Impeachment process still alive says lawyer of MPs seeking to remove RB

The lawyer representing members of Parliament seeking the impeachment of President Rupiah Banda, Wynter Kabimba claims the delay to present the motion provides an opportunity for consultation. He also claims the process is still on course.

Kabimba said August 4 that as far as he was concerned, he had not received any information from his clients instructing him otherwise after they failed to lodge the motion within 14 days.

Kabimba on July 21 2009 wrote on behalf of Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND) pact MPs to National Assembly Speaker, Amusaa Mwanamwambwa giving a 14-day notice to present the motion of impeachment. The PF-UPND pact MPs were on August 4 supposed to present the motion for impeachment of Banda after the 14-day notice to the Speaker expired.

Kabimba said five members of the legal team were still consulting on the matter and they would soon meet to strategise. And on the expiry of the two-week notice,Kabimba said the notice was not mandatory as it was not a legal requirement. He said the notice was made out of courtesy and if he had wanted, he could have left it open-ended. He said the expiry of the notice had not affected the process.

On his involvement in the planned impeachment, Kabimba said he was engaged by the MPs as their counsel to ensure the motion was clear.