JERE CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY OVER REPORTED KIBOMBWE–CHITAMBALA CONSENT AGREEMENT
Lusaka… Thursday September 24, 2026
National Freedom Front (NFF) president Ronnie Jere has called for transparency over the reported consent agreement between Lusaka mayoral election petitioner Gabriel Kibombwe and Mayor Mwewa Chitambala, saying the matter raises questions of public interest beyond the two parties involved
Mr. Jere said he had not seen or read the contents of the reported agreement and was therefore not suggesting that any unlawful conduct had occurred.
His comments come after Kibombwe reportedly moved to withdraw his petition challenging Chitambala’s election as Lusaka mayor
The petition was filed before the Local Government Elections Tribunal following the August 13 mayoral election.
Reports at the time said Kibombwe was challenging, among other issues, the tallying and declaration of the results.
The Tribunal subsequently dismissed preliminary objections seeking to have the petition dismissed and directed that the matter proceed on its merits.
On Thursday, September 24, the Tribunal also ordered the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to produce documents relevant to the petition and directed an ECZ witness to appear with the documents for examination.
Reports said the documents related to alleged differences in polling-station records raised in the petition.
Mr. Jere said the timing of the reported withdrawal therefore warranted public scrutiny.
“I have not seen or read the contents of the consent agreement, and therefore I am not suggesting that anything unlawful has occurred,” Mr Jere stated.
“The Tribunal has also not yet ruled on the withdrawal application. My concern is about the broader principle and the questions this development raises.”
He emphasized that an election petition should not necessarily be viewed as a private dispute between two contestants because the validity of an election ultimately concerns the electorate whose votes produced the mandate being challenged.
“Where the validity of an election is being questioned, there is a wider public interest because the people of Lusaka are the ones whose votes produced the mandate being challenged,” he said.
Mr. Jere said that where allegations concerning tallying, electoral records or other irregularities had been raised, allowing the established dispute-resolution mechanism to examine the evidence would ordinarily provide an avenue for those questions to be settled.
He, however, acknowledged that parties to a case could have legitimate reasons for reaching an agreement or seeking to withdraw proceedings where the law permits.
“That does not mean parties have no right to settle or withdraw matters where the law permits them to do so,” Mr. Jere indicated.
“They may have legitimate personal, legal or financial reasons for reaching an agreement.”
He said the broader question was whether, in an electoral dispute, the public interest could extend beyond the individual interests of the petitioner and respondent.
Mr. Jere said the sequence of events raised questions that deserved clarification, including what the consent agreement provided, whether it addressed the electoral issues raised in the petition and what would happen to those issues if the evidence was not tested.
“Why withdraw at this particular stage?” he asked.
“What exactly does the consent agreement provide? Does it address the electoral issues raised in the petition, or does it simply bring the dispute between the parties to an end?”
He also questioned what would happen to concerns surrounding the electoral process if the evidence was never examined.
“What happens to the questions surrounding the integrity of the electoral process if the evidence is never tested?” he asked.
Mr. Jere stressed that his concern was not whether Kibombwe should be permitted to withdraw the petition, but whether the electoral dispute-resolution process should provide answers on questions surrounding the counting and declaration of votes.
“If Kibombwe’s allegations were unfounded, then allowing the evidence to be tested would have provided an opportunity to establish that clearly,’ he said.
“If the allegations had merit, the public deserved to know that too.”