The response from Lusaka Province Minister Bowman Lusambo following his 30-day suspension from the National Assembly is not only an insult to Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini, but also a disgrace to President Edgar Lungu and an indictment on the people of Kabushi constituency for their choice of leader.

Just to refresh memories; in October last year, Roan member of parliament Chishimba Kambwili reported to the Speaker that Mr Lusambo slapped him outside the chambers of the House. Mr Kambwili claimed that the unprovoked Lusambo followed him to where he was chatting with then Foreign Affairs minister Harry Kalaba and slapped him twice for making accusations against President Lungu and the PF government.

Considering that Mr Lusambo had ganged up with his Mandevu Constituency counterpart Jean Kapata to harass Mr Kambwili, the Speaker expressed concern that the ‘Honourable’ members were turning the House into an arena of fists of fury.

On Tuesday March 20, 2018 Dr Matibini delivered a strong verdict against Mr Lusambo, having found him guilty of misconduct, and ordered him to reflect on his behaviour.

“I request you to reflect on your conduct, more so as a minister, and I truly trust that you change and conduct yourself in a manner befitting an honorable member and minister… I now order you Mr Lusambo, honourable MP to take the walk of shame and leave the Chamber through the main entrance on 30 days suspension with effect from today 20th March to 13th April 2018,” said Speaker Matibini.

We called ‘Honourable’ Lusambo immediately after he walked out of the Parliament building to ask him if he regretted his conduct. In a loud and confident voice, the minister made it clear that he would slap Mr Kambwili again in defence of President Lungu.

“I don’t regret doing so, and that’s what I shall continue to do as long as I live. There is no way I am going to allow anyone to be disrespecting the President. I have nothing to reflect upon following this suspension. Even if it means dying for the President, I can die for him and I would be glad if I died while defending the legacy of a great leader. My loyalty has just increased from 112 per cent to 200 per cent. So its a plus for me,” said Mr Lusambo before going ahead to post the same reaction on his Facebook page.

Now, if the Speaker had asked Mr Lusambo to express his remorse before leaving the House, this is exactly what he would have said in his face. By saying the suspension was meaningless and that he could repeat his violent actions without any regret, Mr Lusambo was telling off Speaker Matibini that he had no powers to discipline him.

This behaviour is unacceptable of a minister and we commend President Edgar Lungu for not hesitating to rebuke the disgruntled MP. Who told Mr Lusambo that it’s part of his job description to beat those who accuse President Lungu of corruption? How does slapping Mr Kambwili translate into an act of protecting the Constitution? Surely, the people of Kabushi can do better than this.

For once, we commend President Lungu for realising that Mr Lusambo’s loyalty is ill motivated. The arrogance from Mr Lusambo had been worrisome for so long, especially because he has been using the name of the President to disobey orders and incite violence.

When President Lungu saw this bootlicker at a Chinese event, he wondered what he was doing there after being suspended from Parliament. Mr Lusambo thought it was just another ordinary bootlicking occasion, but the President was in a different mood. He knew that this minister’s image, especially given the disparaging remarks he made after his suspension, was not the best to associate with. For a long time now, Mr Lusambo has been taking away so much from the presidency.

In fact, just a few days ago Mr Lusambo’s dark deals were exposed by his own idiot-proof smartphone when he accidentally recorded himself giving a corrupt assurance to his Chinese accomplices. To mask his shame, this dirty minister quickly started talking about helping President Lungu using the flag… bla bla bla!

We encourage the Head of State to go further and summon Mr Lusambo so that he can explain what he was promising his Chinese friends using the flag and the President’s name. That is what it means to walk the talk on the fight against corruption.