Sunday, November 10, 2024

Totalitarian regimes use treason charge to punish opposing views-Dr Mwaanga

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Vernon Mwaanga
Vernon Mwaanga

Veteran Politician Vernon Mwaanga has said that it is is evident and beyond dispute that totalitarian regimes around the world have always used the charge of treason to punish and silence dissent and those with opposing views in their respective countries , because of its lethal non-bailable nature, which keeps their opponents locked up in deplorable and inhuman conditions.

In a statement released to the media and commenting on the treason charge slapped on opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, Dr Mwaanga said that the arrest of UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and some of his supporters on charges of treason, is deeply disturbing, coming as it does, at a time when our christian nation is marking the holy week.

Below is the full statement

The arrest of UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and some of his supporters on charges of treason, is deeply disturbing, coming as it does, at a time when our christian nation is marking the holy week.

Am not directly privy to what may or may not have happened in Mongu during the Kuomboka traditional ceremony , apart from the conflicting and contradictory accounts I have read and seen in the state, private and social media. What is evident and beyond dispute is that totalitarian regimes around the world have always used the charge of treason to punish and silence dissent and those with opposing views in their respective countries , because of its lethal non-bailable nature, which keeps their opponents locked up in deplorable and inhuman conditions.

For a very long time now, i have been calling for unconditional dialogue among our political leaders , where all issues and grievances should be discussed . Experience all over the world has proved beyond any doubt that when there is dialogue among political leaders, it helps lower tensions and creates building blocks for much needed durable peace .

The culture of bashing each other in the media day in and day out , just to please supporters, has grave consequences for peace . The peace our country was credited for in the past did not come about by accident . My generation had to work for it and even went out of way to make compromises for the sake of peace in our country.

The greatness of countries does not depend on who controls the instruments of violence and the power to teach lessons and to whom and for what reason. Great nations look at the bigger picture and go out of their way to find lasting solutions to their problems . It would be folly for anyone to pretend that we have not had internal tensions in our country , which have been palpable since the disputed presidential elections of august,2016, heightened by the deplorable manner in which the constitutional court handled the presidential election petition brought by UPND President Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate Geofrey Mwamba . The effects of that debacle will continue to haunt our country for a long time .

What we don’t need now is yet more tension and animosity, which has the potential to divide our already divided country even more, at a time when our people are struggling to put food on their dinner tables and young people struggling with little or no success to find jobs .

Zambia is part of the global village and what happens in our country is of immense interest to the region , africa and the world. That is why any threats to peace and security anywhere , is a threat to peace and security everywhere. It is also the reason why the united nations, the african union and SADC have institutions and mechanisms to monitor potential flush points around the world and to undertake preventive diplomacy and other measures to preserve international peace and security. It is also for this reason, that institutions such as the world bank, IMF, EU, and bilateral aid countries, measure governance and human rights issues as a yardstick for disbursing their loan facilities or grants.

What we need in our country is to build a just and fair society for all our people , by creating better opportunities and work together to grow our sluggish economy, so that we create jobs for our people, particularly young people who continue to carry the scars of despair and frustration on their faces. This requires enlightened leadership all round, which is capable of putting zambia first . The failure to have meaningful political dialogue will ultimately benefit no one and disadvantage everyone . In politics, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies. No one knows what tomorrow holds and over the years, it had the capacity to produce the unexpected . I also hope that our two former Presidents and respected statesmen Dr Kenneth Katundu and Mr Rupiah Banda , can play an important role in bringing our political leaders together for purposes of having constructive dialogue.

145 COMMENTS

    • Shut up Vernon! We still remember you as a drug dealer and a womaniser. This case is non if the above. We may guess why the support but for now please put your tail between your legs and watch the space.

    • Balisamwa sana ba HH. But l feel sorry for the wife and the workers that they had to go through all that during the arrest. HH now who is in power boy????

    • THE ART OF REAL PUNDITRY – SUPPORTERS, SURROGATES AND SYMPATHETIC GOONS LAMENTABLY FAILED HH.
      ======================
      They sung agonizing praises even when they knew that their shepherd was going the negative forward. I regarded HH’s surrogate Mwanga aka VJ as an experienced politician, alas the goon was just good at the goodly business of drug dealing and election engineering. VJ and Miyanda could have been in the forefront lecturing under-five HH to making a good leader, grooming him into an excellent choice . VJ should have been advising his client HH to behave, alas, he was quite and betting on GBM to do the right thing. See VJ is not aging properly at all.

    • I AM ARGUING FROM AN IGNORANT VIEW POINT – VJ
      ================================
      1) I am not directly privy to what may or may not have happened in Mongu during the Kuomboka traditional ceremony .. 2)Keeps their opponents locked up in deplorable and inhuman conditions … 3)I have been calling for unconditional dialogue among our political leaders … 4)The culture of bashing each other in the media day in and day out … 5)What we need in our country is to build a just and fair society for all our people …
      Where were you when HH was busy making a f.ool of himself? Where were you when he made a stance of not recognizing a duly elected president? Prison must not be deplorable when your own is a resident now. You never counselled HH to observe proper behavior. You are also a Basher and…

    • Cont’d
      …..and doing it in the media by calling ECL totalitarian right now. We can not build better societies if Dr.s like you are so divisive and tribal. Why comment on something you do not have privy to. Is it now that you have realised that treason is serious, VJ?

    • BA MWANGA, IF YOU CAN JUST SHUT YOUR MANDRAX MOUTH THE GENERAL PUBLIC WILL BE VERY APPRECIATIVE. YOU HAVE NO MORALS TO BE LECTURING EDUCATED PEOPLE. YOU DID NOT GO TO SCHOOL TO EVEN KNOW ABOUT TREASON. LET THE PEOPLE WHO WENT TO SCHOOL TALK ABOUT TREASON. NOT YOU. WHICH UNIVERSITY DID YOU GO TO TO LEARN LAW AND BE IN A POSITION TO KNOW ABOUT TREASON. JUST SIT DOWN OR IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO JUST GO TO CONGO AND SEE CHALA MWANA. OR ELSE YOU CAN CONTINUE WITH YOUR BUSINESS YA MANDRAX WHICH YOU KNOW BETTER. SO, YOU WANTED BLOODSHED IN ZAMBIA. AMANO BUCHE.

    • LUNGU IS NOW FULL BLOWN DICTATOR NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT.

      If lungu is not stopped Zambia will be worse than any known dictatorship in Africa.

    • Why is it that Zambians do not listen to warnings ? What has happened to HH is just but the beggining of worse things to rock Zambia Lungu’s PF. PF must find another sober leader urgently before PF is confined to the dust bin.

      A dictators first started by flexing his muscles against the opponents. Once all the opponents have been silenced he moves on to eliminate all those close to him to make sure only new people who can jump when he coughs remain around him. Look at what happened to Tayali.

      Who knew that Tayali would a Lungu ‘s next target? Next in line is Kambwili? All those proving to be a threat to Lungu by holding him to ransom like RB will be eliminated. Then finally, it will be Kaiser and Amos to cleanse himself and say these are the people responsible for all the bad things…

    • Then finally, it will be Kaiser and Amos to cleanse himself and say these are the people responsible for all the bad things Lungu is accused of.

      A dictator is never your friend. He can turn against you when ever he feels threatened because he is always insecure.

      RELEASE HH OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.

      VIVA UPND

    • The best Mwaanga could have done is to advise HH before things got out of hand. You cannot insult the head of state and pretend you have done nothing wrong. It is now rather late and the best we can do is to wait for the courts to do their work.
      The defense team should find real reasons and facts to help their client win the cases. They should not waste time on preliminary issues the way they did after 2016 elections until the 14 days were over.

    • @Kapaso wa mpezeni

      This boma-ni-boma syndrome is an evil system which has put police & certain individuals above the law, just like Animal Farm’s saying “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.

      If you are too illiterate to know Animal Farm, it’s a proclamation by the pigs who controlled the government in the novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell. The sentence is a comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but give power and privileges to a small elite.

      Next time you have a simple traffic offense, you may end up the way ZAF officer Mark Choonga. Stop defending evil.

    • VJ, well said……but only if you were a Saint. We can’t forget your many negative contributions to whatever chaos we find ourselves in.

    • Oh please @nubianprincess iwe Bwalya Jabulile Chileya. That’s so lame. Your lesbian self could come up with more than that.

    • VJ needs to read a bit about the Soviet Union under Stalin or Italy under Mussolini to understand what totalitarianism is. Zambia is not a totalitarian state. VJ would have done better to convince us Zambia is a totalitarian state if he had brought out features of a totalitarian state and given examples of this from the Zambian political scenario. Anyhow, VJ ‘s lack of understanding of a totalitarian state can be excused given his low educational levels.

    • Some countries like comoros & equatorial guinea used South African boer mercenaries to solve upcoming despots. i think it’s time we consider this option.

    • For VJ to understand what totalitarianism is, he needs to read the political philosopher Hannah Arendt’s 1951 book entitled “The Origins of Totalitarianism”. After he has understood it, if at all he is capable of doing so, then he can try and see if totalitarianism is applicable to Zambia. Otherwise he is just throwing around words he does not seem to understand.

    • Donald Trump is deporting mexicans from USA for a genuine reason.

      Most of the bloggers who are supporting lungu are of conglolese, malawian, tanzanian, somali & mozambican descent. They have a home to run to when the inevitable civil war breaks. Unfortunately they ran away from dictatorships but they support oppresive govts of leaders from their countries.

      We’ve kept them but when war breaks out, they have a safe home to run to.

      FTJ brought in a plenty of kasai’s to consolidated his power. Xavier Chungu (a kasai) fled to DRC when he was being pursued by mwanawasa.

      KK brought in plenty malawian fontiniz fleeing kamuzu’s dictatorship & they supported kk’s dictatorship til 1996. That’s how population of zambia jumped from 6 million to 15 million today.

      lungu has…

    • CONT’D

      lungu has capitalized on these illiterate immigrant populations to get support since he is also a malawian moslem himself.

      Remember how flocks of Mozambicans were arrested trekking into Luangwa to vote for PF in last years elections

    • @ fight fire with fire.

      Bloodshed is bad. An eye for an eye is old testament doctrine. Using mercenaries to clear lungu wont solve the problem. Imagine Inonge Wina as president for 4 years. Disaster. Evil wolves like kambwili will be next president.

      Even if HH gets poisoned or beaten to death by fellow inmates or hanged by the neck for a traffic offence by hypocrite lungu, just forgive him. Your reward is waiting 4 u in heaven.

      Now let us pray…

    • Dr Mwaanga is like Henry Kissinger to Zambia. He has had his failings like all of us. But to me he’s the best President Zambia never had.

    • Why was HH not arrested in Mongu where the incident happened if this indeed threatened the life of Lungu?
      Mwaanga has the right of opinion just like every Zambian!!

    • I have seen many bloggers referring to Mushota @1.2 as a PHD holder when she hasn’t even got a grade seven certificate. She has no idea if the two words drag and drug are the same and she thinks they are interchangeable. Marrying a white scotsman and living in Scotland will not increase her intelligence. I have done part of my studies at the University of Glasgow under the supervision of professor A. Cartwright, so i know about Scotland and its people.

    • Who speaks more sense and is wiser than an alleged lawyer who is illegally occupying an office.

    • VJ was chief of intelligency and number Diplomat and was maybe even now part of the CIA in Zambia.He is a political thinker he never rises his voice even when he is biter that’s what trained diplomats do.Those who know him like KK and RB iam sure now the have adjusted their sits.Its only illiterate thugs high ith weed from wusakile who think Zambia has the muscle to handle what will come.Cry for children when time comes.Dont say you were not warned the person you are moking in the Zambian cell at Lilayi is a product of ANGLO AMERICA just like PAUL KAGAME who has turned English as the official language from French.We know the fire power that it has.Stop making noise and sobre up.

  1. What we have been saying all along. Now the entire country is slowly realising that we are really phucked. The international community has raised concerns on the deterioration of human rights in Zambia. You people what else do you want. Pf supporters remember that we only have one country. Do not let one angry illegal man cause confusion and separate us. The only way dictators rule is through divide and rule. Let us be united to fight this illegal regime. One zambia

    • The international community is only asking for respect and observance of rule of law. Was the rule of law broken by HH? What about ECL and the police in arresting and charging HH? These are the issues to discuss when responding to the international community.

      As for your “sensable” Dr Mwaanga. He would have understand he had studied for his doctorate that the thesis must have a basis for argument. He has chosen to write an article without understanding what happened in Mongu – the basis for the arrest. Arguing from history of dictators is not the best.

  2. The problem is that our two ex presidents are also tribalist. One of them is even the adviser to chalolwa. They can’t do anything.

  3. Treason is like terrorism. It involves political behavior perceived by government political crimes. To the extent that motor vehicles were involved in the Mongu road incident, it is prudent to remain at serious traffic offenses level. At the same time, it is necessary to search for deep grievances in the oppositions ranks. Similarly, it is vital for sustainable peace, political stability and economic prosperity to search for political vindictiveness in the hearts of certain members of the ruling party. It is not too late to make a new beginning.

    • A wise one Dr. Makasa, bravo. If HH’s vehicle or any other vehicle in the convoy had swerved right, attempting to crash lungu’s vehicle, then the driver of the vehicle would have been guilty of intent to cause harm to lungu.

      However non of that happened. The actual cadres who hurled insults should have been identified & charged for the particular offence.

      Why should I be charged for an offense committed by another person? Why should HH be charged when he was not a driver or the insulter? Does HH have control over the mouth of his cadres?

      Can we charge lungu for Max chongo’s assassination attempt of Petauke independent candidate?

      If zambian judiciary entertains this case, they’ll disgrace themselves worse than the way ConCourt put Zambian judiciary on the world map for…

    • Dr.Makasa in your view the Mongu incident should ” remain at serious traffic offenses level”. Is this how naive you can be with your doctorate? For crying out loud, this incident involved the republican president and an ordinary citizen blocking the Presidential motorcade! Haven’t you watched the video of this incident that has gone viral? Are you aware of the stringent security measures the Americans have put in place to protect their presidents since the 1963 Kennedy assassination? Can you blockade an American presidential motorcade and get away with it? Don’t trivialize what potentially could have resulted in civil strife if either ECL or been HH had been injured or killed.

    • Lungu is a traffic officer and a failed forged Presisent sorrounded by incopetent buffoons in the name of Kaizer, Amos Kampyongo, Kanganja. He’s not PF leader as he illusions himself to be apparentely on some working holiday in Northern Province after working very hard arresting hi opponent. The man is sick and as correctly prophesised he’ll die before 2018. MHSR in Pieces

    • Analyser, you are dealing with another breed mt friend. You can not do to ECL what you did to Sata or Mwanawasa. This one is well protected and you only get more confused and disturbed by trying to destroy him. He is solid my friend. this is not only politics, it is having God on your side. ECL has God on his side, no doubt. HH, is a sworn Masonist and you know what that means. Darkness and light never mete, but light is forever victorious.
      John 10:28-29 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
      Talk about security! If you are in the hands of God, both Jesus and the Father, and Jesus says that no one can snatch ECL out of…

  4. Surely this is presidential material,but one thing the veteran politician need to know is that morally, he has nothing to offer looking at his past life.You can speak well with great ideas but your past life spoils everything.Otherwise good councel Mr veteran politician,how i wiish you became president after KK.Your past life betrays you.

  5. I am confused, with the love that KK has for Zambia why hasnt he offerred himself as a mediator to stabilize the country. Sir you silence is not helpful

    • Its so disturbing to read evil messages on this website. These kids/id1ots/tribalists supporting Lungu’s imprisonment of HH have never heard the sound of big guns. For them it’s like watching a WWE match. We win, u lose.

      They don’t know that this violence & brutality will in the next few days catch up with them & their beloved ones.

      Civil wars are started by such silly comments.

  6. Mushota hope that is a spelling error otherwise you are accusing him of something entirely different
    Drags is that short for drag queens only you would know dressed like that

  7. WHAT IS TREASON? ANY ACT OF THE FOLLOWING IS TANTAMOUNT TO TREASON.
    1-A CRIME THAT UNDERMINES THE OFFENDER’S GOVERNMENT.
    2-DISLOYALTY BY VIRTUE OF SUBVERSIVE BEHAVIOR.
    3-AN ACT OF DELIBERATE BETRAYAL.
    DID HH DO ANY OF THE ABOVE?

  8. Mr mwaanga you have rightly said that you are not privy to what happened in mongu so how can you condemn or comment on something you dont have information on

    • lungu needs to tell us if we are going back to One-party dicatatorship so that we can prepare ourselves & mindset and we can change our outdoor activities & be home by 18hrs like chickens after he imposes state of emergency & curfew.

      As it is, as long as one speaks out against lungu, you r arrested & PF00ls cheer on just like UNIPISTS cheered on for 27 years until mealie-meal price caught up with them too.

      Police will soon visit VJ soon, mark my words

    • just like you are commenting on a situation you are not privy to except what you are reading on LT, and or other fora

  9. ZAMBIA’S RECORD

    People charged for treason since multi partism for dissent = none
    People charged for treason since multi partism for to overthrow government = 1, Mwamba Luchembe.
    People charged for treason since multi partism for endangering life of a sitting president = 1, Hakainde Hachilema

  10. We thank God that Vernon Mandrax Mwaanga was not caught wit mandrax in Arabic Countries otherwise he would have been history by now.

    The behaviour of HH has been unZambian, like calling the president names. The behaviour of HH in Mongu was definitely treasonable and we don’t need mandrax dealers to school us on dictators

    • We also ask God why lungu was not convicted for swindling millions from a widow of a retiree of Chilanga cement. The bloodshed would have been averted. I wish bloodshed starts with a member of your family so that u understand that spewing evil vomit from your keyboard can endanger u.

      Rwandese genocide instigators r being arrested for things they said on radio 30 years ago.

      Even KK’s UNIP dictatorship was supported by guys like u.

  11. Who is Lungu to intimidate the president of UPND? H.H. won the elections now Lungu want to use bogus charges against President H.H. so that he remain the president illegally and he wants to fix and deregister UPND and perhaps terminate the life of H.H. but what is comforting to Zambians is that any leader who will take over government will spare this drunkard president Lungu for wrong he has done in this country. Shame!

  12. Good advice but it will not be listened to because of who it is coming from. You don’t know whether he is a UPND sympathiser or an elder statesman.

  13. At last a voice of reason a word wisdom has emerged from the clouds of petty hatred & evil of the purest form.

    It’s so motivating that there r still people with wisdom. I hear these same evil pipo went to church today & praised themselves & their fellow evil flock.

  14. YOU THANK SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE YOU CAN EVEN INSULT THE PRESIDENT?
    ==================================
    The fact that most comments on LT seem free for all to puke treasonable remarks makes everything normal. Trouble rolls in when bloggers (Netizens) step out of cyberspace to exercise the same kind of freedom from virtue space to the real world. Observe civility and all will be well my kids.
    Come thing about it, you seem to forget that politicians cannot solve your entire problems. C’mon Get a life! The route to economic emancipation is not through insults and bigotry; right now, I feel pissed by elders like VJ who think that they are smart by not helping society grasp the big picture about life n’ living. Selfish veterans and blind bartimaeuses!

  15. RB is adviser to Lungu and beneficiary from Lungu corrupt deals and wants Lungu to stay in power for his own protection. KK does not want to rock the Boat becoz Lungu is looking after him very well financially. Both RB and KK are Easterners so there is Wako Niwako solidarity. In short becoz of self interest KK and RB will say nothing to protect their interests. The Raid and the arrest and detention of HH on frivolous Treason charges cannot be defended by any right thinking Zambian. If what happened to HH is condoned tumoro its u or me.If tumoro u differ with Lungu or commit a minor traffic offence u can be vistimised the same way. This Kaizer Zulu lawlessness will eventually get Lungu into trouble. Already Lungu is being seen as a heartless Dictator who has no Respect for Rule of…

  16. Mr VJ, No one can advise the Supreme Leader HH of the UPND and he takes that advice, not even from you Sir or any of the Former Presidents of Zambia because he had even insulted them before…So the Supreme Leader HH of the UPND knows it all…he’s irredeemable..

    • The best thing to do now is just to forgive the Supreme Leader HH of the UPND by the Republican President of Zambia Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu during this Easter period…It’s really difficult to love your enemies but that’s want Jesus Christ has commanded us to do…and once released the Supreme Leader should repent and reflect deeply on his actions since he’s also a son of God…

  17. Lungu is bitter that the international community has refused to recognize him.
    Than after HH refused to recognize him, it pained him.
    N/W province, Southern, Western, parts of central, lusaka & copperbelt don’t recognize him.

    Kuomboka snubbing by HH, GBM & supporters just b4 his speech was the final blow to his weak ego.

    Using police brutality & poisoning of HH has proven how a weak person he is. Use politics to defeat political opponents not dirty draconian methods. Other pipo will use the same methods on u & your family.

    It’s like u r fighting boxing then u decide to use teeth & bite your opponent & say I am powerful, i have won.

    What a WEAK INSECURE PRESIDENT

    • How can a weak individual beat your HH, it means HH is the weakest. I am glad however, that you recognize him as President. But that is how your HH lost, he read a book by ots cover, thinking Lungu was a push over, well he got the shoch of his life. All he can do now is to cry like a bay and behave like a lunatic!

  18. Quality comments from a well informed person with a good vision for humanity. That said, it is rather ironic for a law graduate to make use of two contradictory concepts within a same narrative. I am attempting to refer to Mr Lungu, the incumbent, he previously emphasised that he cannot intervene in a matterin which a suspect is still under investigation, because the specific matter has not yet been tried by a court of law. Additionally, Mr Lungu indicated that every suspect is innocent until tried by a court of law and proven guilty beyond reasonable doubts. Subsequently, Mr Lungu disclosed in his latest utterances that he cannot intervene in cases which involve lawbreakers. Although, I have not used the exact words which were employed by Mr Lungu in his original narrative, the meaning…

    • Len Joe we are not Kids.We know that Lungu has instructed the Judiciary to convict HH so that he is barred from standing in 2021 so that GBM can stand.That wont happen over our dead bodies.Apa pena its war.Kumufumyapo fye.

  19. A continuation from above:
    Although, I have not used the exact words which were employed by Mr Lungu in his original narrative, the meaning of his narrative has not been diluted in the illustration which I have advanced above. For an intelligent law graduate or a law practitioner or a professional law student or a post-doctoral fellow in law, the mincing of terms is not acceptable. Mr Lungu’s pronouncements connote biasness against HH to put mildly.

  20. Firstly, in the hours after dawn on June 30, 1990, as Captain Mwamba Luchembe announced a military coup against Kaunda, Zambians gathered in downtown Lusaka to celebrate the downfall of one of Africa’s longest-reigning dictators. Though the coup eventually failed, it further weakened KK’s political standing, already shaky after three days of rioting. He was subsequently defeated in the polls in 1991. Secondly,
    In October 1997, soldiers broke into an arms depot, assaulted army officers & seized ZNBC studios. Capt Steven Lungu, aka Captain Solo & representing the “National Redemption Council”, announced over ZNBC that he had taken over the country. He further informed his countrymen that he was dismissing the chiefs of the army & the police, & gave Mr Chiluba until 9 A.M. that day to…

  21. We are in era in which undergraduate education at university level is no longer treated as a conduit to luxury. We must comment in an enabling environment which tolerate diverse views and experiences. We urge the powers that be to lead the followers and non-followers as one and, to allow analysts to analyse and advance dissenting views. Post graduate education at university level is good, but it increasingly not regarded as being splendid. Thus, in order for an individual to describe others in a measured manner which encompasses dignity, it is advisable to undertake to study beyond a PhD degree, perhaps post-doctoral Masters or a post-doctoral certificate in any specialisation. HH is not being treated fairly by Mr Lungu and the entire PF government. It is very bad indeed.

  22. ….. to surrender or be killed. Thirdly, Lungu had better beware of his own bother’s warning to Chiluba, he could end up being the 1st Zambian president to be SHOT DEAD, for DICTATORIAL STUPIDITY! Zambian are without doubt docile people but they have a lengthy memory and when they “get back to collect”, they usually do so with a canning vengence.

    • @ Bo Yeta nalute the canibal

      you lozi’s have the famous beer poison where u have blood diarrhea for 2 days till u die.

      Its the best for chakolwas.

    • @ Yeta Nalute the Canibal, I shiver as to what the country could be into! Zambia’s stability can not be said to be rock solid and one wonders if there is true harmony among national security wings with the murder of the air force officer in police cells still lingering. Some villagers are seething for loss of life as they get evicted from land they have occupied for generations. Hopelessness engulfs the many youths seeking a livelihood and families keep worrying about whether they’ll see the following day and if it will be for better! The nation Zambia once unified has an invisible dividing line and regional ties have become pronouncedly shaky! Times are not encouraging as the atmospheric currents of discontent double up!

  23. Avoid bias by commenting along partisan lines. Being objective brings realism into context. Edgar Lungu defied the constitution of Zambia and he should be the last person talking about the laws of the land. The issues surrounding HH are not treason going by the laws of the land. Stop this nonsense and for once look at the interests of the country at large. Politicians come and go. What is key here is the future of Zambia in legal terms. Using state machinery to clamp down on opposing views is just nonsensical. Edgar et.al need to exhibit maturity and leadership to earn respect instead of demanding it. Typical Zambians, very educated apart from the twat from Glasgow that comment without the benefit of intellect for sake of entertainment. The Lungu administration is wrong in all legal…

  24. PF has now brought in IMF & because PF00ls have distracted everyone’s attention to HH’s treason traffic offense no one is commenting about IMF draconian conditions attached to the loans.

  25. Lungu had the audacity to go to church today. He sat there in church very aware of the evil he had done to his brother HH. I pray HH passes this trial from God! Great men rember HH the Lord will not test with more than you can cope. Joshua was abandoned by his friends and family in times of trial and tribulation. Place your faith in God HH and forgive them for they know not what they do.

    • Some people they can mock God. Last month they were in Jerusalem at tomb of Jesus. They come back and arrest HH for traffic treason. Today they went to f00l christians that they are holy.

      I have never seen so much hypocrisy in my life. A hypocrisy which involves Passover & Easter.

    • Lungu is just a show off. He doesn’t believe in God.
      He is praying for his I’ll health. There is no cure found yet, especially his illness which is inherited. There is no cure…
      For mental illnesses

    • State House Staff, know this, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”. ECL knows and understands he power of being in the hands of God all the times. He is doing the thing, trusting the Lord.

      Psalm: “…6Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. 7Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. 8They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.…”

      No weapon formed against ECL who trust in the Lord will succeed. ECL is safer in the Sanctuary! Never fight God, better be on His side than on the side of the devil, because the devil pays in…

  26. As a Law graduate unless he was swattering to pass exams- agony for Zambia as it appears to the case, Lungu knows that his actions against HH are not legal. His approach to governance is to satisfy the lobbyist interest that he benefits from personally. This more important to him than anything else. Funny enough, the majority of us commenting including twat head from Glasgow are way beyond the boarders of Zambia. Irony!!

  27. As a Law graduate unless he was swattering to pass exams- agony for Zambia as it appears to be the case, Lungu knows that his actions against HH are not legal. His approach to governance is to satisfy the lobbyists interests that he benefits from personally. This is more important to him than anything else. Funny enough, the majority of us commenting including twat head from Glasgow are way beyond the boarders of Zambia. Irony!!

  28. Uncle VJ but you never said anything when your government (FTJ) arrested and detained KK over a fictitious “misprision of treason “. Let those with clean hands talk.

    • If past sins disqualified people from saying what is right & just then chakolwa is also disqualified.

      Lungu was struck off the lawyers register after swindling a widow from chilanga cement. He’s continued to steal even more. He’s in the pockets of chinese. Just go to LT photos of the week, it’s one delegation of chinese after another at state house.

      In other countries, swindling a widow would have been enough to prevent him from seeking any public office even as a Councillor.

    • sorry my friend you cannot change history. Lungu is in charge and if it’ll be necessary to punish him, he’ll suffer alone. But that’s another time and another situation.

  29. Iam sure people commenting on this blog have had an opportunity to sit on a desk but what amazes me is the shallowness of analytical skills and seeing beyond the horizon. People are failing to see that happenings in our country is purely dictatorship. You dont need to bleach the constitution just to punish your enemies as is the case in zambia today. Read or resear ch more about tendencies of dictators and then compare and contrast.

  30. Political battles are about Policies.

    E.g. Miyanda had his Village Concept & he should be judged by that. Not bcoz of police brutality from traffic offence.

    When u see a politician using police brutality, rigging elections to fight political battles, then he’s in the wrong career, maybe he should move to a career at katondo street.

  31. Well said VJ. Dictators the world do exactly what Lungu is doing. Dictators want to crush anybody with opposed views. It explains why Lungu wants to pull Zambia out of ICC becoz ICC is not for Dictators who all commit crimes against humanity. HH is being punished for Petitioning the 2016 Election Results. Lungu clearly stole those Elections and that is why he is refusing to prove in Court how he won. Lungu knows that a Petition Hearing Process at ICJ will find him guilty of Electoral Theft. His Plan is to kill the Petition by imprisoning or killing the Petitioners. Hence HH has been jailed on trumped up Treason charges. All Zambians who are sympathetic to HH and the Petition Hearing Process are enemies of Lungu and his One Man Party Dictatorship project. #Let the Petition be heard in…

  32. What has LAZ got to say about this pivotal case? They circumstantial evidence & video footage is there to see.

    Or they’ve been intimidated by the PF cadres raid on her office?

    I believe Linda Kasonde is like the hope & a legal voice that Thuli Madonsela gave to South Africans in the wake of Jacob Zuma’s corrupt ANC.

    Last week RSA was downgraded to junk by Standards & Poor and Fitch meaning RSA is headed the Zimbabwe route. Zambia announced of the return of IMF Structual Adjustment Plan.

  33. Felix Konoso
    WAS IT TREASON?
    As a teacher of civic education, I wish to shed light to the huge debate currently in our country as to whether the events surrounding the meeting of the Presidential motorcade with that of UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema, on the road to Limulunga during this year’s Kuomboka constituted treason. Majority of PF officials and supporters seem to believe so. Indeed the police have gone ahead to slap Hichilema with the charge of treason subject to the DPP’s consent. But even if the DPP was to consent, would such a charge stand in a court of law?
    Article 43 (1) a – e of the Zambian constitution defines what treason is in the Zambian context. For a person to be said to have committed treason, their actions must meet at least one of the following conditions;
    (a)…

  34. (a) prepares or endeavours to overthrow the government
    (b) prepares or endeavours to alter any law or the policies of the govt
    (c) prepares or endeavours to create a state in any part of Zambia
    (d) usurps the executive power of the state
    (e) incites or assists any person to invade Zambia with armed forces.
    Can it be argued that Hichilema committed any of these actions in Mongu during that short period of time? Hardly.
    The summary of the 5 conditions in article 43 (above) of the constitution is clearly that treason is act of trying to takeover the state illegally. People confuse themselves when they fail to differentiate between the person of the President and the state. If the person holding the office of the President fails to continue doing so for whatever reason including death,…

  35. the constitution makes provision for this eventuality to make sure the state continues. In this case the vice president takesover. And if he or she fails to do so, the speaker takesover and an election is called within 30 days.
    So harming (or endangering) the person of the President is not an attack on the state (which is treason). An attack on the person of the President can result in murder, assault or simply libel. Please note that overthrow of a govt can occur without harm to the Person holding the office of the President.
    Some people may not like this simple fact but it is what it is. The President is the CEO of the state but he or she is not the state itself.
    Or is the Zambian case similar to that of France under King Louis XIV who said ‘I am the state and the state is me’?
    A…

  36. A good example is the USA where at least two presidents (to the best of our knowledge), Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy, were assassinated while in office. In each case, their assailants were charged with murder and not treason. Still in the USA, in 1981 President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination. Interestingly, his assailant was said to have done this to impress a woman, an actress, whom he had a crush on. So here again there was an attack on the person of the American president without intention to takeover the American govt.
    Having said all this, one would conclude that the most sensible charge in this case could be a traffic one, the harshest of which is ‘dangerous’ driving. It is also interesting that there is no law that specifically stipulates what should happen when…

    • Lungu has even become more stronger after the bad behaviour of HH. The noise about his arrest is only from Southern Province. Many people country wide are feed up with the bad behaviour of HH and UPND. If elections were to be held today, Lungu would get extremely more votes in the 7 provinces he won and HH would get next to zero.

      HH has no more support outside Southern Province. He is the one who is gone politically.

  37. It is also interesting that there is no law that specifically stipulates what should happen when the Presidential motorcade is on the move.
    Yes drivers are advised by the highway code to give away to the Presidential motorcade. But is the highway code law? Even then, from videos doing the rounds, its clear that the Presidential motorcade did manage to by pass the UPND one quite safely.

  38. the problem with honorary Doctors like Mwanga is that they don’t even research before they open their mouths. The fellow has said it himself. Only on Zambia do you have womanizers and drag dealers as honorary doctors. Just go and discipline Mainga your son if you can.

  39. It is not right for mr mwanga to call kk for intervention, when mr mwanga was with ftj he told km to stop Pocking his nose in the matters of the nation has he forgotten that he did not want the old man to do that in the first place, moreover the man his old now and forget a lot. Mwanga insulted km then has km become valuable now because mr mwanga his out of politics I think we don’t need to bring the old man in this matter I think mr mwanga can also advice mr chagwa

  40. VJ has hit the Nail on the Head. If Lungu had Professional Advisers they would analyse VJ’s Statement and get their boss to take heed. Lungu has been given friendly advice by VJ but typical of Dictators ,Lungu will not listen. Criminals around Lungu will advise him to ignore the advice and continue on a disastrous Road. All the People with opposed views to Lungu will be crushed for now and at the end of his Rule Lungu will start fighting the likes of Kaiza Zulu who have been mis- advising him.Lungu will then claim that all these atrocities were committed by KZ and other Criminals around him and that he is innocent. That will be too late.Lungu is now fighting the International Community and very soon Lungu will be de-recognized and Economic and Travel Sanctions will be slapped on him and…

  41. What is certain is that if this had happened at the time KK and VJ were in charge of this nation, there could have been death. Even issuing a statement like this could have borne the same consequences. There’s no democracy in the idiocy that the UPND has exhibited so far, there is nothing to defend here.

  42. The rate at which VJ has dangerously mutated is BAFFLING. VJ’s alignment with UPND is not accidental, but an inherent genetic trait to foster tribalism especially that he is no longer in Government circles. He is exhibiting the true nature of UPND’s tribal supremacy where members of other ethnic groups are considered as mere HORSES to ride on. The article purported to originate from a member of BRE has the whole mark of fiction in that he did not explain as to whether he was authorized by the Ngambela to issue such a contradictory statement. Their bread winner is out of phase. Hence desperation at work.

  43. Dr. Makasa Kasonde (Private Citizen),

    Dr.Makasa in your view the Mongu incident should ” remain at serious traffic offenses level”. Is this how naive you can be with your doctorate? For crying out loud, this incident involved the republican president and an ordinary citizen blocking the Presidential motorcade! Haven’t you watched the video of this incident that has gone viral? Are you aware of the stringent security measures the Americans have put in place to protect their presidents since the 1963 Kennedy assassination? Can you blockade an American presidential motorcade and get away with it? Don’t trivialize what potentially could have resulted in civil strife if either ECL or been HH had been injured or killed.

  44. Just a storm in a tea cup. HH is just an overrated politician. The poor chap possesses no wisdom or political judgement required to be republican President or party president for that matter. He is only the head of UPNDonkeys by virtue of his money. Look at the way his MPs are worried at his incarceration, they see the party collapsing and no future for themselves in politics.
    Anyway, HH will appear in court for treason next week. Thereafter we all will follow the judicial proceedings. If the charge is frivolous or genuine so be it but next week will show us.

  45. Dr Makasa iam bemba but happy with Lungu.My is Tonga and iam ready to join her to remove Lungu because he is a danger to us all.

  46. Mwanga you have no moral ground to attack a legit government. You are a drug dealer. Leave Lungu to government iwe

  47. Political & Musical Legends!
    ======================
    Mwanga was a political mathematician and only lost it when he said HH was destined to win the 2016 General Elections…..
    …. We all miss Shalamwana….!!!!!

    A_I2017

  48. @Mushota ichisungu mwafilwa! Ati drags instead of drugs.
    Then again maybe you both showcased in drag queen shows!

  49. HH’s arrest is giving rise to the mushrooming of interesting political cliques. Ba @Chitampankwa sounds like a member of another set of Armyworms with strong affinity to the group that moulds Chishimba Kambwili, Nevers Mumba, GBM, Lupando Mwape etc to prop up UPP ideals as Savior Chishimba warms up the seat. Milupi, Mpombo & Mulongoti form another alliance of political convenience after the demise of Mwanawasa through whom they held sway of power. Mwaanga is heading the Bantu Botatwe hegemony. Interesting developments indeed. But taking into account the landmines being set up by these greedy politicians, how will the diversity of Zambians freely interact in urban communities?

  50. Another Tonga defending a fellow Tonga who has committed an offence just because he is Tonga. this is rubbish.

    Mwaanga know that the Zambian Constitution has a clause about treason. If it was not in our Constitution, which he has played a huge part in its development, I would have understood hie comments.

    Law is law, and if anyone breaks it and the Constitutions gives guidance on how to deal with the offender, the law must be respected. It is different if HH was being held on case that is not in the Constitution. Mwaanga is clearly displaying his tribal leanings here. What a shame!!!! That is why he is a failed, disrespected and discredited diplomat.

  51. DICTATORIAL BEHAVIOUR IS A SIGN OF FAILED LEADERSHIP.
    AND THIS IS VERY CLEAR TO SEE IN PF.
    ITS LIKE CIVIL STRIFE IS KNOCKING ON THE DOOR.

  52. @58 MYOPINION, that is why Zambians thank their Lord that they have always rejected HH at the polls and will continue to do so. Who promised his own country Armageddon, it was HH. So he is the violent man, unless you are telling us that violence is only violence if it is practised by the government in power and not HH. I hope this treason case saves us from possibilities of a violent HH becoming president of Zambia ……KIKIKIKIKIKIKI……… today I am laughing in capital letters.

  53. Mwaanga where is the mandrax? You tribalist! Your HH is dictator no intra party elections! Why dont you question that?

  54. Central statistics needs to show stats of a number of *****s in Zambia. I am sure it is growing. How do you explain some body calling for dialogue and mentioning the importance of dialogue and you start calling him a drug baron. Kupusa ma PF cadres, ala shaa

    • Gloria, I do not how old you are, but you seem to very ignorant about who VJ really is. I advise you conduct some serious research on him or any other item you wish to respond to, because you could only be exposing your ignorance. That is who he is, a drug baron. Check your Zambian political history. He has to escape prison in India on a false passport, using a false name as Hussein. He was arrested for trafficking drugs. Even today, VJ cannot travel to countries like the UK, USA, Germany, Italy and so be cause he was blacklisted as a drug dealer.

      Apart from the above, he is a known womaniser and big spender of government resources to feed his extravagance. the truth is that he is only supporting HH for nothing else than being his tribes mate.

      How can you take such a disaster…

  55. You are asking, “But is it treason to disobey the Highway Code?”

    Well, answer is simple:
    No, disobeying highway code is not a crime.

    But it is crime to threaten someone’s life using a vehicle.

    You can use a vehicle to commit a crime as you drive.

    If you use a care to kill a person by driving into them it is a crime.

    This why those guys who drive into buildings of crowds of people in Europe are not charge with failure to obey highway code.

    Instead they are charged with tourism, and are tried as such.

    You can also be charged with the crime of causing death if your park your in such a way as to abstract motorists.

    • And if it is observed that you intentionally chose to park your car or place any object that is intended or can be perceived to be intended to cause harm to the presidential motorcade you will be charged with case of treason.

      The case of treason will not be different from someone who wanted to use any other weapon because it is not the type of weapon used that determines treason charge but the intent.

      Take for instance, you were merely hagging and greeting your friend on the highway.

      If the the presidential motorcade was coming and sweepers order you to clear off the road and you willfully chose to refuse and continue hagging and greeting, in the name of “I met my friend long time ago, so we can just stop hagging so suddenly”, you will endanger the life of the president.

    • And in this case, just like HH you will have chosen to willfully endanger the life of the president and national security.

      If they don’t clear you as mandated (as the normal case should), they will pick you up and charge you with treason.

      You cannot then say, “ah, these people, what is their problem? They are dictators, when did hagging become treason, and merely refusing to move out of the road treasonable?”

      If you manage to say the above, then you have an outstanding skill of “performing art”.

  56. Hon. Mwaanga. You repeat the same mistake UPND is making: which elections have been disputed and by whom? You are making a pronouncement that is not supported by evidence. The election of 2016 is not disputed and the country has a president. What is wrong with our eldermen in this country? You make a very good proposition but your views are getting closer to the opposition. Why can’t you eledermen be neutral for once and make this country a much better and safer place to leave in?

    • Speak for yourself because more than half of the eligible voters do not recognise that chikaIa you are calling president.

    • NEZ this is for you. “But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him(NEZ) and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?’” (Acts 13:9–10).

      We understand that we live in a world that is bound for hell and eternal separation from God, and that only those who fear God have the words that can deliver the captives and restore them to right relationship with their Maker. Will we offend some by those words? Absolutely. The message of the Cross is always an offense to those who prefer to remain in their sins. But better to risk offending the hell-bound sinners than to hear their voices echo in our ears on Judgment Day.

      NEZ, you need…

  57. Most blockers here are outside the country. People should remember Rwanda. We do not want to go there. Lungu needs to exercise restraint. Otherwise the country will be divided further. If followers of both parties harden their hearts and God forbid, then there is no Zambia.

  58. Surely which objectivity can one get from Veron Mwaanga about HH a fellow tonga?its like you are asking Fr Bwalya to say a bad thing about ECL or Jack Mwiimbu to blame HH.its impossible!!THE BEAUTY IS MAJORITY ZAMBIANS HAVE BLAMED HH’S BAD BEHAVOIUR IN MONGU AND EVEN HOW BAD HE HAS BEEN BEHAVING AFTER LOSING 2016 ELECTIONS!!for now lets just wait for the law to take its course ba VJ!!your ranting online or in the media wont help HH in anyway!!UPND OVERRATES HH!!ITS HIGH TIME UPND KNEW THAT WE HAVE A PRESIDENT IN ECL UNTIL 2021!!

  59. We need to change our governance system. Since individuals easily become intoxicated with power, it is in order that we reduce presidential powers. In addition, we need to go Federal to decentralize power!

  60. At 21 years, VJ was one of the brightest minds in Zambia in the 60’s. VJ should not even have been minister in Chiluba’s government but president himself. But why didn’t he stand for president?? He is a convicted drug dealer and criminal. He is a CIA trained politician who abused his knowledge for selfish needs. He lost all his dignity when he was further labelled a renowned election rigger during the Mwanawasa era. I FIND IT HARD TO LISTEN TO THIS DISGRACED POLITICIAN AND TRIBALIST WHO HAS REDUCED HIMSELF TO A MERE CADRE AND TRIBALIST WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITING THE HISTORY OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY AS A PRESIDENT!! You will forever belong in the hall of shame not in the rich heritage of this country, try to shut up rather than embarass yourself-WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE, EXACTLY.

  61. Vj we all know who you supported last elections so your voice is not without bias. It is your constitutional right to cast your vote as you deem fit bit it is your moral duty to call it as it is. We know under RB your less then qualified off spring served in a diplomatic mission the politics of the belly define you as he was quickly recalled under mcs. Lpm exposed you in your fluffed trip to drc again you waffled some flowery language until video evidence exposed you. Please take a back seat we all know ypu were a guest of the state because of your mandrax so dont insult reason with lies.

  62. The assertion of the UPND as a tribal party is reinforced by the blind support by the is mandrax dealer Mr Vernon John Mwaanga. When his tribes man was misbehaving he chose to keep absolute quietness as though nothing was happening. Mr Mwanga has chosen to take sides instead of being level headed, but again his moral decay behaviour has come to the fall just as he did when he raped through every Govt that was formed in Zambia while trafficking in madrax. One would have thought that he would have learnt a lesson but alas his ego and moral retardation has over taken him. Who ever gave him a honorary degree has made situation worse because this man thinks he can carry himself around with a honorary degree as though he earned it? Only Mandela refused to be called by the honorary degree the…

  63. … Who ever gave him a honorary degree has made situation worse because this man thinks he can carry himself around with a honorary degree as though he earned it? Only Mandela refused to be called by the honorary degree the rest of low level individuals go all out such as Nevers sekwila Mumba all disgraced souls. The best this disgraced mandrax dealer can do is sober up advise his power hungry selfish tribesman to grow up he will have no Zambia to lead if it goes up in flames.

  64. Mwanga and Chiluba put KK on treason charges.What has changed in him today that he sympathises with HH.Is it tribe?Mwanga’s vernom is no longer potent.Keep quiet mwanga and wait for the time you will depart to the other side of town.You should be the last person to talk about this days politics.You had your days,let ECL have his.

  65. We should all be responsible and help heal our nation. I will always stand on the side of the truth. My introspection as a PF member tells me the way we picked Hichilema from his home to the Police station was inappropriate, despite the suspected gravity of the offence. It is the courts to decide the punishment not Police. We should treat one another with respect, if we are in church every Sunday then we should know that two wrongs don’t commit a right. This President we have also, he can’t continue saying I won’t interfere with Police and Judiciary, if he sees excesses, like the way the Police behaved, he is supposed to intervene, giving lame weak excuses does not help. PF for life. Such things should never happen

  66. Baby Mwaanga ulibakulu Sana and you have been supporting hh and you want to be President but you have not been telling your hh to respect the leadership of this country, so that when he becomes president others will respect him and his office. So stop talking about dialogue now until you teach hh how to go about politics, meanwhile yama shut up.

  67. Comment:
    You can’t compare professor henry kissinger with semi illiterate vj, and hope to be taken seriously, surely?

  68. VJ, even in a democracy there are laws which must be obeyed by all well-meaning individuals….So, tell your HH and the others in your camp (UPND) to respect the law, or else….

  69. The so called veteran VJ needs to keep silent as has outlived his usefulness in politics and there is nothing that he can look behind with pride and boast of today in his political career what has achieved (not self) but for national development that we can learn something from him.
    He is not sure of exactly what happened in Mongu apart from reading from private and public social media but then why drawing the conclusion and comparisons in governance.
    One cannot compromise with the Security of Haed of State regardless whichever way you can put it in your own understanding the bottom line it was uncalled for conduct by HH.
    You talked about dialogue and how can this possibly happen when HH does not recognise Lungu as head of state in first place.

  70. Ba VJ, what you should have done was to counsel hh on how to behave as a mature politician. You would have been respected if you had advised hh not to insult morning, afternoon and night. You should have advised hh not to demonise the judges and judiciary. You should have as a seasoned politician provided timely counsel to hh. For now, what you are saying comes to zero. what you are saying now is tainted with bias. Please keep quiet and keep intact what is remaining of your integrity.

  71. VJ with your dirty life stop commenting on this case, when KK, D Mungomba and late MC Sata were arrested did you sympathise with them? What is so special about HH your god? Let the law take it’s course. ECL please you are the only president of this nation no one should be challenging by disobeying the laws of this nation. We are tired of this person giving us problems every day, treason is a serious offence and if found guilt let him be behind bars as a lesson to would be offenders.

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