UPND MPs finally attend Lungu’s opening of Parliament
President Edgar Lungu talks to UPND Whip Garry Nkombo and Leader of the Opposition Jack Mwiimbu after the second session of the National Assembly – picture courtesy of Lusaka Times
Opposition UPND MPs have finally attended President Edgar Lungu’s address to Parliament, having boycotted the previous two addresses in protest against the manner in which the presidential petition was handled and the arbitrary arrests of UPND members across the country.
On September 30, 2016, 54 UPND MPs shunned President Lungu’s opening of the 12th National Assembly, after which they were found guilty of un-parliamentary conduct and made to apologise.
On March 17 this year, 47 MPs stayed away from President Lungu’s State of the Nation address, prompting Speaker Patrick Matibini to slap them with a one month unpaid suspension from all parliamentary duties. Dr Matibini also challenged the MPs to resign on moral grounds if they were not ready to acknowledge that Zambia has a duly elected president.
However, following a caucus held Thursday, September 14 in Lusaka, Leader of the Opposition in the House Jack Mwiimbu announced that all UPND MPs would attend Friday’s opening of the Second Session of the 12th National Assembly “in the interest of the country”.
“The nation may recall that in the last session of parliament, 47 UPND members of parliament were suspended by the Speaker of the National Assembly,” Mwiimbu stated. “The UPND members of parliament have since served their one month suspension.
“At today’s caucus, the UPND members of parliament resolved to resume their duties in the House.”
Mwiimbu also said the decision of the UPND MPs was meant to give confidence to the proposed dialogue between President Lungu and UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema.
“The UPND MPs took this decision in the interest of the country in view of the forthcoming political dialogue aimed at promoting peace, stability and democracy in Zambia.
“The UPND MPs believe that their attendance at the official opening of parliament will go a long way in giving confidence to the process of dialogue,” the Monze Central MP said.
But UPND Whip Garry Nkombo was quick to mention that attending Parliament did not mean his party members of parliament have recognised President Edgar Lungu as duly elected Head of State.
“By Constitution, that is an assembly of representatives, that is who we are, so with or without him, we are supposed to go to that Parliament. But let me hasten to say to you that the issue of recognition is still a function of the pending matter in court and it should be known very clearly that the reason we have not been to the first opening of the Republican Assembly in 2016 was documented and the documents that we sent to the Speaker was to the effect that PF was brutalizing our people, PF have been incarcerating our people, a situation that has not improved up to this moment. The issue of recognition does not arise at this moment,” Nkombo told online publication News Diggers! On Thursday.
After his address on Friday, President Lungu shook hands and heartily chatted with Nkombo, Mwiimbu and other UPND MPs.