RULING BY THE HON MR SPEAKER ON A POINT OF ORDER RAISED ON TUESDAY, 25TH FEBRUARY, 2020 BY HON J KAPATA, MP, MINISTER OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES, AGAINST MR C MWEETWA, MP, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR CHOMA CENTRAL PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY, ALLEGING THAT MR C MWEETWA, MP ATTACKED HER HON THE VICE-PRESIDENT, MRS I WINA, MP BY CALLING HER SHALLOW AND SHAMEFUL FOR LINKING THE GAS ATTACKS TO REGIME CHANGE

 

 

I Order you, Mr C Mweetwa, MP, Member of Parliament for Choma Central Parliamentary Constituency, to stand by your seat.

 

Hon Members, the House will recall that on Tuesday, 25th February, 2020, when Hon O P Mwansa, MP, Minister in the Office of the Vice-President, was rendering a Ministerial Statement and Mr M Jere, Member of Parliament for Livingstone Parliamentary Constituency was about to ask a follow up question, Hon J Kapata, MP, raised the following Point of Order: 

“Sir, after the Vice-President’s Question Time on Friday, Hon. Mweetwa decided to go to Diamond TV’s ‘COSTA’ programme and attacked Her Honour the Vice-President regarding an answer she gave in response to a question asked by another Member of Parliament. Hon. Mweetwa rode on that hon. Member’s question to attack Her Honour the Vice-President in the media. Is he, therefore, in order to attack Her Honour the Vice-President by calling her shallow and shameful for linking gas attacks to regime change?

 

Sir, I need your ruling and I am going to lay the paper on the Table.”

 

Hon Members, in my immediate response, I reserved my ruling in order to familiarise myself with the alleged publication and reflect on the matter. I have since studied the matter and I will now render my ruling. 

 

The Point of Order raises the issue of a Member attacking another Member’s freedom of speech and debate outside the House.  Hon Members, the freedom of speech and debate in the House is a fundamental privilege guaranteed to members of Parliament under our law and parliamentary practice and procedure. The following authorities attest to the preceding proposition.

 

First, section 3 of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act, Chapter 12 of the laws of Zambia provides as follows:

“3. There shall be freedom of speech and debate in the Assembly.  Such freedom of speech and debate shall not be liable to be questioned in any court or place outside the Assembly.”

 

Second, Erskine May on Parliamentary Practice, Twenty-fourth Edition (Lexis Nexis, London, 2011), states at page 222 as follows:

“Subject to the rules of order in debate, a Member may state whatever he thinks fit in debate, however offensive it may be to the feelings, or injurious to the character, of individuals; and he is protected by parliamentary privilege from any action for defamation, as well as from any other question or rmolestation.”

 

Third, eminent authors on parliamentary practice and procedure, M N Kaul and S L Shakdher, in their book entitled Practice and Procedure of Parliament, Seventh Edition, (New Delhi, Lok Sabha, 2016), state at page 304, as follows:

“It is a breach of privilege and contempt of the House to make speeches, or to print or publish any libels, reflecting on the character or proceedings of the House or its Committees, or any member of the House for or relating to his character or conduct as a member of Parliament....

“Speeches and writings reflecting on the House or its Committees or Members are punished by the Houses as a contempt on the principle that such acts will tend to obstruct the Houses in the performance of their functions by diminishing the respect due to them.”

 

Fourth, Audrey O’Brien and Marc Bosc, in their book entitled House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition, (Ottawa, House of Commons, 2009), state at page 108, as follows:

“Members are entitled to go about their parliamentary business undisturbed. The assaulting, menacing, or insulting of any Member … on account of his behaviour during a proceeding in Parliament, is a violation of the rights of Parliament.  Any form of intimidation…of a person for or on account of his behaviour during a proceeding in Parliament could amount to contempt.” (Emphasis added)

Hon Members, in line with parliamentary practice and procedure and in accordance with the rules of natural justice, the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly wrote to Mr C Mweetwa, MP, requesting him to state his side of the story on the matter.

 

Further, since the Point of Order alleged that Mr C Mweetwa, MP, made the alleged statement on the Diamond TV’s ‘COSTA’ programme on which he featured, the Office of the Clerk wrote to Diamond Television to request for the video recording of the said COSTA programme.

 

Also, the House may wish to note that the Mast Newspaper, Edition No. 1206 for Tuesday, 25th February, 2020, published an Article on the said Costa Programme entitled: “Wina Shallow, Shameful to Link Gas Attacks to Regime Change-Mweetwa”. In this article, the following statements were attributed to Mr C Mweetwa, MP:

1. “UPND Deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa says it is shameful and shallow for Vice-President Inonge Wina to insinuate that gassers could be agitating for regime change.”

 

2. “If anyone is thinking about taking this opportunity because of gassing [saying] ‘no, let’s change the regime,’ like the Vice-President said on the floor of the House that ‘no, this gassing some people want regime change.’ That was shallow for the Vice-President of the country. Shallow and shameful.” Mweetwa exclaimed.”

 

In this regard, the Office of the Clerk wrote to the Mast Newspaper requesting them to confirm whether or not the statements alleged to have been made by Mr C Mweetwa, MP, were correctly attributed to him.

 

Hon Members, in his response to the letter from the Office of the Clerk, Mr C Mweetwa, MP, denied attacking the persona of Her Honour the Vice-President, as alleged in the Point of Order, by calling her shallow and shameful. His letter of response read as follows:

“Dear Madam

RE: POINT OF ORDER BY HON J KAPATA, MP, MINISTER OF LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES

“I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 27th instant and note the contents contained therein.

 

I am however, constrained to give a meaningful and reasoned response to your letter in the absence of a specific charge tabulating the rules/laws that I violated through the statement that I am alleged to have made. I am fully aware that citizens, in our democratic dispensation, are permitted to express opinions on statements issued by national leaders both in the House and outside.

 

I wish to further advise that while the Point of Order as well as your letter allege that I attacked the persona of the Vice- President by calling her shallow and shameful, at no time did my statement refer to her persona, but rather to the statement that she uttered. 

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

Mr C Mweetwa, MP

CHOMA CENTRAL PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY”

 

Further, Diamond Television supplied the video recording of the COSTA programme, which featured Mr Mweetwa, MP, as requested. The footage revealed that Mr C Mweetwa, MP, in discussing the gassing situation in the country, uttered the following statement:

“If they want dununa reverse like they did in 2011, they did in 2015-2016; it’s their choice. We will continue to beg with them that there is a better alternative that can deliver this country and if they don’t agree with us, who are we to force them? But we will not say no, now there is gassing lets remove this Government, no! We want 2021 elections to come. If anyone is thinking about taking this opportunity because of gassing no, let’s change regime, like the Vice-President said on the Floor of the House, no we know this gassing because some people want regime change. That was shallow of a Vice-President of a country! Shallow and shameful!” (Emphasis added)

 

Furthermore, the Mast Newspaper, despite several reminders, did not respond to the letter from the Office of the Clerk.

Hon Members, in the Point of Order, Hon J Kapata, MP, alleged that Mr C Mweetwa, MP, attacked her Honour the Vice-President, regarding a statement she made on the Floor of the House, by describing her as ‘shallow and shameful’ for linking the gas attacks to regime change. In his written response, Mr C Mweetwa, MP, denied describing her Honour the Vice-President as “shallow and shameful”. However, Mr Mweetwa, MP, admitted having used the words ‘shallow’ and ‘shameful’. He further explained that, he used the words ‘shallow’ and “shameful’ in reference to the statement of Her Honour the Vice-President, contrary to the Point of Order which alleged that he attacked the persona of Her Honour the Vice-President by describing her shallow and shameful. 

 

Hon Members, it is evident from the written response tendered by Mr C Mweetwa, MP, and the footage obtained from Diamond Television that indeed, Mr Mweetwa, MP, described the Vice- President as shallow and shameful. 

 

To put it succinctly, Hon Members, the Article by the Mast Newspaper, and the footage obtained from Diamond Television depicts crystal clear, that Mr Mweetwa, MP, did in fact, say that: “that was shallow of the Vice-President of a country! Shallow and shameful!” I find that this statement was Mr Mweetwa’s estimation of Her Honour the Vice-President and, therefore, an attack on her persona, based on what she said on the floor of the House.  The utterance by Mr Mweetwa, MP, also amounted to denigrating Her Honour the Vice-President on account of her conduct of business during a proceeding of Parliament.  This was clearly a violation of rights of Parliament as envisaged by the learned authors; Audrey O’Brien and Marc Bosc, in their work entitled House of Commons Procedure and Practice, referred to above.

 

Further, the description of Her Honour the Vice-President as ‘shallow and shameful’, was demeaning and disrespectful to her as a person, and also to the Offices of Vice-President, and Leader of Government Business in the House; both positions that she holds. I must state here that I have always counseled Hon Members on numerous occasions that, it is important for Members to accord respect for one another, and moreover, for Her Honour the Vice-President, granted that she holds the second highest position in the land. 

 

Hon Members, in view of the foregoing, I find Mr C Mweetwa, MP, to have been out of order, in breach of parliamentary privilege, and in contempt of the House. In view of the foregoing, I have decided to admonish him in accordance with section 28 (1) (b) of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act, Cap 12 of the Laws of Zambia. 

 

I will now address you, Mr C Mweetwa, MP. 

Mr C Mweetwa, MP, your description of her Honour the Vice-President as ‘shallow and shameful’, amounted to a personal attack on Her Honour the Vice-President.  This is because the words “shallow’ and ‘shameful’ were deployed to describe Her Honour the Vice-President.  And in view of the positions she holds as Vice-President of the Republic of Zambia, and Leader of Government Business in the House, your description of her, as ‘shallow’ and ‘shameful’, were demeaning and highly disrespectful.  As a long-serving Member of this August House, it is most unfortunate that you conducted yourself in the manner you did.  And your misconduct has the potential of lowering the integrity and decorum of the House. As a Honourable Member, your conduct should be above reproach, both in and outside the House. The House is, in this regard, extremely displeased with your conduct.  I expect that, in future, you will abide by the rules of this House and avoid such misconduct.  A repetition of such misconduct will definitely attract a stiffer penalty.

 

I THANK YOU

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