Sangwa says HH swearing-in of some appointed ministers is illegal: I disagreeDear Editor,STATE Counsel John Sangwa is reported on Diamond TV saying it is illegal for President Hakainde Hichilema to swear-in ministers he has appointed to run ministries that have not yet been approved by Parliament.He is also reported to have said that the President will have to swear-in the ministers again after the ministries are approved by Parliament.I disagree with this argument. I think that Mr Sangwa’ argument is flawed on the following ground:The Constitution in Article 116 (1) empowers the President “to appoint a prescribed number of Members of Parliament as Ministers.”As can be clearly seen from the Article 116(1) above, it never makes reference to any ministry. It only makes reference to prescribed number of members of Parliament.Therefore, the first question that begs an answer is: are the appointed persons ministers? If the answer is “yes,” then all of them qualify to […]
Sangwa says HH swearing-in of some appointed ministers is illegal: I disagree
