Oasis Forum tells Hichilema to refocus on Bill of Rights, withdraw Bill 7, as parties dialogue at presidency

The Oasis Forum has insisted that President Hakainde Hichilema should withdraw Bill 7 completely and redirect the nation’s attention toward the long-neglected Bill of Rights.

Forum Chairperson, Beauty Katebe, argued that what Zambia needed was a fresh, inclusive and properly safeguarded process centred on the Bill of Rights.

Speaking during a consultative meeting at State House in Lusaka on Friday, Katebe reminded President Hichilema that the Constitution was not a partisan trophy but a national covenant.

“Bill 7 must be completely withdrawn from the floor of the House. We wanted to come here for a celebration, not to raise alarms about a process that should have been straightforward, something is not adding up,” she said.

She criticised the government for attempting to push through an amendment process that she said was neither transparent nor grounded in the correct legal foundation.

Katebe noted that women’s groups, in particular, had expected meaningful inclusion, only to find themselves forced into public protest and media confrontations because the government failed to follow proper procedure.

“From where we are coming from, there were issues with our Ministers responding to us in the newspapers and we also responded, it turned into a media fight and when it’s a media fight, everyone wants to win,” she said.

She reminded the President that he had been part of the very struggles that shaped Zambia’s demand for constitutional clarity and expanded rights.

Katebe referenced the “dungeons” of previous regimes, where the fight for freedoms and accountability united activists and opposition leaders alike.

“That experience should guide the process. The people expected leadership that remembers what we cried for together,” she said.

In his remarks, President Hichilema emphasized the need for continued dialogue on issues affecting the country as opposed to going on the streets to protest.

He said State House was open to everyone and so were the courts of law where Oasis Forum had taken the constitutional amendment issue for settlement.

“In 2017, when I was arrested, I told my members not to take to the streets because anything could happen. We came out, contested elections and here we are today, showing that dialogue is the way to resolve conflicts,” President Hichilema recalled.

Earlier in the day, church leaders, opposition leaders and former Cabinet Ministers dressed in black gathered at the Cathedral of the Child Jesus to pray over concerns surrounding Bill 7, the proposed constitutional amendment.

The Oasis Forum and the Church mother body which organised the prayer rally had originally planned for a public protest against the constitutional amendment process.

However, the groups chose to postpone the street demonstration to allow for dialogue with President Hichilema on Friday afternoon.

Some of the notable figures at the rally included former Cabinet Ministers Jean Kapata, Professor Nkandu Luo, Godfridah Sumaili and others.

Also present were presidential hopefuls Dr Chitalu Chilufya, Jackson Silavwe, Harry Kalaba, Makebi Zulu, Chishimba Kambwili and many others.

During the church service, Kasama Catholic Archbishop Ignatius Chama called on Zambians to pray for the success of the dialogue meeting between President Hichilema and the Oasis Forum.

“There is need for the country to place the process in God’s hands, seeking unity and peace,” Chama stated.

He urged the nation to restore its commitment to justice, goodness and humility, guiding national laws and public life to protect the dignity and wellbeing of every person.

Chama also encouraged citizens to seek God’s guidance as the dialogue continues, stressing that Zambia must rely on divine wisdom rather than confusion or conflict.

At the same event, Oasis Forum Chairperson Beauty Katebe appealed to all parties in the dialogue meeting to approach the exercise with openness and honesty.

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