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Citizens First Party (CF) president, Harry Kalaba, has accused State House of exerting undue influence over Zambia’s three arms of government, compromising their independence and undermining their mandate to serve the public.
Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday at the CF Secretariat in Lusaka’s Woodlands area, Kalaba pointed to the denial of bail pending appeal for “political prisoners” as a blatant example of interference.
He claimed such actions were dictated by those in power, warning that this erosion of judicial independence could haunt the ruling administration in the future.
“The re-tabling of cases in the Constitutional Court by the outgoing UPND administration and the flip-flop judgments are eroding citizens’ confidence in the judiciary,” Kalaba said.
He cited the example of the ongoing case regarding ministers staying in office after the dissolution of Parliament, despite an earlier Constitutional Court ruling stating that ministers must first be Members of Parliament.
Turning to the legislature, Kalaba decried what he called “unprecedented dysfunction” in Parliament.
He highlighted the consistent failure to meet the minimum quorum of 59 members during consecutive sittings, a first in Zambia’s history.
On the relationship between the government and the Church, Kalaba urged the administration to embrace the clergy’s role in fostering unity.
He criticised the alleged harassment of religious leaders who expressed dissenting views, claiming they were being summoned by police and pressured to retract their sermons.
Kalaba also accused the UPND administration of fostering corruption, alleging rampant scandals and self-enrichment schemes.
He also alleged that abuses by the executive extended to procurement processes across ministries and government agencies.
“The UPND Secretariat has allegedly taken over the micromanagement of contracts to reward its supporters,” Kalaba said.
He further alleged that tenders awarded through proper channels were canceled if the bidding companies lacked connections to the ruling party, with contracts instead awarded through direct bidding—a process he described as opaque and prone to corruption.
Kalaba called on the government to restore the independence of Zambia’s institutions and address corruption, emphasizing the need for governance systems to function transparently and serve the interests of all Zambians.
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