Hichilema in Mnangagwa’s footsteps on office term extension

**LUSAKA-(MaraviPost)-**Zambia’s Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha says the country should allow open debate on whether presidential term limits should remain, saying time will determine whether removing the limit is necessary.

Speaking on the Zambia YMCA Podcast on Saturday, Kabesha said laws are meant to evolve as society changes, and that public discussion on the Constitution should not be shut down.

“Laws must be changing all the time, even if we like saying it should stand the test of time. Time changes every day. Things and circumstances change, the people change,” he said.

He was responding to questions about growing calls from within the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) for President Hakainde Hichilema to remain in office beyond his current mandate, which ends in 2031.

Kabesha said if citizens demand constitutional change, their voices should be heard, but added that any decision would have to be assessed against current circumstances. He also asked Zambians to consider whether they were satisfied with the amendments recently passed under Constitution Amendment Bill No.7.

Under Article 106(3) of Zambia’s Constitution, a person who has twice held office as President is not eligible for election again. Hichilema was sworn in for his second five-year term on September 1 after winning the August 13 election, making the 2026-2031 period his final term under the current law.

Background: Where the calls are coming from

The debate over a third term has emerged just weeks into Hichilema’s second term, driven largely by statements from UPND-aligned figures.

The most public call came from UPND nominated Member of Parliament Florence Chileshe Chama, who said in a video circulated on September 21 that women wanted Hichilema to continue beyond 2031. “As women in Zambia, we want development, we don’t want democracy,” she said in the clip that sparked national controversy.

She was joined by political commentator and UPND supporter Chilufya Tayali, who has openly advocated for scrapping the limit. Tayali argues that the ten-year cap creates instability because presidents spend their first term organizing government and their second implementing programs, only to leave.

UPND official Michael Chuzu offered a different justification on television, claiming Hichilema was completing the political legacy of the late party founder Anderson Mazoka and would therefore start his own terms in 2031.

Other voices have added momentum. Sikongo UPND MP Mayungo Simushi described Hichilema as a “rare gem” who deserves more than two terms, while UPND Media Director Mark Simuuwe has defended the debate, saying: “If Zambians want it, allow them to debate the term limit. Don’t stop the debate.”

The remarks have prompted State House to intervene. Chief Communications Specialist Clayson Hamasaka last week dismissed the third-term talk as a distraction from the development agenda, saying President Hichilema will not govern based on social media commentary. The UPND secretariat has also said there is no official party or government proposal to remove term limits.

Bill 7 and the fear factor

The discussion is sensitive because it follows the recent passage of Constitution Amendment Bill 7 of 2025, which increased constituencies from 156 to 211, introduced a mixed-member proportional representation system, and removed the two-term limit for mayors and council chairpersons.

Government insisted Bill 7 did not touch presidential term limits. However, critics note that it passed with 135 votes in a House where the UPND enjoys a large majority, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for constitutional change. Civil society groups argue that shows how quickly limits could be removed if there was political will.

Governance activists including Brebner Changala and Mulenga Kapwepwe, Senior Chief Musokotwane, and opposition leader Antonio Mwanza have warned against a third-term agenda, saying Zambians have rejected extended tenure before and will not tolerate a return to one-party style rule.

Mwanza said the President could end the speculation by publicly reaffirming his long-held position against a third term, as he did during the debate over former President Edgar Lungu’s eligibility.

For now, Kabesha maintains that any future amendment, including on presidential tenure, would have to follow the full constitutional process, including public participation and parliamentary approval, and not come through political statements alone.

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