Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

SPEAKER of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini and Vice-President Inonge Wina yesterday guided leader of the opposition in Parliament Jack Mwiimbu that it is subjudice to talk about the paying back of minister’s and deputy minister’s salaries because the matter is currently active in the Constitutional Court.

Both Dr Matibini and Ms Wina provided guidance to UPND Monze Central Member of Parliament who wanted to find out when the ministers and deputy ministers would pay back the salaries as directed by the Constitutional Court ruling of August 2016. “Mr Speaker I am aware that in August 2016 the Constitutional Court made a ruling patterning to the constitutional breaches by this government by allowing ministers and deputy ministers to continue in office,” Mr Mwiimbu said.

The Monze Central lawmaker added that the Constitutional Court ruled that those members who held those positions had to pay back the money.

“I would like to find out from Her Honour the Vice President when her government and her colleagues are going to pay back to the people of Zambia the money they got out of their unconstitutional continuous frauds,” Mr Mwiimbu said. But in her response Ms Wina said the question asked by Mr Mwiimbu surrounded on subjudice because everyone was aware that the case was still before the Constitutional Court. And Dr Matibini further guided that if Mr Mwiimbu had been following events in the press, the Attorney General Likando Kalaluka has gone back to the Constitutional Court to reopen the matter and that was its current position. Meanwhile, Parliament also heard that there were times when the Head of State castigates the Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja over some overzealous police officers who go out of their way in a bid to provide their services. Ms Wina was responding to Choma Central UPND Member of Parliament Cornelius Mweetwa who complained of police brutality. Ms Wina clarified that the Head of State does not order the police to beat up his fellow politicians. She said the President would never do such a thing, to order police officers to beat up his fellow politicians. Ms Wina said whenever the police officers exercised minimum force when dealing with politicians, President Lungu was not involved. “There are many times when the Head of State has castigated the head of police for allowing or not allowing overzealous police officers who go beyond the limit of their work,” she said. And Mrs Wina apologised for the beating of Komboni Radio director by the Zambia police officers. “I was not well informed but I collected more information about it. I found that indeed the police over did their work. I do apologise for what she went through. It was not necessary,” Ms Wina said.