Con Court Nullifies Lusambo’s Seat, Triggering By-Election

The Constitutional Court has stripped former Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo of his parliamentary seat after upholding a decision by the Ndola High Court which declared the election in Kabushi Constituency last August void.

In a ruling yesterday, Judge Palan Mulonda declared that Lusambo’s election had been marred with fraud and violence. She said that Ndola High Court Judge Edward Musona was right to attribute the attacks carried out by so-called ‘Nato’ cadres in the Skyways and Kabushi wards to Mr Lusambo.

Mr Musona previously said that Mr Lusambo, who has been nicknamed ‘the bulldozer’ for his aggressive campaigning tactics, was inseparable from the Nato cadres as they arrived in the same vehicle during campaigning.

Mr Lusambo was said to look ‘despondent’ as he left the courthouse yesterday morning. He has since said in Facebook post that he accepts the Constitutional Court’s decision but views the nullification of his seat as a minor setback.

“We full accept the outcome of the court process in the Kabushi election petition. We will use this period to restrategize and plan for the next stage of our political participation,” he wrote.

The violence in Kabushi constituency last August undermined what was otherwise a largely peaceful general election.

The case was first presented to Ndola’s high court last year by UPND candidate Bernard Kanengo, who told the court that he had been forced to hide in a mosque after Lusambo’s Nato forces chased after him. He also told the court that Lusambo’s supporters had poured hot porridge on UPND activists while campaigning in Masala.

The nullification of Mr Lusambo’s seat now paves the way for a by-election in Kabushi. The Electoral Commission of Zambia is yet to announce when this will take place.