By Brian Matambo | Lusaka, Zambia

Honorable Brian Mundubile made an appearance on Emmanuel Mwamba Verified tonight, 4 December 2025, and addressed the elephant in the room, Bill 7. His message was unambiguous. In law, he said, the Bill is already dead, but its ghost continues to stalk Parliament through a process he described as unconstitutional, politically reckless and dangerously dishonest.

Mundubile’s argument rested on the Constitutional Court ruling that invalidated the process leading to Bill 7. According to him, once the Court pronounced itself, the Bill ceased to exist. Yet the Speaker allowed it to be re-tabled, and a technical committee appointed by President Hakainde Hichilema went around the country carrying the same clauses under a different cover. For Mundubile, this was not consultation but an attempt to resuscitate the dead Bill 7.

He traced the origins of the crisis to the President’s public declarations on Women’s Day in Kasama and later in Mongu, where he claimed to have agreed with women and youths to amend the Constitution. No national dialogue, no roadmap and no legal framework accompanied the announcement. Instead, Zambians woke up to a document that Mundubile said was drafted at State House and presented to the public as a finished product.

This controversy has intensified since the Oasis Forum accepted an invitation to State House. The Forum had held a prayer rally against Bill 7, mobilised faith leaders, and prepared for a peaceful march. Many hoped the President’s invitation signalled a willingness to ease national tension. Instead, the meeting exposed the widening gulf between State House and the public mood. The President discouraged protest and urged patience, but within days it became clear that the process was moving forward exactly as before. Beauty Katebe, the Oasis Forum Chairperson, later confirmed that there was no agreement and that fundamental differences remained unresolved.

Callers on the programme reflected the same frustration. One insisted that Bill 7 was a matter of national survival and urged MPs to show courage equal to that of the country’s freedom fighters. Another warned that if the Bill reaches a vote on the floor of the House, it will pass, especially in a Parliament where the ruling party is close but not quite at the two thirds threshold. Several callers raised concerns that some opposition MPs may already have been compromised, prompting Mundubile to confirm that he convened an urgent meeting with PF lawmakers to warn against any betrayal. He said he is engaging members privately and has been assured by many that they will not support the Bill.

The programme also revisited the President’s recent complaint that critics oppose him because of where he comes from. Mundubile dismissed this as self pity, reminding viewers that President Edgar Lungu once received less than 300 votes in Dundumwezi yet never accused residents of hating him. He said a leader who was elected by millions cannot claim to be unloved by the same people four years later.

Throughout the interview, Mundubile tied the constitutional crisis to the country’s deteriorating economic conditions. He cited crippling load shedding, unpaid farmers, collapsing small businesses and miners resigning due to poor conditions. In his view, the government has chosen to pursue an unnecessary constitutional amendment at a time when families, students and enterprises are buckling under an economic burden they did not create.

He also acknowledged the internal challenges within the Patriotic Front and said senior members were working on reconciliation and preparing for a convention. At the same time, he assured supporters that the PF remains the only party with national structures strong enough to confront the ruling party in 2026. Decisions, he said, will be made soon.

In closing, Mundubile pledged to lead the fight against Bill 7 within Parliament and to ensure that every MP understands the long term danger of the proposed changes. He called on citizens, churches and civic groups to remain vigilant, insisting that the Constitution belongs to the people and not to any President.

His final message was sharp. Bill 7 is legally dead, morally bankrupt and politically corrosive. The legitimacy of Zambia’s democracy, he said, depends on whether Parliament respects the people or chooses to serve the ambitions of the Executive.