Speaker Mutti acted within law to declare Lumezi seat vacant, Attorney General argues

The Attorney General has asked the Constitutional Court to dismiss Munir Zulu’s petition challenging the declaration of the Lumezi parliamentary seat vacant, arguing that the Speaker acted in full compliance with the Constitution.

In a response filed before the Constitutional Court, the Attorney General maintained that Speaker, Nelly Mutti, was constitutionally mandated to declare the seat vacant following Zulu’s conviction and sentencing by the Subordinate Court on a charge of criminal libel.

The Attorney General, Mulilo Kabesha, who is the government’s chief legal advisor, argued that the Speaker’s decision was not only lawful but also unavoidable.

“The filing of a subsequent appeal cannot suspend or reverse this constitutional process,” the Attorney General stated.

He argued ,“The Constitution expressly provides for vacation of a seat upon conviction, and the Speaker was, therefore, required to notify the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).”

Zulu, the former Lumezi Member of Parliament, is challenging the Speaker’s declaration, claiming it violated his right to appeal and was not in line with constitutional provisions.

But the Attorney General rejected that this, saying the disqualification clause in the Constitution is automatically triggered once an MP is sentenced to a term of imprisonment.

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“The by-election was triggered by operation of law, not by the Speaker’s personal action,” added Stephen Kawimbe, Deputy Clerk of Procedure at the National Assembly, in his affidavit supporting the State’s position.

The Attorney General submitted that the legal precedent set in the Chilangwa case, which Zulu is contesting as having been wrongly decided (per incuriam), remains binding unless overturned.

“To allow this petition would erode constitutional integrity and public confidence in the rule of law,” the State argued, stressing that Zulu’s imprisonment was sufficient to invoke the disqualification clause.

Kabesha insisted that Zulu was not entitled to any of the reliefs he seeks and asked the court to dismiss the petition with costs. “The law is clear and supports the Speaker’s actions,” the submission read.

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