The Council of Churches of Zambia has become the first Church mother body to publicly condemn the arrest of UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema.
In a strongly worded statement, CCZ President Reverand Alfred Kalembo said the decisions being made by political leadership is shear madness.
Reverand Kalembo said the Council of Churches in Zambia is very troubled and disturbed at the unfolding lawlessness, impunity and shear madness of the decisions being made in this country.
He said Zambia does not belong to the Patriotic Front adding that Zambia is God’s country and that it belongs to all the people in it from all ethnic groups, race, creed and tribe.
“We passionately appeal to those in power who, without mercy and grace are unleashing their venom on people who are opposed to their machinations. The arresting of political opponents, the traumatizing of their families thereby building in those children and spouses a spirit of revenge does not help the future of this nation,” Reverend Kalembo said.
He said it is clear that the police were negligent and to transfer their neglect to another person in this instance Mr. Hichilema is inexcusable.
“How possible is it that Hakainde Hichilema’s motorcade could have been on that road without police clearance?”
“From the clip that the world saw it is clear that Hakainde’s motorcade did their best to give way to President Lungu’s motorcade. It is on record that other similar incidents occurred to President Rupiah Banda in Solwezi where he was blocked by PF cadres but the opposition leader was not charged with treason?”
He added, “The question is what law is being followed in HH’s incidence. Besides HH was an invitee of the Barotseland Royal Establishment through the KUTA in Limulunga and had every right to drive on the road to the event.”
Reverend Kalembo said it was the Police’s responsibility to control traffic on that road and ensure that all motorists, including the president, travel safely.
Below is the full statement
COUNCIL OF CHURCHES IN ZAMBIA
Press Statement – 17th April, 2017
The deep and joyous and prayerful reflections of the Holy week have been marred by the sad developments on the political scene.
We have sadly observed that during this period opportunity was taken by the Government and the Police to overshadow the real reason for Easter Season.
The events of the last few days in our beloved country Zambia cannot pass without serious reflection of which way do we want to go Zambia and what vision do we hold dearly as God’s people.
The Council of Churches in Zambia is very troubled and disturbed at the unfolding lawlessness, impunity and shear madness of the decisions being made in this country i.e. the police, the political bureau and the entire political leadership.
Our understanding of the nature of God’s plans and desires is that people may live in peace and harmony and that they teach their children the values and ethics by which to live by.
We passionately appeal to those in power who, without mercy and grace are unleashing their venom on people who are opposed to their machinations.
This country does not belong to the ruling party the Patriotic Front.
This is God’s country and it belongs to all the people in it from all ethnic groups, race, creed and tribe.
The militarization of civil policy is frightening. To think that law, order and peace can only be enforced by guns and machetes is an affront to democracy and justice and an offense to humanity.
We are afraid that leadership and management of fear will destroy this country.
Instead of the people in power concentrating on improving the lives of people, they are spending valuable resources in silencing, imprisoning, de-motivating, demoralizing and killing the spirit of unity in diversity.
It is not long ago that a young, bright, professional ZAF officer was brutally murdered in police custody needlessly for committing a menial traffic offence which could have been resolved amicably according to the laws of this nation but his life was taken away for expedience by people who were supposed to protect him in the first place.
Woe to Zambia.
We condemn this in the strongest terms.
Again we are concerned about the political intimidation of the legitimately elected leadership of the Law Association of Zambia for carrying their duty and mandate again to silence a voice of mandate.
The saga continues to silence the private media who offer a platform for much needed divergent views in the nation and private media which offers space for the voice of the voiceless.
The arresting of political opponents, the traumatizing of their families thereby building in those children and spouses a spirit of revenge does not help the future of this nation.
It is clear that the police were negligent and to transfer their neglect to another person in this instance UPND President Hakainde Hichilema is inexcusable. How possible is it that Hakainde Hichilema’s motorcade could have been on that road without police clearance?
From the clip that the world saw it is clear that Hakainde’s motorcade did their best to give way to President Lungu’s motorcade. It is on record that other similar incidents occurred to President Rupiah Banda in Solwezi where he was blocked by PF cadres but the opposition leader was not charged with treason?
The question is what law is being followed in HH’s incidence. Besides HH was an invitee of the Barotseland Royal Establishment through the KUTA in Limulunga and had every right to drive on the road to the event.
It was the Police’s responsibility to control traffic on that road and ensure that all motorists, including the president, travel safely.
We note from historical records that HH has always responded to police call outs.
Why was he not called to explain himself like he has always dutifully done but instead the police went to his house, damaged his property, stole food, money and traumatized his family?
The CCZ wants to put on record their dismay and their fear for the future of Zambia.
And unless our leadership assert good leadership, recognizing that Zambia belongs to all Zambians and also recognize the right of all people to speak freely, to move freely, we are on our way to a Zambia which we would have destroyed with our own hands.
Zambia needs healing and reconciliation rather than confrontation which ignites frustration.
Healing and reconciliation should be led by the President, the father of the nation.
It does not matter who agrees or not agree with him.
The President has a responsibility to Zambia to ensure unity is a reality and that him being a President he has nothing to lose by rising to the occasion and to call for dialogue and to enforce unity in diversity. That is the hallmark of good leadership.
Christian teaching clearly shows that everything rises and falls according to the leadership of the moment.
The renowned Nigerian writer and poet writes in one of his books that “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.
There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character.
There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or anything else.” This has become increasing true of our Zambia.
“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan” (Proverbs 29:2).
Rev Dr Bishop Alfred Kalembo
President – Council of Churches in Zambia
Why shouldn’t he be arrested if he did something wrong? I think the church here is encouraging anarchy.
Thank you Council of Churches. This has always been my position on the Motorcade fiasco. The police are shifting the blame for their complete ldiocy and incompetence onto an innocent man HH. They were 600-plus of them but not a single policeman to secure the road that Edgar was going to use. Release HH. Let the petition be heard!
you reverands and bishops get real jobs and stop syphoning money from hard working zambian, you fr.eakin con astists
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The path Edgar has chosen will make his ending very bad & bitter. For now he thinks he’s the Alpha and the Omega. I pray that he lives long to testify like Nebuchadnezzar did that the Lord of heaven rules over all human kind
The st.upidity of PF cadres has reached alarming levels.
These churches are all UPND fanatics Rev Dr Bishop Alfred Kalembo is TONGA
Thanks
BB2014,16
What disappoints me is to read statement from supposedly God fearing person which is one sided based on hearsay & unproven information & only designed to inflame already volatile situation. The statement sounds exactly like that which came from UPND Spokesman & media. If it was issued by CCZ then it’s a major failure. Servants of God are supposed to aim for peace & bring people together rather than judge & condemn & then hope that will change attitudes. You can’t honestly say UPND President did nothing wrong as much as Police or GRZ aren’t perfect. Please do your job as peace makers & not encouraging divisions.
Thanks, Mushota for the enlightment. It is the tongas that are criticizing the President, not the church. The tonga chiefs, cheif mukuni…repulsive human beings, these tribalists, don’t you think???
True Bishop. Defend the right and fight the evil. There was no justification in Lungu sending thugs and criminals to steal from HH and damage his property. Can all you PF chaps explain why the so called police loot money and food from HH’s house if the goal was to arrest him? These criminals lungu sent went to kill and destroy. A wrong is a wrong and trouble will follow Lungu for doing such evil things
Some cadres and mana seekers are twisting and tribalising the whole illegal, unethical and immoral arrest of opposition leaders. One man, whosoever that person is cannot be made GOD on earth. President Lungu is not GOD. Even if Tonga chiefs are speaking, what is wrong in that? Tomorrow if there is any injustice to any Zambian, and Zambians speak against that, will the international community say- Hey, you are all Zambians speaking, there is nobody else coming to protect and say anything in your favour, you are Zambian tribalists?
If anybody has to be arrested for treason it shall be IG of Police for messing up the security of the President.
If anybody has to act, it shall be President Lungu to fire Inspector General Of Police, Commissioner of Police and his OP head.
He shall say sorry…
There it is pf madness is there for all to see. pf the seed you have planted will soon be given to you.
No matter what side anyone wants to take the bottom line lies on the incompetence of the police who were supposed to provide security, 600 plus men and women in uniform could not just get it right or deliberately so! Other conspiracy theories can be advanced for instance that the police already had it in their plan to arrest an opposition leader while out for the Kuomboka Ceremony and that was the pretext of sending 600 plus officers to counter any potential uprising by followers on carrying out the mission! However it proved risky as the general mood indicated not favorable for the law enforcement agents thus Plan B, the arrest had to take place in Lusaka under cover of night and masked faces! For the first time in the history of Kuomboka has the Litunga received state security of this…
contd…. magnitude, 600 plus security officers! Its 600 plus because some intelligence officers are not uniformed! Anyway a big fail for presidential security detail and the ‘powerless’ have to always suffer for failures of others, however their atonement does come one way or other! The truth has a way of rising to the surface!
Besides, why is CCZ conveniently quiet over the burning of public institutions by suspected UPND cadres? What hypocrisy is this from CCZ that allows markets in which poor people trade and government institutions from which poor people get services to be burnt by suspected UPND cadres whilst they remain quiet? Let CCZ simply come out in the open and tell us that they are also UPND.
It’s only in Zambia where cause of fires are investigated by pf caders and police, in other countries you let the fire department do the investigations, unfortunately for Zambia, it’s pf caders who are first to arrive at a fire scene before the fire brigade, this raises a lot of questions as why pf caders should arrive first at fire scenes, their awareness on these fire needs serious thought provoking investigations, remember in crime science, we always say a criminal always returns to the crime scene.
Comment:iwe Zedoc,are u blind or conveniently ignorant not to see through the plot!? every body knows the arsonists. open your fogged eyes
@zedoc
Please read the article again. You will note that the burning of all the things you mentioned came AFTER the disturbance of peace by the PF police. More over no one has evidence that it was the UPND cadres involved. What the church is asking is for the president to lead the country in the healing process and not to incite civil strive, which he is actively doing at the moment.
“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan” (Proverbs 29:2).
WHAT MORE CAN ONE SAY??
Zedoc is another wild animal that needs vaccination. He probably has rabbies and talking like made animal. These fires are PF trying to drift attention and make UPND look violent. Just look at the thugs in PF. Look at their actions seen in public. Zulu, Chongo and others who are now part of the police. Can you surely trust a word from these evil human beings
Rev. Kalembo, it is unwise for you to take sides than a balanced counsel. look prayerfully in the wrongs committed by both sides, then come in the open or go quietly and talk to Edgar Lungu or HH. Am so afraid that such inflammatory speech would come from the Church.Am glad Jesus was not religious, and that is why he had problems with religious people like Pharisee Kalembo. Let us pray for true justice to prevail as we wait for the court to determine the matter.
Some cadres are twisting and tribalising the whole illegal, unethical and immoral arrest of opposition leaders. One man, whosoever that person is cannot be made GOD on earth.President Lungu is not GOD.Even if Tonga chiefs are speaking, what is wrong in that? Tomorrow if there is any injustice to any Zambian and Zambians speak against that, will the international community say-Hey, you are all Zambians speaking, there is nobody else coming to protect and say anything in your favor, you Zambians are tribalists?
If anybody has to be arrested for treason it shall be IG of Police for messing up the security of the President.
If anybody has to act, it shall be President Lungu to fire Inspector General Of Police, Commissioner of Police and his OP head.
He shall say sorry to HH, if he is a…
@Zedoc! you are such an idi0t. are you sure you saw UPND cadres burning down government institutions!
CCZ has lost direction.No wonder the church is incapable of presiding over political differences due to this biased approach.How do you justify lawlessness?Are you telling us that the clip shownn on TV was a misquotation?Wake up ccz, be objective, nangu lupato!!People vote, but you icilema wants to ascend to power through the backdoor,democracy doesn’t work like that.Your comments simly supports regionalism!!
ccz was quite when those non tongas were attacked and forced to leave namwala.what a segrgative so called christian organization .It also shows that ccz was going to rejoice if the presidential motorcade was involved in the accident.Just imagine if it wasECL as and ordinary opposition party leader did that to icilema if it was the president.be objective ccaz
A church mother body supporting lawlessness?? That is what is wrong with this country. I urge President Lungu to ignore this bishop and let the rule of law prevail. I further urge bishop Kalengo to register his political party and further air his political views from his party.
So according to you Edgar must rule the way Idi Amin did, (You don’t need to be reminded of Idi Amin and indeed all these Autocractic despots ended, pity) I pity you people who support this madness because when time for Edgar pay for his sins comes you people supporting this madness will be the first ones to point an accusing fingure at Edgar.
No, according to me-THE RULE OF LAW MUST PREVAIL!!! Respect of institutions must be observed, not calling judges, the speaker thugs and criminals. There is no madness of dictatorship here just law taking its course.
PF Cadres are tribalising the whole illegal,unethical and immoral arrest of opposition leaders.One man, whosoever that person is cannot be made GOD on earth.President Lungu is not GOD.Even if Tonga chiefs are speaking,what is wrong in that?Tomorrow if there is any injustice to any Zambian and Zambians speak against that, will the international community say-Hey, you are all Zambians speaking, there is nobody else coming to protect and say anything in your favor, you Zambians are tribalists?
If anybody has to be arrested for treason it shall be IG of Police for messing up the security of the President.If anybody has to act, it shall be President Lungu to fire Inspector General Of Police, Commissioner of Police and his OP head.
He shall say sorry to HH, if he is a sincere person.
The tide is turning slowly but surely.
Bishop Kalengo,if over 600 law enforcemnt were left in the cold,because of one foolish act of madness were u going to speak the same language.Kindly preach peace nd bibilical teaching if not go the Nevers way.
Indeed my brother the tide is changing and many people don’t want to find themselves at the wrong side when the legal president eventually takes over. Already within the pf ranks we know there is a group wanting to break off from the lungu group. This is what always happens to illegal groupings. They never last
You do realize that HH never reached 50% in the tallied votes right?
which legal president apart from ECL.Don.t continue burying your head in the sand, please!!
ba kalembo is a downright hypocrite..when that chap insults the president and judges they are very quiet. atase
@nono and Zedoc: Do not touch the anointed – The insults you have spoken will be on you: Who told you that the UPND are he ones torching the buildings. Umutunganya lubembu if you do not know. The Church is there to speak for the people. We in Churches are the Disciples of Christ who should show love to every person. If HH was wrong who are we to crucify him. Let the Police do there work. Remember if Jesus never said Father forgive then for they do not know what they are doing, all of us would have died by now. The Church is for people from all works of life, be PF members, UPND Members, Army Personnel , Police men, Intelligence, marketers, Accountants, Judges, Engineers name them, Jesus wants every one to be saved. Mwilatuka bashimapepo twapapata.
Why is the church now getting involved in politics? Something is wrong here this is not suppose to come from the representative of the churches because it not there job
Be very afraid coz you thought your fake lea.der was anointed by God!
The only church mother body making sense at the moment. The other two are compromised by PF
The fire issues can only be explained by the pf. It’s no different from the black mambas of Hefty Jays tym. Let peace rule and lets not use power to oppress the powerless. Aka pendo kala pilibuka!
Mwe bantu, remember even in a village set-up, when one villager picks up a quarrel with another villager, and the other one says “I will kill you, you will see”, a witch who is just watching will take advantage of the situation. He will bewitch that other villager. and when that villager dies, people will say the person who has killed the other villager is that one who said he was going to kill the other villager. And yet someone else has done that. So now, what do I say, these burnings going around, it could not UPND per se. It could be someone else somewhere, or even abene ba PF so that people will think it is ba UPND. Let us not be limited in our thinking capacity. Even you as you are reading, you know that what I have explained can happen. So, let us leave all what is happening to…
FUUCCK THESE STUPIIID ORGANISATIONS, THEY PLAN CHRIST WHEN ON THE OTHER HAND THEY ARE STEALING FROM THE POOR.
FIRSTLY; YOU AS CCZ DINT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH UPND’S BEHAVIOUR?
SECONDLY; WHY IF YOU MEAN WELL ONLY SEE THE WRONG FROM ONE SIDE
THIRDLY; ZAMBIA NEEDS LEADERS AND NEUTRAL ADVISERS NOT YOUR TRIBAL BIAS-NESS
LASTLY; YOU’LL SAVE US ZAMBIANS IF YOU SHUT UP OR MOVE TO HELL AS WE ALL KNOW YOU WONT SEE THE LIGHTS OF HEAVEN YOU CON-ARTISTS
@Vuyo! may you burn in hell forever. You dont insult God like that!Your days on earth are numbered!
????????where has Vuyo insulted God??????????? He is talking about human beings that belong to the organisation called CCZ????????????????
Its just sad to say the least…..God help us
The CCZ just have issues of thier own with especially president Lungu. They have picked up a pereonal fight against him. We cant accept perpecuation of wrongs just because they been ignored before. While the use of force can be questioned, the enforcement of law and order should be supported because we cant allow the levels of anarchy we have seeing in Zambia. The church should have equally looked at how HH has been behaving before, during and after elections. If you objectively review these events you will see just how police have been patient with this gentleman. Its amazing that church leaders dont see the security of the president as of atmost importance in Zambia.
CCZ is missleading the country to claim that HH mototcarde was cleared to use the road. Zambians dont need…
force was used because the moron was arrogant
Let his Excellence ignore this one, who does nt know that CCZ is part and parcel of upnd….if we read the same bible With bishop Kalembo he should be the one to be teaching us to respect people in authority alas it has got everything to do with which tribe one emanates from.
So ba bishop continue scratching you sons ego and we will pretend you didn’t say that.
Even in early Christianity Laws were there and people complied in observing them and Jesus was not a Judge between the Rulers and Christians. Now Kalembo standing on top of the anthill proclaiming as a Judge
Reverand Kalembo is misleading with his hidden agenda as he claims what happened on that day. To imply that HH motorcade did their best to give way to President Lungu’s motorcade is wrongly perceived because the procedure is that they were supposed to totaly stop and nothing else.
I also do not know which side Kalembo’s bread is buttered in giving the advice to the President to call for a dialogue but has failed together with the Coucil Churches of Zambia in first place to advise HH to recognise Lungu as a State President then that would pave way to what you have stated.
The approach by Kalembo is wrong and fail to understand the so called Council allowed him and opted to go to the media instead of requesting with respect to meet the President. Is that the diplomacy the church is…
As a self declared Christian Nation, the country must listen to CCZ. CCZ is one of the most important voices of the religious fraternity in the country. The religious fraternity is simply saying, the potential for politicization of traffic offences is real. It is all about zeal and excesses that are commonplace in authoritarian and dictatorial regimes. It is not too late to put an end to this saga that is unfolding before it turns into a tragic end.
The CCZ is misleading the nation and must not look like are Judges on the matter. There is no diplomacy displayed by the Council in the approach and going to the media clearly shows lack of intergrity because Kalembo is giving a lecture to the people insteaad of the intended person.
@Dr Kasonde: Are you not wondering that hh went to Mongu with gbm but police only picked up hh??? Word on the ground is that gbm ACTUALLY ordered his driver to STOP!! The fact that you are trivialising the matter to a traffic offence shows your lack of understanding of matters of the state. PPJ has only strong points and is correct to say CCZ has the ability to seek audience with the president and should have done so instead of rushing to the media and misleading people. This move shows lack of respect for authority in itself. The presidential detail is not Edgar Lungu only but a national institute that has numerous SECURITY IMPLICATIONS for the nation at large, that is why it deserves all the respect due to it!! TRIVIALISING IT ONLY LEADS TO SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES.
Calling for dialogue between CCZ and government representatives is is easier said than done. The first question is: which government official? The second question is: what time? And the last question is: by what means? Issuing a public statement is not necessarily disregard for government authority. Public statements include government and members of the public. Or are you saying that government is above the employer? Remember that government is employed by the public to preserve peace and stability in order to achieve sustainable development. CCZ must be free to enjoy vital space from government officials lest CCZ is perceived as wanting in integrity.
I thought CCZ have clearly directed their statement at the office of the president, not so?? Should the time you meet a government official matter?? If I can walk into any ministry or government office and ask to see anyone as long as i state my intention, how can a church organisation that is very well known in Zambia fail to set up a meeting with the president??? Issuing a public statement (IN THE MEDIA!!) is not necessarily disregard for government authority, how can you expect action from someone you talk about in public?? If you want action done, whether from a bank manager, our pastors, the taxman we meet them face to face, not demand actions from them in media and expect anything.
ccz has lost direction as it is full of people who are partizan.It has filed to call up a reconciliatory indaba for the political parties!!!
Now i think we will see PF begin the process to manipulate the closure of CCZ
Yes, Zambia does not below to PF alone, but all Zambians.. In the same vein the PF gov has a responsibility to protect Zambians as at now… No any other political party has that mandate according to the Constitution… So if anything goes wrong to the people of Zambia, the PF Gov under President E.C. Lungu will be held responsible, hence the need for the PF government to take measures to protect the people of Zambia… This includes arresting those responsible for anarchy… Chagwa and PF has that mandate for now…
I am not a lawyer, but a concerned citizen… As for what happened in Mongu is tantamount to killing the president. If you hear ambulance is coming we give way, even car carrying a copse or coffin with a body for burial and have lights own or in hazard mode, we give…
@Juju! i see you are an idi0t just like dull Lungu.
Those God wants to destroy he first makes them mad. Everyone can see the madness of pf unbelievable.
The headline is misleading, it is supposed to be Council of Churches in Southern Province condemns Lungu. This Kalembo could he be the one who raped a female congregant in 1998?
Rev Dr Bishop Alfred Kalembo is very dull, a country is not run like a church, they are two opposite institutions, in church they forgive but never forget, in management they punish the offenders. Rev. Read the theory of Mcgregory about rewards and punishments atleast you may get some knowledge from there.
Council of thieves, cheats and hypocrites in Zambia.
This Bishop (Kalembo) is practicing SPIRITUAL IDIOCY, by using Christianity and GOD’s name in vain. How on earth does he shamelessly support lawlessness? It does not mean that if you do not belong to the PF or support the PF, then you should be above the law. The law is for everyone in this country, including Bishop Kalembo. My advice to you Bishop is to take your spiritual lunacy to house, confine it there. The Bible in Romans 13; 1 says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God”. It also says in Mathew 5:9 that, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”. Clearly, the Bishop has chosen to support man who leads a part which is allergic to peace…
This bishop sounds like someone who belongs to the underworld.
The main difference between the Bishop’s stand and those opposed to his stand is purely a matter of appreciation of the gravity of each action to humankind and their leadership. Compare and contrast what happened on the road in Mongu and the mid-night raid at HH’s home. Did HH resist to yield on the road, OK we can say YES. Did HH resist arrest or ignore Police callout? NO. Why the raid then? This doesn’t seem to be something done in good faith. There is an element of anger somewhere and as we know anger can cloud our judgement. Leadership needs to be very level headed in order to diffuse tensions.
An eye for an eye and soon the whole world will be blind!!!!
Useless speech by the ‘mother body’ and whoever thinks they are right are equally wrong. Why must such lawlessness be accepted and why must one individual be allowed to break the law at will. This is no sense and this is why people have lost respect in these business churches. Well meaning zambians will take that as an option of one selfish man called Reverend Kalembo.
Quiet, PF UPND just the same guys unrealistic hell bent, blatant liars and thieves. Why even participate in their nonsensical behavior…….
God wants to destroy Reverend Kalembo he has seen madness in him just as HH is being destroyed by people who keep on praising him by doing wrong things.
“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan” (Proverbs 29:2).
WHAT MORE CAN ONE SAY??
When the Police went to fetch him at his house, he hid in a bunker, which translates into resisting arrest. For your own information, the Police work round the clock, so they can apprehend a suspect anytime they deem fit. Also note that the Police do not issue call-outs all the time; it depends on the nature of the offense under probe. Imagine if they had to issue call-outs to robbers! One wonders how many they will catch. Lastly, treason is a felony of the highest order, meaning that a call-out was not necessary or appropriate.
Good statement from CCZ. If the President is indeed a Christian, this is something he should reflect on.To be respected as a leader, you don’t threaten, beat or coerce people. People must recognise and respect you because they see that you deserve it. In the same vein, to win over UPND cadres, a different approach of reconciliation and engagement should have been used instead of intimidation. For example, during the farming input problems, he should have visited a farmer in SP, commiserated and then provided a solution. Those pictures would have gone a long way in endearing him to opposition cadres. But alas, he is being advised differently and this presidency might not end well for him.
Who is this “bishop” Kalembo? Is he the pastor at the church where elders are appointed on the basis of your riches and specific tribe? The church which, unlike Jesus who embraced all humanity, calls people “sons” only if they are chuundu? Same difference, they are all UPNDonkeys. No further comment from Terrible.
Has he been to Dudumwezi as promised?
The CCZ must stick to day job…preaching in church…
Thank CCZ. Zambia is for all and human rights must be respected. What do expect from illegal president. Illegality and lawlessness. A wrong is a wrong and lungu was wrong.No amount of justification will chnage the facts lungu ws wrong. The state must be sued for damage of property and arrest without a warrant.
Mmmmmmmmm……..sinifuna na kulanga
If all so called mother church bodies were like CCZ who come out and condemn evil this country would have been better for all of us unlike the hypocrisy that we see happening ……..
I belong to UCZ which is one of the member churches of CCZ. I have always felt that UCZ had very close ties to government of the day including Ministers and HE himself. Now if today, they are sending us this message, I think we must humble ourselves enough to reflect on our actions.
The problem is that the CCZ leader went public without weighing the facts from both sides. What can you say if the court will choose to make a ruling after hearing only one side of the case?
FOOLISH BISHOP. THAT`S WHAT I CAN SAY.
My only worry is this: What biblical teaching allows you not to recognize an elected and legally installed president. What biblical teachings allow an elected MP to refuse authority. What teachings is a father giving to his children when that father does not recognize a legally elected president? How come this Church was quite when people were insulting a legally elected president? How come this church was quite when the president was being insulted in among i by UPND cadres?
Whatever is happening in Zambian politics leaves a lot to desire. As a driver, I’m always on the look out for emergence vehicles (sirens and flashing lights) as part of highway code for every driver. Hichilema’s chaufer can’t be new to this code. In the video, I see several police cars passing-by without his driver packing his car off the road. I believe his driver wanted to create a scene. He got it.
But, I also seen some members of Balotse claiming an independent state: the police would normally send more officers to Mongu or Monze than Chipata or Solwezi. I believe the officers were spread out. The Boston Marathon yesterday had over 1,580 security personnel because of past terror attack.
However, the police could have lapsed, but if Hichilema wanted to create a scene, I don’t…
@Joseph Mvula, your observations are very spot on. My question to the Bishop and the UPND family is: “If there is a lapse in handling security of the president, such as the one that could have happened in Mongu, what should responsible and law-abiding citizens do? Should they engage the presidential motorcade in a drag race? Or should they hurl all sorts of insults at the President and gesture to him to get off the road and get lost? Bishop Kalembo, do you know that in other countries, HH and most of the people in his convoy would have been history by now? They could have been showered with bullets all over their bodies. Thank GOD, President ECL did not want his hands to be stained with the blood of people with puffed up egos.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
There is a misconception that the Presidents life was in danger. This is a serious exaggeration. I worked under security for many years and in different countries. There is also a lie that in other countries people who were on the same road with the president were going to be showered with bullets. This thing is being dramatized for nothing and completely nothing. Please no life was at risk, President Lungu is my President and I love him but nobody should cheat him that his life was in danger in Mongu.
hypocrite iwee
I am very disappointed by this govt. Police is to blame for sure
Time will tell
Lungu needs to re-think his strategy. His illegitimacy arises from the 2016 Disputed and Petitioned Election. The notion that Lungu can be recognized without the Petition Hearing Process is false.Lungu’s strategy as advised by the notorious criminal Zulu to kill the Petition by either imprisoning the Petitioners or killing them wont work. The Strategy has backfired big time and the International Community is now up in arms with Dictator and Illegitimate Lungu after imprisoning HH and charging with trumped up charges. Illegitimate Lungu is going to be slapped Economic and Travel Sanctions and can forget about IMF Money and Donor Aid. Very soon Zambia will become a pariah and Police State.
The so called international community who have commented about hh are all his network partners or his tribesmates!! CCZ are headed by a tonga, ALN is an elitist organisation that is only in partnership with select opposition on the continent, the tonga chiefs, Obasanjo is a patron of a group of capitalists who are have ulterior motives and supported hh presidential bid-WHICH OTHER INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???? Your percieved utopia that Zambians are unhappy with a dictator won’t yield any results as the majority of Zambians chose ECL and have rejected hh five times!! Lusaka is quiet and life is going on as usual and nothing will convince people seeing opportunities in this economy take up arms to rise up against the very government they endorsed.
Hit the nail on the head.Obasanjo has failed to contain his boko-haram