By Brian Matambo | Lusaka

Fresh from a tense meeting at State House where she openly told President Hakainde Hichilema to withdraw Bill 7 and prioritise the Bill of Rights, Oasis Forum Chairperson Beauty Katebe has announced that the next phase of dialogue will involve a smaller, more focused negotiating team.

Her brief statement, delivered after the consultative meeting, comes on the heels of the earlier confrontation in which she sharply criticised the government’s constitutional amendment process and demanded that Bill 7 be taken off the table entirely.

“Thank you very much. Our submission at this stage is that we have held a prolonged dialogue aimed at ensuring a fair playing field. Both sides have presented their views,” Katebe said.

She explained that the next meeting, expected either tomorrow or the day after, will take place with reduced representation from both government and the Oasis Forum to allow for a clearer, more manageable discussion.

“The conclusion, for now, is that we will reduce the number of representatives from both sides who will attend the next meeting,” she said. “That is our conclusion at this point. Thank you.”

The shift signals a tightening of the negotiation structure as both parties attempt to break the deadlock surrounding Bill 7. In the earlier session, Katebe had delivered a forceful and widely noted intervention, warning that the constitutional process lacked legitimacy and demanding that the government restart it with legal safeguards and genuine inclusivity.

Her insistence that the Bill of Rights be prioritised has since set the tone for civic expectations, and the move to streamline the dialogue suggests the Oasis Forum intends to maintain clarity and discipline in the next round of talks.

The coming days will reveal whether the government is ready to move toward the reset that civil society has demanded, or whether the standoff over Bill 7 will deepen.

For now, the Oasis Forum’s message remains firm: the process must be corrected, the bill must be withdrawn, and the next meeting will be lean, targeted and decisive.