By Brian Matambo | Lusaka

Zambia was shaken on Sunday night after historian and governance scholar Dr Shiwasha delivered one of the most explosive allegations of the year. Speaking live during an interview, the respected academic laid out a detailed account of what he described as a coordinated attempt by the executive to buy the passage of Constitution Amendment Bill 7, an amendment he argues has repeatedly been rejected by the people and declared unconstitutional in its previous form.

Dr Shiwasha did not mince his words. He accused the presidency of being “desperate” to push the bill through Parliament before the House goes on recess on 5 December. According to him, the executive has already been approaching opposition and independent MPs with inducements meant to secure their votes for Bill 7.

The allegation was chilling. He claimed that at least ten MPs have already agreed to the arrangement, with more currently in negotiation. The alleged offer is simple. Three million kwacha, paid in two tranches, one and a half million before the vote and another one and a half million after the vote. Most shocking is Dr Shiwasha’s assertion that he spoke to some of these MPs directly and that they disclosed the details in confidence.

He went further. He said the bribery is not the only tool being used. Some MPs with prosecutable offences are allegedly being threatened with legal action unless they support the bill. Others are being pressured using long standing cases, disciplinary matters, or missteps in their constituencies. According to him, several MPs whom Zambians generally perceive as clean and principled have already been compromised.

Dr Shiwasha argued that the pattern reveals a deep rot. He believes the executive is exploiting internal factionalism within the Patriotic Front and using those divisions to target vulnerable MPs. He urged civil society and the public to confront this head on. His suggestion was blunt. Groups like OSF should present MPs with a public pledge to reject Bill 7. The MPs who refuse to sign will effectively expose themselves.

He raised an important point. Many PF MPs who have been very loud about internal party politics, including those endorsing Brian Mundubile, have not said a word about Bill 7. He asked why an MP who is willing to endorse a presidential hopeful cannot openly pledge to defend the Constitution. The silence, he argued, speaks volumes.

On the president’s recent suggestion that civil society groups should call off their planned protest and instead meet him at State House, Dr Shiwasha dismissed it as insincere. He believes the president cannot call for dialogue while still driving the technical committee toward tabling Bill 7 in Parliament before recess. He advised that the protest should proceed peacefully and that the president should address the petition only after it has been delivered.

If the allegation is true, the government has serious questions to answer. Ten MPs allegedly bribed at three million kwacha each, just to amend the nation’s supreme law, would be a scandal of historic proportions. The UPND government must come clean. Dr Shiwasha has placed the executive under the harshest light yet. The ball is now in their court.

If ever Zambia needed transparency, it is now.