Parliament denies VP impeachment plot
Parliament has dismissed reports that in its forthcoming ordinary meeting from July 18 to August 12 2022 impeachment of Vice-President Saulos Chilima for alleged involvement in corruption will be on agenda.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda described the reports as false, saying the matter was not even discussed on Wednesday at the Business Committee meeting, a forum chaired by the Speaker and comprises leaders of political parties.
In a telephone interview, Chimwendo Banda confirmed that the statement that went viral on the social media was issued by his office, but could not give further details.
Reads the statement: “I wish to inform the public that, for any business item to be considered by the House, it must be examined first by the Business Committee as per our Standing Orders. This includes both government and private members business.
“The Business Committee met on Wednesday June 29 2022 and I wish to state here that at no point did the impeachment of the Vice-President come up for discussion. No notice of such motion as required by our standing orders has either been lodged let alone discussed by the Business Committee.”
In the past weeks, there have been calls from some sections of society for Chilima to be impeached after an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) report linked him to alleged corrupt dealings with United Kingdom-based businessperson Zuneth Sattar.
But in a statement issued last week and signed by Office of the Vice-President director of communications Pilirani Phiri, Chilima denied that he corruptly benefitted from Sattar who is under investigation on corruption charges.
In an earlier interview, legal scholar Danwood Chirwa advocated for impeachment of the Veep, saying it is the most plausible process under the circumstances because criminal processes take long in the country and Presidents and Vice-Presidents do not get to be prosecuted.
Chirwa, a professor of law at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, said: “Impeachment is a political and legal process. The legal process allows for the presentation of evidence by the parliamentary prosecutor and challenge of that evidence by the accused public office holder.
The political process proceeds from consideration of the evidence presented and which has withstood scrutiny.”
But lawyer Justin Dzonzi, who is Justice Link executive director, told our sister newspaper Weekend Nation that impeachment would be premature at this stage.
Instead, investigations ought to be completed as a matter of urgency so that those mentioned and found wanting can be prosecuted while those cleared can be exonerated from any further public embarrassment.
