AKASHAMBATWA Mbikusita-Lewanika has said that UPND president Hakainde Hichilema should not use the Barotseland issue to canvass for votes ahead of the 2016 general elections.
In a statement released to the media yesterday in Lusaka, Mbikusita-Lewanika said that such promises were a forked hook for fishing Barotse votes.
He said it had become a trend by politicians seeking the highest office in the land to use the Barotseland agreement as a bait to win votes on the pretext that it would be recognised.
Below is the full statement
PRESS RELEASE
YES TO HH CAMPAIGN, BUT NO TO BAROTSELAND ISSUE AS ZAMBIAN ELECTION DOOR MAT
The reported response to statement on my facebook page neither addresses nor disagrees with the issue I raised. Instead, it restates the usual personal attacks and misrepresentation of what is said.
Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and UPND have my good wish in the Zambian election campaign. But let us restate the points I raised, whose message is simply that the Barotseland issue is too serious to continue being used as a Zambian election door mat.
1. I pray that we shall not continue to entertain campaigners for personal or partisan political offices to playing and cheating over Barotseland. Aka or no aka, someone has responded that “Barotseland should not be used as a doormat for entry into Zambia’s State House.”— This is my prayer; I do not purport to command how/whether it is answer. This is up to the Barotse people, authorities and organisations, who have their own representatives, and among whom I do not count myself.
2. During the run up to President Kaunda taking over as Zambia’s Prime Minister-cum-President and UNIP forming government, they signed the Barotseland Agreement 1964, only to abrogate and dishonestly condemn it. Aka or no Aka this is a statement of fact, and proof of it is available and it is condemnable! Therefore, is stand by it
3. During 1991 presidential and parliamentary election campaign President Kenneth Kaunda promised (in a formal letter to the Litunga Yeta the Fourth) to solve the Barotseland issue and even pay for Barotse Government lawyers, but only to continue criminalizing even speaking about the Agreement. Aka or no Aka this is a statement of fact, and proof of it is available and it is condemnable! Therefore, is stand by it
4. During the 2011 elections President Michael Sata promised (in public rally and mass media) to restore the Barotseland, Agreement, only to contemptuously renegade and turn Barotseland into an armed police state with never ending arrests and judicial terrorism against even children. Aka or no Aka this is a statement of fact, and proof of it is available and it is condemnable! Therefore, is stand by it
5. Now, during the already set electioneering and in the midst of chaos caused by taxi drivers offered free fuel by a campaigning presidential candidate and his political party, it is reported that there is campaign promise to solve the Barotseland issue!! Of this statement it was reported, subject to confirmation, that a presidential candidate and his political party, it is reported that there is campaign promise to solve the Barotseland issue. I did not in my statement name the presidential candidate or the political party – because there was a possibility that the reports may not have been accurate.
But, as it is said, “Impila ya Mushi…..!” (Unless one is the addressee, one does not answer to public address accusations!) Now, the Barotse Post has since posted that “Zambia’s United Party for National Development president Hakainde Hichilema is reported to have … promised to find a lasting solution to the Barotseland question when UPND and forms government in 2016 if elected in the Zambian presidential and general election”
And the open letter addressed to me has stated that “there is nothing wrong with Mr. Hichilema stating that a long lasting solution should be found for the people of western province”
I agree, just as I agree with anyone stating that a long lasting solution should be found for the people of Palestine or for people living with cancer. My concern is with the reported statement that this lasting solution is for “when UNDP forms government in 2016 if elected in the Zambian presidential and general election.” On my part, the statement is alright if it is honestly not tied to anyone being voted to form government or winning election, and not a forked hook for fishing Barotse votes.
AKASHAMBATWA MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA, Namishukwe House, Malo Maya Homestead, Liambai Road, Mongu-Lealui,
Well said Aka.Tell off that opportunist.
True Aka, valid points you have raised. We are sick and tired of hearing Barotse this, Barotse that. We need peace in our country.
@Saulosi the pf vuvuzela and bembahard core tribalist what do you have to say on this,
European Union Budget Support Group will significantly reduce their funding to Zambia due to poor financial and monetary policies.
The trouble with African politicians is that they are too desperate for votes such that they end up making promises they can`t keep.At the end of the day it is the gullible masses that ends up being duped.
Desperate act from a desperate man.Leave my barotse alone you mabbisi man.It won’t give you our votes.Sell us your proper party vision and not promising us its restoration.HH you are a joke.
# 1.2 Saulosi
You mean the way Sata and his PF duped gullible Zambians? Anyway any con man who has been in the game for a long time will tell you one thing that is certain: there is no peace in the hearts of con men. They are always afraid of their shadows, always looking behind their shoulders and even hiring a ton of armies to just protect their ill gotten status. That is why the POA is being abused, private radio stations told not to host opposition leaders, the police raped, the judiciary distorted and parliament turned into a circus club..all signs are there to see.
But guess what, there is a God who oversees the affairs of men and he will never grant peace to anybody that DUPES the innocent masses. You can bank on that.
HH the most desperate man in town.Wajanta ngombe iwe.
Aka is not being honest & sincere and must not use emotions to deceive the nation at large.
Aka was a founding member of MMD & eventually a cabinet minister. In which country was he cabinet minister together with others like Arthur Wina, sikota wina Nakatindi wina etc?
what did he do about the barotse issue? NOTHING!! Because he was enjoying the benefits of being in what he can now arrogantly and contemptuously call Zambian govt. There is only one Zambia and western province is and integral part of it.
I am not UPND but let them campaign even in western province and lie as much as they want to whoever can listen to them.
Aka must not pretend to talk heartily about the issue now but kept quiet when he had many opportunities to help resolve the matter
Aka is simply a…
HH never mentioned anything about the BRE . He is campaigning using the cost of living crisis, reckless spending, PF monkeying around as defined by one luapula premier, abrogation of freedoms and human rights. AKA should go back and read HH’s message again.
HH is not stupid like Sata who promised the lozis to honour the BRE only to swallow his vomit later . His message is clear that he wants BRE to be part of a Zambia where no one is above the law and distribution of government high posts is done fairly so that each tribe and province is represented. HH, me and most Zambian do like a situation where only one tribe(Bemba) qualifies to hold well paying government job at all levels of government.
Tribalism is major contributing factor to the down fall of PF.
Viva UPND and HH.
@Gen. You’re an !diot. You read the statement by Aka and understand where he is coming from. He has told off politicians to stop campaigning in Western Province using the Barotse issue. He founded MMD and he never made an issue of the Barotse Agreement. The person who started making $itupidi Barotse Agreement was KK. Next we had Sata in 2011. And now we hear it is HH. And Aka is simply telling you to stop the rubbish. And I agree with him.
You are talking about BA64 when the rumour has it that Sata is in a Coma.(Source State house)
Campaigns should be based on issues and for western province the main issue is Barotse Agreement. Aka may not agree but there will be a lot of lozis wanting to hear HH’s and Nevers’ plan on Barotse Agreement in the same way Tongas want to hear HH’s plans on ndekete (cattle killing diseases)
MMD, the only party never to have used Barotseland as a door mat to plot 1 is coming back into power in 2016 or even way before that as things are moving now.
Currently the country has practically no Head of State, Statehouse has been turned into a ZOO for the once most deadly snake AKA King Cobra, to ever grace the Zambia political scene. Only foreign dignitaries are allowed to visit the state house ZOO and see the toothless cobra. They are not allowed to take pictures, though.
I actually hear that nobody is now even allowed to take pictures of our once mighty Cobra. I pitty the so called Presidential Photograhers, no jobs to do with new orders.
These are interesting times indeed. Can’t wait for MMD to bring back sanity to the presidency.
You may have scored some good sucesses in the past BUT it’s too early for the Zambian people to forget the rampant curruption that characterized you reign.Don’t live in the past.Dwell in the present.What can a divided and corrupt MMD promise the people of Zambia come 2016?
I agree with most of the stuff that you said—— but not the MMD coming back, because it will never happen.
MMD can’t bounce back to power unless Zambians are stupid.
Bo Aka, you state facts very well but i guess i have to ask you a few questions also:
1. if HH/UPND want to find a sustainable solution to the BA64, how do you think they can address it unless they were in government. dont you think you require instruments of power to address this issue, what then is wrong with making it a campaign issue? i guess its up to the barotse to ask HH/UPND to sign an agreement that clearly states what that solution will be once they vote for him. i find it right and in order for him to make it a campaign issue. the wrong thing is using it to ascend to power but renegade on the promise and thats why he and his party need to sign a solution road map at least.
2. you were part of the MMD, correct me if i am wrong but i never heard heard you talk this issue WHY…
Well said fellow Zambian! As I was reading Aka’s open letter, I wondered how he, HH or any other well meaning Zambian would address the Barotse agreement without instruments of power. Let him address it from where he stands without asking to be voted into position where he could influence the laws of Zambia. Reading such garbage from an educated fellow just leaves our country to viable solution since even such a fellow who I expect to know how things are handled, doesn’t get it? Why are we like this folks? This is deep in most well educated fellow who bury their heads in the sand knowing very well we’re on steep downward spiral with moronic leaders like the ba kateka of today. Be honest to yourself before you try to say crap that offers no solution to the masses of Zambia, Lozis too!!!
@Ine Wine, Yes Aka was part of the MMD actually he founded the MMD. And you’re asking him why you never heard him talk about the issue…….Dear Ine Wine which part of Aka’s statement didn’t you understand.? Hasn’t he told you that the issue is not a doormat for political office? KK used it in 1990. Sata used it in 2011. And now we have UPND making the same noises. In 2011 when Sikota Wina, Christopher Mundia, Malimba Masheke et al admonished Sata to stop making promises about the Barotse issue which he would never deliver the same crowd to which you belong came out calling them names. And history has absolved them. They were right. And now you are back to doing the same things!
Aka Pulize just shut the hell up! We all know the status of your bank account,where we’re you when Charles Mwango was promising heaven on earth to your so called barotseland? Oh by then you were employed…..
Shut up! He’s told off Kk, HH and Sata. And he’s pointed out that Sata Is a liar who has since turned Western Province in a police state. Does this sound like somebody who’s looking for a ngwee from Sata to you? Go back to school moron and tell your stupidi politicians to shut up about Barotseland. Read and comprehend sucker!
How about You just keep quiet when you having nothing sensible to say? Your rant is not making any sense.
@ #1 Saulosi,
Well, HH may be an opportunist but Aka has also told off and exposed the tyrannical ailing renegade in state house ‘who has turned Barotseland into an armed police state with never ending arrests and judicial terrorism against even children’.
I feel pity for aka for I thought he was a very educated person but I ‘ve proved otherwise. the statement is very simple. UPND will want to sort out the barotse problem once and for all and not restoring it. how dull are some people? and why should it be aka’s concern what his brothers and sisters decide who to listen to? they are free to make their own decisions based on the sincerity of the person talking to them. aka just do your things and stop acting “know it all approach” you were in govt for many years yet did nothing for the lozis only to remember them when you got fired by pf
@Matipa
Excellent comment just there.
@Matipa, how is the UPND going to sort out the issue by NOT restoring it? If I follow your logic then KK, Chiluba, Mwanawasa and Sata have already SOLVED the BAROTSE AGREEMENT ISSUE because they have NEVER RESTORED IT! It is very 1diotic then for the UPND to promise to solve a problem that does not exist. Between Aka’s advice to politicians and your illogical statement it is Aka who makes a lot of sense.
Just look at their kind: they criticise PF for not being tolerant to divergent views, but they can’t stomach constructive criticism which has no malice whatsoever. This is what is k!illing this country… bring in the UPND there will be no difference, it will be more of the same (‘cadreising’). Apparently their chosen man is a god who can never do wrong. We saw it during UNIP, we saw it during MMD, we are seeing it during PF and we shall see it in future.
I don’t understand why apparently men and women who are supposed to think independently reduce themselves to hero-worshippers. Why isn’t it difficult to see that HH is trying to milk and take advantage of the Barotseland’64 issue? If he was genuine enough, he would be discussing this issue in private with the BRE
Mr.AKA I find it incoceivable for you to suggest that HH or UPND must find a lasting solution to the Barotse agreement when still in opposition.Just tell us how?Your party for your information is the one that made those empty promises.Now since you are concerned about your people,tell your boss to fulfil the promise first.
Your party nearly stopped HH from entering the province and now he can’t even appear on radio shows because your beloved party SIR has banned the opposition from doing that.
Mr.AKA just stop displaying your jealous and haterd for HH.He is not the one who fired you from TAZARA!
Since when has AKA been a member of PF? This is beyond $tupidi because Aka’s statement also attacks Sata and his PF and the way they have turned Western Province into a police state. I used to think that only PF had 1diotik cadres. Seems the disease also afflicts UPND cadres. Aka was never fired at TAZARA. He was appointed TAZARA MD by Rupiah Banda sometime in 2010. In 2011 when PF came to power AKA requested to be relieved his position but Sata insisted he finish his 3 year contract. He finished his contract last year. Aka’s request to step down was in the news. And where did you stuff your empty head to have missed this?.
Ka HH is free to use barotse issue . Its up to his trible cousins to believe or not. Sata use the barotse issue . So whats the big deal.
Bo Aka – where were you all this long? are you fighting invincible battles? may be because the Litunga sent his people to rescue HH from the police and so you think the litunga is pro UPND? wait till 2016 PF will cry in WP i can assure you. they played with BA64 instead of seizing the opportunity to address it once and for all but chose to politik with the issue and see where we are now. a solution being talked about here is to dialogue and coming to terms with where we are. we have intermarried on one hand but also the poverty in WP is pathetic. so how do you address these issues. for me this is what is required. we are hoping this issue will go away but it seems the more we try to cover it the more it is brooding.
I salute AKA for making One Zambia One Nation a reality. I takes a lot of courage and conviction. Make a difference and make a dream come true!
Leave HH alone please.
You are using mongu address, are you even there though? Instead of taking on HH, why don’t you take on the person who promised to restore the agreement in 90 days? stop being an opportunist you iddiott.just ask for a job in another way.we shall see what you will be saying after 2016.good luck to you.
You’re the id.iot . Aka lives in Mongu. How is Aka asking for a job from Sata when Sata has been attacked in the same statement with HH and KK over the same Barotse issue? You’re an imbecile. Go back to school and improve your reading skills.
@ Goncalves
panyo paba mai bako iddiott.you are as dull as the monument in state house or that failure who calls himself aka.viva HH
Only the man/woman who wields the instruments of power can make a meaningful resolution to the resolution of the Barotse issue. Not Parliament, not the opposition not the Chief Justice…Surprising Aka misses theb point
why should you’ll be tired barotseland issue after locking in innocent souls for claiming what belongs them.better shut up if you don’t know something at stake
Mr. Aka please stop muzzling HH. He is free to air his views, besides he is campaigning to be president, shouldn’t he be allowed to talk to the electorate about issues affecting them? Why do we in Zambia have this narrow way of looking at things? Because Sata fu!cked all of us doesn’t mean HH will repeat the same.
AkA,WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THESE YEARS ONLY TO REALIZE NOW THAT HH IS CHEATING THE BAROTSE PEOPLE?THE PROBLEM WITH YOU LOZI PEOPLE IS THAT YOU THINK YOU ARE SUPERIOR THAN ANY TRIBE IN ZAMBIA,THAT IS WHY POLITICIANS WILL KEEP ON CHEATING YOU.AS FOR THE BAROTSE ISSUE ITS A DEAD AND BURIED ISSUE AND NO SANE POLITICIAN WILL EVER RECOGNIZE IT.ITS A WASTE OF TIME AND RESOURCES,LEARN TO LIVE WITH OTHER TRIBE IN HARMONY.
PF used Barotse issue to buy votes and the Westerners have regretted bitterly. I want to say HH will use Barotse to unite Zambians throughout. I know it is not right to talk about it but the truth still stands that PF cheated them and let not AKa pretend as if he does not know anything. I address AKA as a coward man in a way that he has no wisdom to solve the issue for his own people.
@sena go to the electrol commission and check if western province voted for PF AS YOU put it.Aka is simply asking HH to market himself using developmental plans not barotse 1946 which they have heard so many times,he is fit to comment.
Aka`s statement is simply crap and hypocritical. Isn`t it true that the Lozi people want a lasting solution to the Barotse issue? Aka is simply a frustrated guy because some of the major ventures that he has attempted seem not to have gone well i.e. his Agenda for Zambia Party was a flop, his attempt to be Litunga failed, he was MD for Tazara, and he never succeeded there either. And now to see HH`s political fortunes rising, Aka does not feel good.
“…his attempt to be Litunga failed…”. Please stick to the things you know and never attempt to discuss succession issues you know nothing about. No one attempts to be the Litunga in Barotseland… you get selected by the Indunas and Chiefs. It’s not an easy task to be Litunga, people actually run and run very far away from it.
As for his other alleged failures, I don’t know… you may have a point but this man has achieved so much politically and contributed positively the Zambian politics better than many politicians alive today. In case you didn’t know he founded the MMD with Arthur Wina, long before FTJ and Sata jumped on the bandwagon using the formula they know best: deceipt, to dribble A. Wina off the presidency. He left MMD due to FTJ corruption.
HH can not win any general election, he only got 18% in 2011 election, if he increases the votes by 100 percent, he can only get 36 %, which is also impossible for him to achieve, but even with 36% thats not good enough for him to loose. HH and his group have been over rating themselves from way back
Walasa! Well put Mr. Aka. Bottom-line is that politicians need to stop using such a serious issue, that has potential to shed a lot of blood, so lightly. Let HH state exactly what UPND will do differently. This is no personal attack, neither is anyone stopping HH or other opposition leaders from campaigning in Barotseland. No need to be defensive for HH, like we see with PF. The good thing is that HH and his UPND have shown themselves to be more educated, level-headed and people-focused compared to PF. So let them and their supporters show that they can handle tough questions and intensive discussions about HH and UPND in general, with maturity, and objectivity. All cards on the table leading to 2016 so we can make informed decisions. Thanks AKA for taking on this controversial issue.
HH will sort out Barotse issue. It is only parties without a plan that have failed to do so. Nowonder they were all kicked out of power. There are many ways of satisfying the lozis. It can either be through creation of an autonomous region like Zanzibar; complete decentralization of all provinces, even complete cessation to mention just a few options. Trade offs will be done and the best option will be made. UNIP, MMD and PF just didnt want to think and solve the problem. It is very solvable with a sane leader.
AKA you are used to be given free and loose jobs. Manje njala yakunyokola and no job. Unya oilo. You kama account is dry. PF will NOT give you a loose job. Start applying for jobs and compete with others who are equally learned. Shaa!
This useless OLD failed pri.ck of a Politician called AKA needs to be told the truth and the Truth is that he is a disasterous loser and will always be BITTER.
Here are the FACTS about this UGLY, Lazy, FAT Devil called AKA:
1. Aka wanted to be the Litunga but was rejected – so hates the current Litunga
2. Aka even started working against the Litunga using RB but failed again!
3. Aka was an MP and Minister and did nothing for Lozis – he is lazy Old Arse!
4. Aka is now unemployed and suffering and needs a job badly!
5. But HH is already Super Rich and does not need any job so Aka is jelousy!!
6. HH is young, handsome and Rich and doesnt need politics to survive.
7. BUT Aka is an OLD, UGLY, Useless and an Envious Cashless Arsewhole.
He needs a job badly that is why he has attacked Sata, HH, and KK for using the Barotse issue as a doormat for political office! And you think you’re making sense? And you think that you’re going to convince us with your insults? Be reminded that it is this sort of nonsense from UPND supporters that led to your party losing ground in 2006. You are back to making the same mistake.
I keep reading that HH is the most educated Zambian according to some bloggers. Is he the standard of Zambian education? Economic first degree which almost every street Nigerian has obtained!!!!??? To me the most educated Zambian examples are the likes of Dr Kaseba who has made such an impact in her field of gynae health, Dr Dabinsa Moyo who is an internationally renown economist.
Anyway, this is Zambia, Africa where someone is deemed a better because of the degree etc not because of charisma and their ability to deliver. It is such a shame that even Sata can make fun of our opposition because it is a joke of who he was when in opposition.
How much money does Dr Dabmbisa Moyo has?
I have to agree with Aka on this one. I reckon every politician must be banned from talking about Barotseland Agreement 1964 when they enter that region to campaign.
As for the ZWD, I tried posting the following but obviously didn’t make it through on their blog… I created some F@cebook account so I can be posting on their facebook page which doesn’t seem to be censored.
I doubt your crusade to tarnish Aka’s image or Lubinda for that matter in the eyes of Lozis will have desirable effects. As I advised you in the comments you didn’t publish the other day over the Lubinda story, this may bo0mer@ng into your preferred candidate’s face.
Aka doesn’t need media coverage to defend his reputation, record and his service to Barotseland or this country, at least not in the eyes of a Bar0tse native anyway. He may have his weaknesses but the man has given so much to the country. New comer political pl@yers like Mr. H@kainde are reaping the benefits of Aka’s political services. He formed the M.M.D and introduced the multiparty polical system we have today (along with the late Arthur W!na), risking everything against that worst d!ctat0r…
…this country has even seen. You think S@ta is the worst ever, ask the families of those political 0pp0nents who disappeared over the years at the instigation of K@und@.
As someone pointed out the other day, to argue H_H may care more about Bar0tsel@nd than natives like Aka is a b00l or unbelievable rubb!sh.
My advice is for you to stop picking up on everybody who has a different opinion from your beloved man as you may be left with no friends. The likes of Aka have independent minds that makes him speak as he sees it. Someone said he was still p00r even after serving in govt, well yes he served the people, not to enrich himself as the rest do. You may need some friends from the West if you were to topple the regime of S@ta…
…history of this country shows you can’t have any meaningful political change without the people from the West (Barotseland), dating back to the first political party in Zambia, the A.N.C by non other than K!ng Lew@nik@.
That br64a fundamentaly about “Decentralisation” a common site in civilizations such as UK, USA, etc nothing else, HH is very able to solve it only wen UPND will be in power!
Aka ihas stated facts. Kaunda and Sata lied about what they would do with the Lozi issue. It is clear Aka does not support HH and this is his personal choice. What Aka failed to state was his role and whether he tried to champion the Lozi cause within MMD in recent times when he was a close confidante of Mwanawasa and Rupiah. However, this does not take away what he feels HH may be trying to do. HH may resolve the Barotse issue but does he know that what the Lozi’s now really want is to implement the recommendations of the BNC meeting held at Limulunga which is complete separation and not just a reintrodution of the BA1964. This is a complex issue that Aka points out implicitly to HH and to anyone who wants the Lozi vote and whether they also endorse this position in good faith.
Dear friends:
The issue of Barotseland requires dialogical approach. My concern is that many people who use Barotseland as a ticket to get votes will land us in great trouble. Promises made to the people before elections should be dialogically be revisited after winning. It is unfair to life if one deceives masses and later crimizes the same issue he used to climb the ladder into state house. I maintain that the Barotseland issue should not be used as a bait to get votes. If a politician makes a statement relateing to the Barotseland issue, he should learn to respect it even after the campaign time.
I am wishing those who will vote next Tuesday a peaceful environment, and that God may help us get a President who will use dialogue to solve challenges of the country.