Elected leader can become dictator, says Mwenye
By Tony Nkhoma
A DEMOCRATICALLY elected president or leader can easily become a dictator, former Attorney General Musa Mwenye has said.
Speaking in Lusaka on Friday during the launch of the LCK Freedom Foundation, Mwenye said democracy in Zambia had faced serious threats despite the nation’s democracy surviving for over 34 years.
He urged lawyers to employ their training and expertise to publicly advocate against the entrenchment of power in one person or a group of persons.
“Examples abound as to where else this has happened, and therefore, eternal vigilance is extremely necessary. Laws that erode free expression and other rights that impede the freedom of the press and shrink the civic space must be resisted,” Mwenye said.
He said it was a constitutional duty for lawyers to prevail and resist all acts the breaches the constitutional order.
“It is our constitutional duty as lawyers to resist all acts that infringe upon constitutional rights, and it is the lawyer’s duty to do so through both courtroom and public advocacy,” Mwenye said.
He warned that countries were under serious threats of creating dictators whom they would have no mechanisms to remove at once in power.
“Any country, the problem with a dictatorship is that there is no mechanism to correct and remove that person,” Mwenye said.
He said the advantage of democracy was that when people realised that their elected official was a wrong choice, they would always use the next election to correct the mistake by voting out such persons from power.
Mwenye said for democracy to work, people must have a chance to vote in a free and fair election to elect or remove leaders.
He reminded citizens that holding regular elections alone was not enough for democracy, warning that even some dictators hold regular elections.
“But they [dictators] operate in what have come to be known as illiberal democracies or hybrid regimes which have the veneer or appearance of democracy, but are really competitive autocracy or soft authoritarian regimes,” he said.
It was unfortunate that a few soft authoritarian regimes were cropping up in Zambia.
“The soft authoritarian regimes are characterised by manipulated elections, erosion of checks and balances through executive capture of the judiciary and parliament, propaganda and manipulation of information and the media, and suppression of dissent,” he said.
Mwenye commended newly launched LCK Freedom Foundation executive director Linda Kasonde for her consistent efforts in fulfilling her role as a lawyer in guarding the Constitution and defending democracy.
Meanwhile, Kasonde said Bill 7, now Act Number 13 of 2025, would stand as an unfortunate and troubling example of what many have described as ‘legal authoritarianism’.
She said while the bill was presented under the guise of reform, its implications for accountability, democratic participation and the balance of power raised serious concerns among lawyers, civil society and ordinary citizens.
“We must not be complacent in safeguarding democracy. We must interrogate laws, challenge abuses of power, and ensure that constitutional safeguards are not weakened under the pretext of efficiency or stability,” Kasonde said.
