By STEVEN ZANDE –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has challenged members of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) to form a political party because they have deviated from their mandate of providing legal guidance on important national legal matters.
Mr Lungu said LAZ should form a political party because their conduct showed that the association was politicking, thereby abusing the respectable law profession.
“Where are the lawyers? Where are lawyers in this country? I challenge them to form a political party. Let them not abuse the law profession. It is a noble profession,” the President said.
LUNGU
The Head of State was speaking to journalists at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) yesterday shortly before departure for Swaziland where he went for a two-day State visit at the invitation of King Mswati lll.
Mr Lungu said it was unfortunate that lawyers had entangled themselves in politics at the expense of serving the public by explaining legal issues in the country.
The President was referring to the LAZ’s Press statement issued on Monday which, among other issues, questioned circumstances that led to the proclamation of a Threatened State of Emergency.
Reading the statement to the media, association president Linda Kasonde said the view of the association was that while the President went the right way about invoking Article 31, President Lungu should not have rushed to enforce the measure.
The President said LAZ could take him to court on the matter if it so wished, emphasising that reality was that the association was marred with politics.
Ms Kasonde said while LAZ sympathised with victims of the of the unfortunate events, Government should have been reluctant to invoke Adticle 31 of the Constitution because police had not informed the public on the cause of the fire which led the President to implement the Threatened State of Emergency.
LAZ also wondered whether the National Assembly had formed a proper quorum when approving the President’s proclamation, arguing also that the Government had no powers to extend the Threatened State of Emergency beyond the 90-day period approved by the House.
Ms Kasonde said the question of whether circumstances cited for invoking Article 31 were justified was a matter that could only be conclusively determined by the courts of law.
The President said he would be happy to face the LAZ before the courts.
“If they want they can take me to court. They can take me on. But the truth is that there is too much politics in LAZ,” the President said. “To abuse the noble profession where I belong is unacceptable.”
President Lungu was accompanied to Swaziland by his political advisor Kaizar Zulu, Water Development and Sanitation Minister Lloyd Kaziya and his Traditional Affairs counterpart Lawrence Sichalwe, among other Cabinet Ministers.
