Africa-Press – Zambia. Zambia has a long history of peaceful civic action. The Oasis Forum marched during the Chiluba third term saga. Citizens protested Bill 10 under President Edgar Lungu. Students, churches and trade unions have taken to the streets at different moments of national strain. Protest is not a crime. It is a constitutional right. President Hakainde Hichilema should allow the November 28 demonstration to proceed without intimidation. A democracy that fears citizens on the street is a fragile democracy in.
The second reality is equally important. The constitutional amendment process attracted thousands of submissions from citizens, civil society, traditional leaders and institutions. The technical committee travelled to all provinces. They held meetings at provincial centres. They entered chiefdoms. They met churches and local organisations.
People who wished to speak spoke. People who wished to refuse also refused. That is democracy. But refusal to participate cannot be a passport to suspend the process or erase the voices of those who engaged in good faith.
Some faith leaders and activists now demand that Bill 7 be withdrawn because they chose not to participate. That argument is hollow. The window for submissions closed. The technical committee completed its work. What remains is simple. Publish the submissions. Table the bill in Parliament. Let the elected representatives vote for or against it. The country cannot set a precedent where those who boycott a process gain the power to annul it.
This is why the Home Affairs Minister’s warnings sound misplaced. Jack Mwiimbu says protests will divide the nation. In truth, his statement only paints the government as defensive and insecure. The President has invited the organisers for dialogue. That is the correct approach. No police threat, no moral scolding and no public sermon will build trust. Trust is built by transparency.
Publish the report. Present the bill. Allow protest. Allow debate. Allow Parliament to do its work.
The opponents of Bill 7 must also prove their central claim. They insist the amendments favour President Hichilema. They warn that elections will be delayed. They tell citizens that the President will gain two extra years. These warnings have circulated for months without a single clause being quoted to substantiate them.
Zambia deserves serious arguments, not fear packaged for illiterate consumption. If the bill gives Hichilema an advantage, opponents must show the clause, the line and the legal path. Anything less is political theatre.
The government also carries blame. The communication around Bill 7 has been weak. The timeline never looked credible. No technical committee can analyse thousands of submissions in weeks. The process was allowed to lose public confidence when transparency should have been the default. The administration must fix this by publishing the submissions and explaining how the committee handled them. Silence has created suspicion.
Only openness will cure it.
Civil society and the clergy also hold responsibility. Highly placed sources say the Oasis Forum is ferrying people from the northern circuit for the November 28 protest. While this remains unverified, it raises uncomfortable questions. If outrage is genuine, citizens come on their own. When protests require logistics from faraway regions, it begins to look less like a public uprising and more like political mobilisation with a moral badge. That perception, whether accurate or not, damages the credibility of the message.
The next step is clear. Let the march proceed. Let the President host the dialogue. Let the submissions be published. Let Bill 7 be tabled in Parliament. Let MPs debate it. Let the country see who stands for what. Zambia cannot afford a culture where any group that refuses to engage declares a national veto. That path will destroy reform, paralyse governance and turn every future amendment into a street contest.
The Constitution belongs to all citizens, not to one church, one forum, one faction or one administration.
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