TELL HH TO STOP COMMENTING ON BILL 7, SIMEZA, SANGWA ADVISE KABESHA

By NATION REPORTER

ATTORNEY General Mulilo Kabesha has been advised to counsel President Hakainde Hichilema to stop making public statements on Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7, which the Constitutional Court has declared unconstitutional, null ab initio and of no legal effect.
Mr Kabesha SC has also been asked to tell President Hichilema to unequivocally acknowledge that Bill 7, which the head of State is determined to unconstitutionally enact into law is null and void with the Constitutional Court ordering its complete withdrawal from Parliament.
Simeza and Sangwa Associates, the law firm representing the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) which has petitioned the Constitutional Court to declare Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti’s ruling that Bill 7 could be brought back to the House was in contravention of the Constitution has expressed serious concern that President Hichilema has continuously and repeatedly described Bill 7 as deferred rather than null and void ab initio.
“We respectfully request your office to advise the President to reaffirm that any future attempt to amend the Constitution must commence de novo under Article 79, and comply fully with all procedural safeguards, including publication, public consultation, and parliamentary process,” Simeza and Sangwa said.
Simeza and Sangwa Associates has noted in a letter dated July 28, 2025 and addressed to Mr Kabesha SC said that by President Hichilema describing Bill 7 as merely deferred, notwithstanding the Constitutional Court judgement, the head of State was undermining the constitutional supremacy (Article 1(3) and (2) by suggesting that an act or omission declared null and void by the Constitutional Court may be revived by executive fiat.
The law firm has argued that any future attempt to amend the Constitution must begin afresh and strictly adhere to the procedure outlined in Article 79, which includes publication, public consultation and full parliamentary scrutiny.
“We are mindful that under the principle of constitutional governance, all organs of the state, including the executive, are bound to give full effect to decisions of the Constitutional Court.
We trust that, in light of the Court’s definitive judgement, you will counsel the President to align his public statements and internal processes with the principle of constitutional supremacy,” Simeza and Sangwa Associates said.
The law firm reminded Mr Kabesha that the decisions of the Constitutional Court were binding and final under Article 128 (4) of the Constitution and must be respected by all branches of government without exception. He said any contradiction from the executive would amount to undermining the separation of powers. “It is clear from the President’s public sentiments that he has been breaching the separation of powers by suggesting that Bill 7 has only been deferred. That position is not supported by the judgement of the court, the law firm stated.
It stressed that the rule of law demanded that government communications, especially from the highest office in the land, must be consistent with judicial pronouncements.
According to Simeza and Sangwa Associates, anything short of the President respecting the separation of powers and the rule of law risked eroding public trust in the independence of the judiciary and the supremacy of the Constitution.
Bill 7, which aimed to amend parts of the Republican Constitution, was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, effectively halting any further progress on the proposed changes.
Despite the ruling, President Hichilema has in recent weeks made statements suggesting that the Bill may return in a revised form, remarks Mr Sangwa said were misleading and unconstitutional.
He said it was imperative that the Presidency, as custodian of constitutional order, sets the right tone by respecting court decisions and upholding the rule of law without equivocation.