In 1995, a court ruling on police permits in Zambia was made in the Supreme Court in the case of Christine Mulundika and 7 Others v The People.
The Court declared that the requirement in the Public Order Act for citizens to get a police permit before holding a public assembly or procession was unconstitutional.
In 1996, the Public Order Act (POA) was amended by changing words in sections 5 and 6 to attempt to capture views from the ruling in the Mulundika case.
Section 5(4) of the POA requires the convener of a public meeting, procession or demonstration to give the Police seven days’ prior NOTICE.
In the case of Law Association of Zambia v. the Attorney General (2016), the supreme court upheld that the amended POA (Post 1996) was not unconstitutional, provided that police did not abuse their power and that they facilitate public gatherings rather than denying citizens the right to assemble.
For democracy to thrive, citizens must be able to express their views on governance matters. This is where the right by citizens to freely associate, meet and interrogate matters affecting a country becomes necessary.
My expectation was that the Public Gatherings Bill (PGB) was going to emphasise the need for just NOTIFICATION. The bill before parliament has not captured the spirit of the 1995 court ruling.
Laws must be futuristic and as the country gets older, democracy demands that citizens are enabled by law to be able to convene and share ideas without needing police permits. Clause 8 of the Public Gatherings bill unfortunately gives powers to the police to approve holding of public gatherings.
Lastly, I do not support the current provision on the threshold of three (3) people for defining a public gathering.
The fact that three (3) is in the old Public Order Act does not mean it should be maintained in the new law to be enacted. The number should have been increased as submitted by citizens.
My appeal to His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema is NOT to sign the bill but instruct Ministry of Justice to allow for further refinements to capture all valid concerns from citizens of Zambia.
#ideasfordevelopment
Christopher kang’ombe
12.05.2026