PS THABO KAWANA SHARES….
CAN FORMER PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU BE ARRESTED EVEN WITHOUT LIFTING HIS IMMUNITY?
Fellow citizens, this question keeps being posed to me every now and then and I have responded to it severally but still, some people persist.
So maybe tonight, let’s deal with it head on and conclusively.
Article 98 clause 1 and 4 of our Kanstitution (in Sangwa’s voice) or Constitution talks about immunity from both civil and criminal proceedings.
Article 98 clause 9 talks about no more immunity even for things that one may have done whilst in office when Parliament removes immunity upon establishing a primafacie case against such a one or Former President if you like.
Given the above, if Former President Lungu is to be arrested for anything he may have done whilst in office whether civil or criminal, such an arrest cannot be effected without lifting the immunity because he has that immunity with him which remains and follows him even after leaving office but covering his tenure in office.
Meaning and again I emphasize, he has immunity for the duration of the time he held office and the things he may have done whether civil or criminal in nature.
However, if Former President Lungu commits an offense today, for example ngati Adada ba menya muntu mbama, Kofi olo nkonyo, he WILL be arrested and charged for the applicable assault charge. This also remains true for any transgression on any Law of our Land.
So let’s read the constitution and understand it and avoid this insatiable appetite of wanting to hold on to what is not factual by claiming that Former President Lungu has immunity and cannot be arrested today if he breaks the Law.
As this is the second time I am posting about this issue, I hope it is the last. I hope tanvela tonse since palibe chigayo apa.
Finally, to answer the question in the heading, the answer is YES. FORMER PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU CAN BE ARRESTED EVEN WITHOUT LIFTING HIS IMMUNITY IF HE COMMITS AN OFFENSE OR BREAKS THE LAW TODAY.
Ki manzibwana bana bahesu🙏🏾