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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has formally notified the Inspector General of Police of its plan to hold a peaceful picket and demonstration outside the National Assembly grounds on December 12.
EFF leader, Kasonde Mwenda, said the action was a direct response to attempts by those in power to push through constitutional amendments that do not reflect the will of the Zambian people nor uphold the democratic foundations of the Republic.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Friday, Mwenda said the demonstration should not be taken lightly, describing it as a peaceful, lawful, and patriotic action.
“These amendments have been drafted and pushed forward without proper consultation, without transparency, and without respect for the citizens whose future they will affect,” he said.
Mwenda warned that the EFF would not stand by while the Constitution, the supreme law of the land, was tampered with for political convenience.
He emphasized the party’s duty to defend democracy, uphold constitutionalism, and stand with Zambians whose voices are being ignored.
“We expect approximately 500 participants, including members of the public, civil society, church groups, NGOs, and all concerned citizens who believe in protecting the integrity of our democratic order,” Mwenda said.
He added that the party had requested the Zambia Police Service to provide security and ensure the event proceeded safely, in accordance with the Public Order Act.
“It is a reminder that Zambia belongs to its citizens — not to a handful of individuals seeking to manipulate the Constitution for narrow political gain. We call on all Zambians to remain vigilant,” Mwenda said.
He stressed that constitutional amendments should be made through openness, consultation, and national consensus, not in secrecy or through shortcuts.
Meanwhile, Lusaka lawyer Makebi Zulu has escalated the constitutional showdown over Bill 7, asking the Constitutional Court to stop Parliament from “resuscitating a dead law,” arguing that any attempt to revive the Bill amounts to open defiance of a binding court ruling.
In his petition, Zulu is seeking an order of stay restraining Members of Parliament, the Speaker, parliamentary staff or any other authority from re-tabling, debating or otherwise proceeding with Bill No. 7 of 2025 until his case is determined.
He anchored his application on the Court’s landmark Munir Zulu judgment of June 27, 2025, which declared that the process leading to Bill 7 was “procedurally flawed, unconstitutional and in violation of the Constitution’s demand for wide and effective public consultation.”
According to him, that ruling extinguished the Bill in its entirety.
“Once the Court pronounced itself, Bill 7 ceased to have any legal life,” he stated in his affidavit.
Zulu argued that instead of restarting the constitutional amendment process as ordered, government embarked on what he called a “shortcut” approach.
He pointed to President Hakainde Hichilema’s appointment of a Technical Committee on Constitutional Amendments on October 2, 2025, which conducted public consultations between October 27 and November 15 before submitting a draft report on December 1.
But Zulu dismissed the exercise as superficial, insisting that a 34-day consultation window could never satisfy the Court’s standard for meaningful engagement.
“This was a rushed attempt to create an illusion of compliance,” he argued.
He contended that no new gazette notice was issued for the Technical Committee’s draft, leaving Bill 7 as the only gazetted instrument despite the Court having already declared it unconstitutional.
Despite these gaps, Zulu said, Justice Minister Princess Kasune returned to Parliament on December 2 to seek the reinstatement of Bill 7, after which the Deputy Speaker directed the select committee to resume scrutiny of the same Bill.
He described this conduct as “a brazen attempt to overturn a constitutional judgment by administrative manoeuvre.”
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