. Zaloumis

By CHILA NAMAIKO –
THE Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has called for support for the proposed amendments to the Bill of Rights during the referendum, saying it will consequently lead to improved service delivery in the country.
Meanwhile, a Lusaka lawyer Mwangala Zaloumis said the State had not guaranteed gay rights in the Bill of Rights, which will be held alongside the general elections on August 11.
LAZ vice-president Eddie Mwitwa was confident that the Bill of Rights would enhance access to justice and compensation among persons in wrongful detention.
Mr Mwitwa called for support for the referendum, saying apart from the new civil and political rights, the proposed Bill of Rights would bring economic, social and cultural rights which the people of Zambia needed.
He was speaking during a LAZ and Zambia Elections Information Centre (ZEIC)-sponsored public fora on the 2016 referendum held at the National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) in Lusaka on Thursday evening.
LAZ has in the past objected to the country holding the referendum alongside the general elections because of the short time before the elections and the way in which the referendum question had been phrased.
Mr Mwitwa said voting ‘yes’ in the referendum would entail that the people of Zambia have access to improved sanitation, health, education and respect for human dignity.
He said the document would promote more access to justice as in some cases a suspect could be in detention for a long time without charge, and that the Bill of Rights would empower such vulnerable persons to sue the State.
Ms Zaloumis said that article 47 of the Bill of Rights stipulateed that a person that had attained the age of marriage should be married to a partner of the opposite sex and ruled out the possibility of the document promoting homosexuality.