AS FAR as we are concerned as chiefs in Southern Province, Bill 10 is stillborn and no amount of corrupt machinations will resurrect it from its tomb, says chief Mukuni.
And former livestock and fisheries deputy minister Luxon Kazabu says “all royal highnesses owe the people of Zambia, their children, a debt of service by speaking out on the wrongs that are being committed by the PF government”.
Reacting to princess Joyce Sekute’s statement to President Edgar Lungu in Livingstone last Friday that Southern Province chiefs were in support of the National Assembly Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019, Mukuni said the princess had no authority to speak on behalf of the traditional leadership in the province because she was not one of them.
“As far as we are concerned as chiefs in Southern Province, Bill 10 is stillborn and buried and no amount of behind-the-scenes corrupt machinations will resurrect it from its tomb. I wish to categorically rebut the assertions reported by several news media, including the national broadcaster ZNBC two days ago, which stated that ‘chieftainess’ Sekute spoke on behalf of Southern Province traditional leaders, on matters pertaining to the moribund Bill 10…” he said. “It is against royal protocols to purport to speak on behalf of reigning chiefs and their subjects when one is not enthroned as a chief and when the chief of the affected chiefdom is alive. To that effect, what was reported that Princess Sekute speaks on behalf of the chiefs in Southern Province that their royal highnesses support the passing of the controversial Bill 10 into law is not only false but lacks merit and facts.”
He revealed that even in the meetings, President Edgar Lungu had with Southern Province chiefs, the issue regarding Bill 10 was never resolved.
Mukuni added that, “In order to set the record straight and clear the names of the chiefs that attended the meeting, I challenge the Princess to name the royal highnesses who chose her to speak on their behalf in support of Bill 10, whose shelf life as a mischievous tool to cure Zambia’s constitutional ills has since expired.”
“The people of Zambia were not consulted on the enactment of this bill whose treacherous agenda is to perpetuate dictatorship and the abuse of public affairs. All citizens must continue to stand firm and alert against the monstrous Bill 10 which has been time barred similar to the UPND presidential petition whose 14-day period elapsed,” said Mukuni. “Let the blind application of the law be fairly implemented on both PF and UPND without discrimination. What is good for the goat must be good for the dog.”
And Kazabu said Princess Sekute was agitating the people of Southern Province by masquerading as a deputy chief when there was no such title under the chiefs Act.
“She is not a chieftainess, she is masquerading to be one; it’s against the law. I have seen and read the chiefs Act and there is no such a thing as deputy chief. Under what law is she presenting herself as deputy chief?” asked Kazabu. “It is unlawful to call oneself as a chief or chieftainess when not. In law they call that impersonating; that is what she is doing.”