FORCING BILL 7 IS TREASON
By Mast Reporter
IMPLEMENTING the controversial Bill 7 after it was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court amounts to committing treason, Green Party president Peter Sinkamba has warned.
In an article, Sinkamba says President Hakainde Hichilema is not a person who can be advised, warning that the route he has taken will create serious problems for him and his supporters once he leaves office.
He warns that even those who are in charge of Parliament today will be held to account in future for aiding illegalities.
“I explained in simple terms the implications of Article 3 of the Constitution amendment 2016 vis-a-viz implementing Bill 7, after it was declared unconstitutional, illegal, null and void by the Constitutional Court. Let me be clearer. Implementing Bill 7 after it was declared unconstitutional, illegal, null and void is an act of treason,” he said.
Sinkamba writes that Hichilema is privileged to have senior lawyers, including the Attorney General, the Solicitor General and Judicial Complaints Commission (JCC) chairman, among many, some who defended him in 2017 when he was charged with treason yet he is pushing an illegal bill that has the potential to land him in serious trouble in future.
“It is my honest belief that these, among other senior lawyers, should be courageous enough to counsel the President that implementing Bill 7 after its declaration as unconstitutional is treason in terms of Article 3,” Sinkamba says.
He warns that any person who exhibits a lack of allegiance to the State or commits criminal offences could be tried for treason.
“The individual committing the act must owe allegiance to the State or sovereign authority that they are betraying. This usually means the person is a citizen or, in some cases, a resident alien within the country’s territory. In this case, President HH and his various officials who are involved in the implementation of Bill 7, which has been declared by the Constitutional Court as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void are citizens of Zambia, and have sworn to protect and defend the Constitution of Zambia,” Sinkamba writes.
He writes that the offence of treason requires a concrete, overt act that demonstrates the intent to betray the State, which Hichilema and his colleagues may be found guilty of after they leave office should Bill 7 be passed into a law.
Sinkamba says the overt act was committed in the manner Hichilema organised his technical committee to preside over a bill which was declared unconstitutional and illegal by the highest court.
“The overt act, in this case, is organising the Technical Committee for the purpose of resisting the execution of public law. For all intents and purposes, and public commentaries by learned persons on Bill 7, this bill is a plot by the United Party for National Development (UPND government to manipulate [the Constitution] and take over the reins of power using the electoral process,” he says.
Sinkamba has reminded all those pushing for Bill 7 that it was declared “illegal” and that doing so is a pure treasonable offence they are committing.
“Since Bill 7 was declared illegal, crucially, the role of government should be to stop any person from implementing it, not to resist execution of the judgment of the ConCourt. The judgment is public law. Resisting to implement it is treasonous. Organising a body of people such as the Technical Committee, civil society groups, and even factions of parliamentarians to resist the judgment of the ConCourt is treasonous. To use the police to forcibly intimidate pro-judgment groups like the Oasis Forum is treasonous,” he writes.
Sinkamba has reminded the Technical Committee and Hichilema that treason was committed at the appointment of individuals on the committee as they were conspiring.
Members of the committee are accomplices in the commission of treason.
