Speaker, Munir in heated exchange

By SIMON MUNTEMBA

A TENSE situation arose in Parliament yesterday when Lumezi Independent Member of Parliament Munir Zulu exchanged works with First Deputy Speaker Attractor Chisangano when he was ordered to apologise for having breached the parliamentary privileges and contempt of the House.

Ms Chisangano had a tough time controlling an unremorseful Mr Zulu, who disowned an apology letter drafted for him to read in the House.

This was after she made a ruling in which Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Gary Nkombo complained to the National Assembly that Mr Zulu attacked his persona when he appeared on KBN Television.

It is alleged that Mr Zulu while being interviewed on KBN Television accused Mr Nkombo of having lied in the House based on his ministerial statement when he disclosed that Eastern Province had received 1, 909 kilometres of feeder roads in the last 10 years.

The First Deputy Speaker said Mr Zulu was found wanting because the minister did not lie as he referred to the 1, 909 contracted kilometres and not completed ones.

In trying to mete out punishment, Ms Chisangano ordered Mr Zulu to stand behind the bar and render an apology to the House and particularly to Mr Nkombo.

A heated argument broke out thereafter between the two as Mr Zulu said he did not own the apology speech.

Ms Chisangano confronted Mr Zulu to either apologise through the written statement which was a tradition or refuse at his own peril.

“Are you going to apologise or not? If you are not going to apologise, say so. Don’t waste time we have a lot of business to attend to,” the first Deputy Speaker said.

“It was given to me, it is not my speech. I don’t own this speech. So let me read it. So permit me to read it because it is not my speech,” Mr Zulu responded before reading it.