Lawyer Mr Mark Simuuwe says video clips of President Hakainde Hichilema rejecting a third term are being shared out of context. He insists the President was speaking about the eligibility case of the late former President Edgar Lungu, not giving a final position on whether a leader may serve beyond two terms.

Mr Simuuwe supports changing the two-term rule. He said the Head of State had issued no statement on the matter, and that in any case the power to change the Constitution rests with Parliament, not the President.

The clips have spread widely on social media. They show Mr Hichilema on several occasions speaking against a third term, including remarks after the Lungu eligibility case about sticking to what the Constitution provides. Mr Simuuwe said the clips strip away the setting in which those words were spoken.

That setting, he explained, was the question of how long Mr Lungu would have stayed in office had he won in 2021. A term is understood to be five years, and he said Mr Lungu had already served about eight. Another victory would have kept him in power for 13 years, which Mr Simuuwe said would have created a constitutional crisis because the Constitution makes no room for a president to stay that long.

“We do not have such a provision in the Constitution,” he said.

It was against that prospect, the lawyer said, that Mr Hichilema and others took a stand against a third term at the time. In his view, those circulating the clips today have left that part out.

“So there was an argument and people have cut that part,” Mr Simuuwe said, referring to the position taken then against a third term.

Asked whether his own stand conflicts with the one the President has held since 2021, Mr Simuuwe said Mr Hichilema had not spoken on the question now before the public. More importantly, he said, the decision is not the President’s to make.

“President Hichilema has not issued any statement,” he said. “But at the same time we need to be very clear that the President does not make the Constitution in Zambia.”

That power, he said, lies with the legislature. He cited Article 62 of the Constitution, read together with Article 79, as the source of Parliament’s mandate to make and change laws.

“The Constitution or laws are made by Parliament, the legislature,” Mr Simuuwe said.

He was equally firm that the push for change is not coming from State House. It comes, he said, from people like himself and many others who believe that changing the two-term rule would settle a question Zambia has wrestled with for many years.

“It’s not about HH,” he said.

His central case is that a strict two-term limit can force the country to give up its strongest leader and settle for a weaker one. He said voters should be free to keep a leader they still want, rather than lose that person to a fixed limit.

“You flush out the best leader because of two terms. You end up with a very useless leader,” he said. “So if people still need that quality leader, they would still maintain that person.”

Mr Simuuwe said the principle behind his position was to write laws that serve the country long after those who propose them are gone, rather than rules built around any one individual.

“At the end of the day we need to make laws that will outlive all of us,” he said. “Laws that will help this country even when Mark is gone. That’s the principle.”

He added that Zambia would not be breaking new ground, pointing to other countries that have already changed their rules on presidential tenure.

“Our colleagues are changing, so it’s not harmful that we are moving in the direction of what other countries are doing,” he said.

The President has yet to speak on the matter. Mr Simuuwe says any change to presidential term limits would have to begin in Parliament.

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Hot this week

Zambia Ready To Sign US$1.5 Billion US Health Deal After Specimen-Sharing Clause Is Dropped October 6, 2026 1 Zambia is set to sign a five-year, US$1.5 billion... Headlines

Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say Solwezi Venue Blocks Their Witnesses October 6, 2026 0 Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say... General News

Kasenengwa CDF projects progressing well October 6, 2026 0 The implementation of projects under the 2026 Constituency Development... Rural News

Mkushi child rights committees trained on abuse cases October 6, 2026 0 Lifeline Childline Zambia in partnership with Strategic Youth Organization... General News

Corruption hinders Zambia’s development agenda- AAC October 6, 2026 0 Alliance Against Corruption (AAC) Executive Director Noel Chisebe says...

Topics

Zambia Ready To Sign US$1.5 Billion US Health Deal After Specimen-Sharing Clause Is Dropped 1 Zambia is set to sign a five-year, US$1.5 billion... Headlines

Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say Solwezi Venue Blocks Their Witnesses 0 Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say... General News

Kasenengwa CDF projects progressing well 0 The implementation of projects under the 2026 Constituency Development... Rural News

Mkushi child rights committees trained on abuse cases 0 Lifeline Childline Zambia in partnership with Strategic Youth Organization... General News

Corruption hinders Zambia’s development agenda- AAC 0 Alliance Against Corruption (AAC) Executive Director Noel Chisebe says... General News

Nyimba Teachers’ union calls for boy child retention programme 0  Nyimba District Teachers’ Union Representative, Wilson Kombani has called... General News

Zambia open for Investment in Timber 0 The government has underscored the need to unlock Zambia's... General News

ZANEC lobbies for improved teacher welfare 0 The Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has called for...

Related Articles

Zambia Ready To Sign US$1.5 Billion US Health Deal After Specimen-Sharing Clause Is Dropped

Mundubile, Makebi Want Sedition Trial Moved To Lusaka, Say Solwezi Venue Blocks Their Witnesses Headlines October 6, 2026

Electronic voting: Africa should take a leaf from Brazil

Kasempa electoral officer calls for peace during nominations

Mpika electoral officer calls for by-election compliance

Popular Categories