Kafwaya Questions Legality of Dual Constitutional Processes, Demands Withdrawal of Bill 7
Lunte Member of Parliament Hon. Mutotwe Kafwaya has strongly criticized President Hakainde Hichilema’s decision to appoint a technical committee on constitutional amendments, describing the move as “strange” and an unprecedented violation of governance procedures.
In a statement issued on Friday, Kafwaya said the development amounts to running two parallel constitutional reform processes, one under the executive and another already before Parliament a situation he labelled as “madness in the governance process.”
“Yesterday, HH appointed a technical committee to consult the people on constitutional amendments. But there is a bill in the parliamentary process on constitutional amendments. The bill is called Bill 7 of 2025,” Kafwaya stated.
The lawmaker questioned whether such duplication of legislative work had ever been witnessed elsewhere in the world, insisting this was the first time he had encountered what he termed a blatant contradiction in Zambia’s governance system.
Kafwaya accused the executive of undermining Parliament by initiating a new process while Bill 7 a government-sponsored amendment bill remains before the parliamentary committee stage. He demanded the immediate withdrawal of Bill 7 if the executive is serious about starting afresh.
“It is impossible for the executive to start another bill creation on the same subject, especially because the existing Bill is also government sponsored and not a private member’s bill,” he argued.
The Patriotic Front lawmaker further likened the situation to “one person having two open graves in two different countries,” stressing that only one legitimate process should proceed.
“Withdraw Bill 7. That is the only way a new process can start,” Kafwaya reiterated.
These concern comes amid growing public distrust over constitutional reforms in Zambia, with critics warning that secretive or duplicative processes could erode transparency and accountability. Civil society, the opposition, and the Catholic Bishops have all raised alarm in recent weeks over the government’s handling of the controversial Bill 7.
©️ KUMWESU | October 3, 2025
Binwell Mpundu and Mutotwe Kafwaya are the dullest members of ever