Lungu should vacate power for violating constitution, demands Hansungule
By Staff Reporter
International Law lecturer, Professor Michelo Hansungule has demanded that Zambians remove President Edgar Lungu for violating the sacred principle of separation of powers among the three arms of government.
On Thursday last week upon arrival at Solwezi airport, President Lungu threatened judges against disqualifying him to contest the 2021 general election, maintaining his earlier position that he was available for the top post as long as his party adopted him.
President Lungu who claimed to have information that some judges wanted to be adventurous to imitate the Kenyan Supreme Court judges that nullified the election of Uhuru Kenyatta for irregularities and ordered a fresh election, further warned that there would be chaos if the Constitutional Court disqualified him.
Commenting on the threats directed at the judiciary, Prof. Hansungule called on the people to recall President Lungu immediately.
“Given what he has done, there is only one solution to it: Edgar must be made to vacate power and to do so forthwith. Since his party, the PF cannot recall him, people must recall him beginning NOW,” Prof. Hansungule demanded.
He said the current constitution had maintained the principle enshrined since 1964 that the Judiciary shall not be a branch of the Executive, but that it was President Lungu’s quest for power that had made the situation as such.
“By commenting directly on a pending case before the Constitutional Court, namely the case regarding whether he is eligible to contest the 2021 elections, Edgar Lungu has blatantly violated the sacred principle that the three branches of government are separate. This is the principle on which the current constitution and our system of democracy as a whole is based,” said Prof. Hansungule. “By law, no one is entitled to second guess the outcome of a court case. This is an affront to the court’s independence.”
