Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Zambian Media Must Respect the Presidency-Lusambo

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ZAMBIAN MEDIA MUST RESPECT THE PRESIDENCY

As MMD youths, we would like to caution some sections of the local media to exercise maximum levels of professionalism and patriotism in their work especially when covering important state functions where the President is officiating.

We take great exception to the manner in which President Edgar Lungu is being covered by some media houses in Zambia. We have observed with great concern that a pattern of projecting President Lungu in bad light has developed.

There is a deliberate attempt by some media houses to negatively cover President Lungu as a way of alienating him from the general population.

The front page on one of the tabloids has featured President Lungu and claims to show him in a dozing posture. The tabloid further ran a side story claiming that President Lungu was dozing during a meeting with visiting UNDP official Hellen Clark.

As MMD youths, we beg to differ. President Lungu was very active during the duration of the meeting. What the Photographer from the tabloid decided to do was to patiently wait to capture a second when President Lungu blinked his eyes and the paper went on to claim that he was dozing during the meeting.

We saw the footage of the meeting on ZNBC TV and we can confirm that President Lungu was fully awake and active. He also made a very good presentation to Madam Clark on Zambia’s constitutional reforms and the country’s development process.

It is therefore discouraging that this tabloid decided to reduce the importance of this engagement with a senior UNDP official by misrepresenting the facts.

We find this kind of reporting very disrespectful, cheap and unpatriotic and we urge Journalists to be relevant to the country’s development process.

By showing President Lungu in bad light, the newspaper is showing high levels of disrespect to the highest office in the land.

This tabloid is abusing of its privilege of covering state functions and it would not be inappropriate if the press team at State House banned Journalists from this tabloid from covering state house.

We have been compelled to issue this cautionary statement in public interest because we feel that if this type of reporting continues, it has the potential to cause civil strife.

A visitor who arrives in Zambia today would be made to believe that the country’s law and order has broken down. This perception can lead to low investor confidence in our economy which might hurt our economic aspirations.

We also wish to appeal to some politicians including FDD leader Edith Nawakwi to desist from being used in this crusade to tarnish the image of our lovely country.

Madam Nawakwi is a seasoned politician who should realise that these selfish and narrow interests of a few disgruntled media owners will not help develop the country. We wish to advise her to stop parroting statements which she does not even believe in.

Madam Nawakwi is quoted as saying that Zambia is at war with those looting state resources.

We however fail to reconcile that statement especially that Madam Nawakwi has up to now failed to give a good account of how she benefitted from the Carlington Maize scandal which led to many poor families starving to death.

The FDD leader does not have a moral authority to champion the fight against corruption. It will do her a lot of good go keep quiet and concentrate on growing her tomatoes than alarming Zambians and the international community that the country is at war.

Our appeal to all Zambian Journalists is that your call to protect the sovereignty of the nation is greater than the call to satisfy your appetite to publish a story. You were a Zambian first before you became a Journalist and this should be seen in the manner you cover state issues.

Some Zambia Journalist should emulate their colleagues in Greece, Britain, Nigeria, Russia and even North Korea who are some of the most patriotic professionals one would ever find.

As MMD youths, we are true democrats who believe in the rule of law and therefore have the greatest respect for institutions of governance.

This is the more reason we have vehemently defended the mandate of our leader Dr Nevers Mumba to continue as President of the MMD despite numerous failed attempts to remove him.

We believe leadership should be respected and supported until such a time when the majority decide otherwise through a voting system. For now, the Republican President remains Edgar Chagwa Lungu and deserves respect from all citizens.

OFFICE OF THE MMD NATIONAL YOUTH SECRETARY
Contact: Bowman Lusambo
National Youth Secretary

33 COMMENTS

  1. Mr. Lusambo,

    “RESPECT” is a two way street which is not neither protected by legislation nor by your misplaced opinion.

    To be to the point, your use of “must” implies that.

    Sorry, but I disagree as it imply compliance. Compliance with what?
    Corruption, disregard of law, violation of fundamental rights, abuse of office, theft of public resources…..?

    Mr. Lusambo, “respect” is given voluntarily to the people which with their actions have “earned” that “respect”, not by the force of the power of the State.

    Fortunately, we are NOT living in North Korea or Venezuela. Our “dear” and “compassionate” political leadership fails well short of required threshold to be RESPECTED.

    • Iwe lusambo so the problem is you can’t even hear yourself as you are busy yapping yapping.you just busy contradicting yourself you are just a hired gun aswell.mr lusambo so are u telling me that you can’t honestly see that there’s breakdown of the rule of law in Zambia? Secondly you can’t see that the government is using the Public Order Act to suppress their opponents.in my opinion ba lusambo you are the biggest gun that is being used n stop saying we the Mmd cos you are representing yourself n your family it’s actually hunger that causing you to talk like that

    • Be strong ….mulimbe coz its open secrete that politically clever Edgar will kolopa HH +kabimba. Just prepare to b dribbled and cry again in stupid kachema tonga or lenje whichever. Muzalila mu chi tonga u fulls

    • “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”
      ? Harlan Ellison

      “A man is responsible for his ignorance.”
      ? Milan Kundera

      “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”
      ? Walter Cronkite

    • Lusambo is just a chatterbox of BANDIT RB & the awaiting for burial of the dead MMD.

      Mr. Lusambo continue licking the cramps & left over bones underneath bandit RB & visionless Lungu’s table, if not door mat.

      Actually remind Pastor Nevers Mumba that Ms Nawakwi got more votes than the dormant MMD. Pastor Mumba conceded defeat with barely got less than 15,000 votes country wide.

      Seems like Lusambo is not seeing the crumbs.

      The Skeleton Key
      ~206~

    • This is funny very funny is Bowman now the media chairman for PF?
      The Britain you are talking about just published pictures of the Queen taking Nazi salute, the fox news of America are so anti Obama that you would think he is truly from Kenya. Its the Australian papers that exposed it’s government paying people traffickers to return migrants to the seas. by the way l dont know which Nigerian papers you read but its terrible there when they tell you that someone has hidden the parliamentary mace so that parliament can’t sit that’s real chaos. Just concentrate on campaigning for ‘never’ s mumba.

    • Is Bowman looking for a job from the President? Please advise him to write a letter and send his CV to State House instead of wasting time on media ethics.

  2. @Aleshada sharp, crisp and to the point! Nobody could have said it any better! If he was worth his salt he would have read comment and aplologised for bringing the the so-called OFFICE OF THE MMD NATIONAL YOUTH SECRETARY which is a one man band pe se with no physical structure. In one breathe he completelt derides the presidency and mixes it with the incumbent. This kabova must stop making demagoguery and inflamatory statements! Office of the Common Man

  3. @Aleshada sharp, crisp and to the point! Nobody could have said it any better! If this chap was worth his salt he would have read these comments and aplologised for bringing the the so-called OFFICE OF THE MMD NATIONAL YOUTH SECRETARY which is a one man band pe se with no physical structure into disrepute. In one breathe he completely derides the presidency and mixes it with the incumbent. This kabova must stop making demagoguery and inflamatory statements! Office of the Common Man

  4. Ba Lusambo! You are hungry! we know you want to get a piece from what the idi0ts are looting from the coffers of the country! Please don’t insult the intelligence of the Zambians. You are telling me you can’t see what is taking place; abuse of power- unnecessary pardoning of criminals, poverty levels reaching unprecedented levels, the president instead is concentrating on releasing criminals and visiting criminal friends in jail, reducing their sentences. The chawama boy has no direction! If he is now feeding you, better feed quietly without annoying the starving majority with your utterances!

    • It applies also to journalists which for more than four decades daily praised Marshal Tito, the “father” of the Nation (sic).

  5. Bowman sounds more politically mature than Edith and trybal hh. If mmd as a whole can continue on this path of respecting democracy and upholding the rule of law , respecting also the high office they stand a chance of bouncing back to power than earlier than these bitter opposition leaders. We in the pf who are the majority voters in the country may consider backing them if we so wish. I would rather back someone who respect me than the one who demeans and insults me. Thanks bowman.

  6. How does your child fully support your neighbour against you but still continues living in your home? These MMD children must just resign and join PF the neighbour

  7. Lusambo gives good advice …but it is wasted on UPND cadres here.

    We heard you Lusambo, please advise all MMD to join with PF because together we can save this country from war and destruction by deranged people.

    No patriot can argue with the contents of that article. Frankly, even the most awake among us would be heavily sedated sitting in a meeting room listening to a senior UPND named Clark. Is Clark a Zambian name?

  8. So,one lusambo gets ailed up to see the truth being uncovered? I see…so he equally thinks the press can continue allowing itself getting suppressed…? No wonder freedom of information bill hasn’t been tabled since 2011.let me assure lusambo & his PF/MMD minions that the Post is up to dismantle,tear & wreck untold damage to lungu for as long as he remains arrogant & stubborn! Unless they reconcile,otherwise there’s still more to see for your own embarrassments!

  9. I agree with Lusambo our media don’t respect the presidency.To my surprise I don’t know where these powers from to insult and degrade the office of the president.No wonder the government is reluctant to enact the Freedom of information Bill.Some media houses like the post Newspaper if given such freedom may go to the extremes and eventually may be on fire

    • have you ever considered that there cannot be respect for person which brings office of the President in to the web of corruption, nepotism, theft on public resources, tribalism, disregard of the rule of law……………?

  10. “It is an ill wind that blows nobody good”…I wish someone could differentiate between free states and Authoritarian states…We may be headed towards Equitorial Gineau where one family owns the entire Economy,,,just like the Kim Dynasty owns North Korea??

    “Like the sign on HMV thats Bowman..a dog waiting under the table of the master”.

  11. THIS PROBLEM OF MEDIA IRRESPONSIBILITY WILL NOT END UNTIL THE AGGRIEVED ECL TAKES THESE UNPATROTIC JOURNALISTS TO COURT. ZAMBIA IS SLOWLY GENERATING ITSELF INTO ANARCHY AS THERE IS EVIDENCE OF LACK OF RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW.

    EVERYONES BREAKS THE LAW AND THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY! WHAT A COUNTRY WE ARE LEAVING WITH OUR INNOCENT GRAND CHILDREN.

  12. Lungu needs to distance himself from those corrupt people he has made friends with otherwise that respect will never show up.

  13. @Oil Dealer

    You are so upset,,,”Have a look at the laws and you will learn to type in small letters”…

    I was born in the days of Kaunda…

    “One Zambia,One Nation”,,”UNIP is the Vangaurd of the Nation”..”Tiyenda Pamodzi ndimutima umoooo!!UNIP Tiye,A youthy Tiyee!!

    “UNIP mulilo waikato wapya,,KK Wamuyaya KK Wamuyaya..This is all we learned from Grade one to Form Five up to University…

    “Stupid *****s became the order of the day from HE Dr KD Kaunda…

    If you love Edgar So Much,,why dont you remind him to be a responsible Citizen rather help his down fall because you are an “OIL DEALER”..impiya shakwiba,,we have seen Zambian Rich people before,,Nokupwa Shilapwa..so if you care about your deals,,”Let the rule of law be practiced and NOT PREACHING only..Aleni…

  14. Where in the Zambian Constitution does it state the media should respect the president? The illiterate buffoon who wrote this article even has the nerve to compliment North Korean reporters. Is he suggesting Zambia should start executing journalists if they don’t “respect” the president?

    • Ba Concerned Citizen – Is it therefore written somewhere that the media should disrespect the president?

  15. just forget about this gays membe, kabimba, mutembo , mathani and masebo, nawakwi lesbians. imwe bakoswe just now that majority wins bembas 60%, chipata30% lamba 20% and rest tribe 10%

  16. One big problem with us today is we have allowed people of the level of Bowman, Kennedy Kamba, Cosmo Mumba, Moses Lungu, etc to be newsmakers.
    Because mainstream media follow these *****s religiously they are making all of us look stupid.
    Please let’s ignore these dimwits.

  17. LUSAMBO IS A JOKE. KEKEKEKEKE. DOES HE KNOW THE MEANING DEMOCRACY. WHEN ONE STEPS INTO PUBLIC DOMAIN AND CHOOSE AS LUNGU HAS CHOSEN TO BE A POLITICAL FIGURE THE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY AND IMAGE PORTRAYAL GOES OUT THE WINDOW. THE MEDIA CAN PORTRAY LUNGU AS THEY CHOOSE JUST AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT ACUSE HIM OF CONDUCT THAT IS CRIMINAL OR MALICIOUS IN NATURE. IF THEY FEEL HE IS LAZY THEN HEY THAS THIER PREROGATIVE TO REPORT THAT.IF LUSAMBO DOES NOT LIKE IT HE CAN READ TIMES OF ZAMBIA INSTEAD. LASTLY INTEAD OF LUSAMBO ASKING WHY LUNGU IS NOT TELLING THE NATION WHAT HE IS DOING ABOUT THE CBU MESS AND FUEL PRICE HIKES HE IS MAKING USELESS STATEMENTS. WHAT IS LUNGU DOING ABOUT CBU? WHERE IS THE PRESIDENT?

  18. Good advice Lusambo – of course the people you are advising can’t get it. Already HH’s “senior adviser” has already jumped on it making a senior full of himself. Clearly, these characters do not realize that the presidency is an institution – either they forget or know very well that HH will not get this role.

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