Lusaka - Zambia's parliament has delayed
a debate due on Wednesday on a motion seeking to impeach
President Edgar Lungu over accusations of breaching the
constitution, according to a letter from the parliamentary clerk
seen by Reuters.
Zambia's main opposition party, the United Party for
National Development (UPND), filed a motion last week. The
notice set Wednesday as the date for the lawmakers' debate and
vote on the motion.
"In view of the gravity of the motion, the same is being
studied and we shall revert to you in due course," said the
letter sent on Monday from the Clerk of the National Assembly to
Garry Nkombo, UPND parliamentary Chief Whip who filed the
motion.
UPND spokesman Charles Kakoma said the motion would now not
be debated until parliament's next session begins in June.
Signed by a third of the 166-member house, the motion needs the
backing of two thirds to succeed.
The opposition argues Lungu violated the constitution in
2016 when it challenged his election victory in court, alleging
electoral fraud, a claim the government denied.
The opposition believes that under the constitution, the
president should, when faced with a legal challenge of this
kind, hand over power to the speaker of the National Assembly
until the court makes a decision.
The UPND's case against Lungu was dismissed on a
technicality after its lawyers failed to provide evidence within
the required time limit.
Chishimba Kambwili, a lawmaker of Lungu's ruling Patriotic
Front who seconded Nkombo's motion, was arrested last Thursday
by Zambia's Anti-Corruption Commission on suspicion of fraud.
Kambwili, a former cabinet minister who has repeatedly
accused government officials of corruption, fell ill while in
police custody and was taken to a private hospital for
treatment, police and his lawyers said.
He was subsequently transferred to a government hospital for
continued treatment on Tuesday, they said.