared he (Lusambo) and his Kwacha Constituency counterpart were eligible to re-contest their seats.

This is barely five months after the ECZ barred Mr Lusambo and Mr Malanji from re-contesting their respective seats on grounds that they had caused the by-elections.

But the Constitutional Court has ruled that Mr Lusambo and Mr Malanji were eligible to recontest their seats and now, the former Kabushi lawmaker is petitioning the election of Mr Kenengo whom he says was fraudulently elected.

Mr Lusambo has announced that he will be petitioning the Kabushi Parliamentary seat following the Constitutional Judgement that he (Lusambo) was eligible to recontest his seat after the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) barred him and Mr Malanji from standing.

Mr Lusambo, the former Kabushi Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament says he has engaged his legal team to start the process of petitioning the Kabushi seat because the current MP was fraudulently elected.

Mr Lusambo in an interview said that he had engaged his legal team for them to start the process of petitioning after the Constitution Court ruled that former Kwacha and Kabushi Members of Parliament Joe Malanji and Mr Lusambo were eligible to contest the two by-elections.

He said the Concourt ruling was a win for democracy and proved that the judiciary was autonomous and could not be used by politicians.

“I have instructed my lawyers to petition the Kabushi seat because the court has proved that the elections were a sham and the MP is a fraud,” Mr Lusambo said.

He said it was unfortunate that the UPND was trying to stop the people from choosing the people of their choice by imposing on them leaders who were neither wanted nor electable.

Mr Lusambo said he and Mr Malanji had remained serious threats to the UPND and that was the reason the ruling party was determined to unlawfully knock them out of the race so that they could win the seats without other contenders.

“It is clear that we are threats that is why we are being fought in this manner by the current government, but kudos should go to the courts for being steadfast and not being swayed by politicians,” Mr Lusambo said.

He said that the ECZ was highly compromised because they allowed the illegality and went ahead to conduct an election when they knew it was illegal.

In a Judgement delivered by Constitutional Court judges Justice Palani Mulonda, Justice Mungeni Mulenga, Justice Judy Mulongoti and Justice Mathew Chisunka that the applicants (Malanji and Lusambo) were not disqualified and were eligible to contest after their seats were nullified by the courts.

The two former lawmakers challenged their case in which they challenged their disqualification from contesting the Kabushi and Kwacha Constituency by elections.