Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zambia is a democracy

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Paul Moonga
Paul Moonga

By Paul Moonga

Recent accusations that the Zambian government is a dictatorship borders cannot pass without comment.

There have been a myriad of accusations from the international community that Zambian Government is a dictatorship. I wish to categorically these malicious allegations with all the contempt available.

Zambia cannot be governed by foreign powers and its status as a democracy cannot be distorted by the arrest of one person.

Foreign powers must understand their boundaries and stop popping their nose into the internal affairs of the country.

Zambia practices organized democracy where laws take precedence while all the ingredients of a functional democracy including the conduct of transparent and credible elections are followed and respected by all citizens.

Therefore, the branding of Zambia as a dictatorship is mischievous and meant to put the Zambian government under worthless pressure to the benefit of an individual politician.

Last month, the country woke up to a ruthless, reckless and undiplomatic attack by our former colonial masters, the European Community which accused the Zambian Government of Human Rights abuses.

The statement amounts to direct interference into the affairs of a sovereign nation, in this case Zambia.

The EU Parliament does not need any reminder that they colonized Africa and took away our wealth. We will no longer accept any form of recolonization coming in form of Human Rights which they abused a few decades ago by killing many Africans in the name of colonization. There come back from the back-door is utter nonsense and our government must stand firm and rubbish these attempts.

Hakainde Hichilema

Hakainde Hichilema they are referring to is suspected to have committed an offence under the law of the Republic of Zambia and was arrested by the police after several gatherings when he announced his decision not to recognize President Edgar Lungu as Head of State.

Hichilema conducted several press conferences where he said he won the elections of August 2016. This clearly amounts to usurping the powers of a duly elected Government which is a criminal offence in our statutes. On top of that, the opposition leader to refused to give way to the police in his continued attempt to undermine a sitting President.

If Europe continues accusing the Zambian Government of abusing Human Rights on account f arresting an alleged law breaker, they should tell the World what it means to send back hundreds of illegal immigrants intending to settle in their countries, back to the oceans to suffer.

Europe must be ignored because the Zambian Government allowed Mr Hichilema to express his opinions and declare himself Head of State for several months but his arrogance reached the head to an extent where he started blocking President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s motorcade.

There is no civilized or uncivilized state today which can allow any citizen of its country to behave in the manner Mr Hichilema was behaving after losing the Presidential election.

In the name of protecting democracy, the Zambian Government tolerated him for so many months but every democracy has laws. The EU has promoted a thought that Human Rights end where the rights of another start and we believe Mr Hichilema is not the only Zambian who has Rights. His rights equally end where the rights of others start.

The EU MPs must know that Zambia has laws which cut across every Zambian whether in politics or not and that is why the government has said he must be cleared by the Courts of law.

So in the final analysis, I wish to condemn in the strongest terms the decision by the EU to exert unnecessary pressure on the Zambian government on a law breaker. The man they seem to support publicly broke the law and the EU kept quiet until he was arrested.

EU Parliament should have been brave and condemn HH for his actions and then ask the Zambian Government to find a solution to his predicament instead of taking sides all the time in favour of the opposition.

Vernon Mwaanga

Mr Vernon Johnson Mwaanga is a finished, spent and overused politician who pretends to understand democracy but the Government was worse in Human Rights abuses when he was Minister in the MMD Government.

I want to remind Mr Mwaanga that Zambians have not forgotten when he closed Radio Phoenix by canceling the licenses with a trace of justifications. His decision to mount a globe-trotting mission to damage the Zambia’s democratic credentials is an act of a finished politician seeking relevance in a very advanced system.

Mr Mwaanga has continued to denounce the Government and pretends to be the author of the country’s democracy in the eyes of the International Community. His alliance with the Mast Newspaper is a tired and empty effort aimed at winning political favors for his party, the United Party for National Development (UPND).

As PF, we will not spare him and I wish to challenge him to come and start campaigning for his party so that we can handle in an open political battle field. Mr Mwaanga should not continue hiding behind the veil of veteran politician when his views slanted towards rendering support to his party. Mr Mwaanga was recently quoted as saying the Government was suppressing views of critics without justifying his utterances.

The Mast Newspaper

Last week, the Newspaper carried a story which quoted UPND president Hakainde Hichilema. This is a deliberate action by the Newspaper to transverse the law because they know that a person detained for criminal activities does not have the right to appear in newspapers. He loses all the privileges, according to the Zambian law.

The Newspaper is deliberately taking steps to breach the law knowing too well that Mr Hichilema stands on very weak grounds. Any statements he issues on his own criminal matters can easily be interpreted as contempt of court which will land both the newspaper and the opposition leader in trouble.

This shows that Mr Hichilema is a very arrogant character who dares the law even after he has been arrested.

I wish to condemn both the Mast and Mr Hichilema for this illegal action.

The Author is a Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Central Committee

39 COMMENTS

    • How can the EU condemn something which your state prosecutors entered a nolle prosecui and the other case the court throw out because it lacked substance. Pf cadres YIKES!

    • Who is this guy again? Another muppet popping up…….new PF spokesperson. Ooooh nooo, give us a break. We are fed up with the Muppets show.

      What you call “direct interference into the affairs of a sovereign nation, in this case, Zambia”, could be also interpreted as a call to help the oppressed.

      So, sorry, bla…bla…

    • This is the first time i am seeing a tonga writing something against UPND and the demigod for the southerners, HH. I am surprised. Finding a Tonga who thinks the government is doing well is as rare as finding a hen with teeth

    • Anyone who thinks Edgar Changwa Lungu or PF is runs a democracy ought to see a psychiatrist at the earliest convenience. These are the worst bunch of clueless governance self-seekers. This one is among a group of I.d.i.o.t.s. saying ECL will or should run in 2021. I suggest the opposition put up a monkey first. Iam sure many Zambians will vote for the monkey in place of what we have now that has totally destroyed democracy, the economy and is cluessless.

  1. If Zambia was a democracy as you claim, opposition parties wouldn’t be denied permits to hold meetings, nor opposition leader’s arrested for greeting people in public. Democratic governments allow people to protest non violently, but your government denies citizen their basic right. Just a few examples for you.

    • Ba Lombe dont be emotional. Zambia is a democracy. We hold elections and the challenger is allowed to contest the results in a court of law. The fact that his lawyers botched the trial doesn’t mean the election werent fair and he won. If HH had blocked the US presidential motocade, he would be in jail or would have been blown off the road. How many people have been arrested even shot by scaling the white house wall fence? Perespective my dear Lombe perspective

    • THE DEMOCRACY IN ZAMBIA SOMETIMES EVEN OUTWAYS MOST OF THE WESTERN COUNTRIES DEMOCRACY. ZAMBIA IS A DEMOCRACY WHERE EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND IN MOST CASE THIS DEMOCRACY IS ABUSED. I DON’T THINK OBSTRUCTING A PRESIDENTIAL/PRIME MINISTERIAL MOTORCADE WOULD GO SO FREELY IN THESE SO CALLED DEMOCRACIES. IN FACT SUCH OBSTRUCTION WILL FIND THE GROUP OF PEOPLE OBSTRUCTING UNDER FIRE WITH LIVE BULLETS. THEY WOULD BE DEAD WITHOUT QUESTION. IN THE WEST, EVEN EAST, THAT CANNOT BE ALLOWED. THE BULLETS CAN RAIN ON OBSTRUCTORS LIKE RAIN ITSELF.

  2. A isha …. ex spy… you talk too much… if your wife complains….Did you hear what Davies Chama said that Tongas need to produce many children and it need a hundred year for them to rule… You are Tonga and go and produce so many children in order for you to rule…
    Forgive this man… He is hungry and needs food… Help ECL and give him a Job… Appoint Mazabuka DC..or Sibuyunji DC
    Mudala be principled….. you are let down to the intel security…. chobeni

  3. Help him ECL and give him a Job… Appoint him Mazabuka DC..or Sibuyunji DC……..
    Mudala mwa penga…. You sold your farm and equipments to meet some costs.. You know what I mean….

  4. @Lombe site down, how can the government give someone a permit to hold a rally when he dont recognize the head of state? sometimes ba UPND cadres u should just keep quite

  5. Bob is also convinced that Zimbabwe is a democracy.

    And Zambians also think that Zambia is a christian nation.

    And some of you think that the donors can go to hell.

    Well, what you think doesn’t change reality. The donors cant go to hel|, because hel| is what would happen if they didnt give us budgetary support. We look at those that extend their begging bowls in the streets with contempt, yet our dishonorable finance min!ster is happy to extend the begging bowl at every opportunity. He cant sit still when he sees the colonial masters, he is more than happy to extend the begging arm. Oftentimes I close my car window because i dont want to be bothered by beggars. And the ministers is ever begging. I better the lenders feel the same way. Everytime he opens his mouth, he talks about…

  6. Everytime he opens his mouth, he talks about begging. Shame on this country. Home grown begging initiative! Where is the pride and dignity of Homo Africanus?

  7. This moron is going to do more harm than good. The sooner they tame this buffoon the better. My heart bleeds when I read such ill fated statements coming from these cadres all in the name of pleasing their master. This is the first time we have seen such callousness in dealing with diplomatic issues which borders on the rule and law and human rights.Please stop this nonsense before we lose the last iota of decency and decorum. The is very embarrassing to say the least.

  8. Only PF bootlickrrs don’t see dictatorship….the church, the rest of the world and the majority of Zambian see a corrupt dictatorship

    ……if it acts like a dictatorship….if it talks like a dictatorship, wtf it must be a dictatorship…

  9. What really is going on in PF. Mumba phiri, Frank Bwalya, Sunday Chanda, Paul Moonga should be given govt positions to stop issuing untimely and baseless statements. Anyway it earned Bowman a ministerial position for attacking H H. Today he is alleged to have many plots and he is crying foul so loud.

  10. Another PF bootlicker that should not be given a platform to express his ignorance and shallow opinion.

    The article should have clearly defined a functioning democracy and how close or far Zambia is from that standard.

    If I was grading this as an assignment in political science 101, I would grade it a D minus.

  11. Moonga has nailed it straight and to the point. If he was shagging the woman would have reached orgasm 10 times in one round. Good points badala. Whwre the rights of hh ends thats where my rights begins. We all have rights.

  12. You can not smell yourself PF is a dictatorship. No amount of press releases fromPF sycophants will change this.

  13. I feel for the ones that are hurting so much on what is currently trending in Zambian politics. Politics of hate, suspicion, unnecessary talking, blind followers, insult meditation, spending too much time online looking for a news article to express or post a vulgar comment, belittling others, shaming other tribes is so dangerous to your health. The following effects on your health am sure have already started building up in you:
    .An angry outburst puts your heart at great risk . It weakens your immune system . Anger is also linked to depression . Anger ups your stroke risk and mostly Anger can shorten your life!
    lastly: damaging effects of hatred are so powerful that they erode the human spirit as powerfully as any chemical toxin. Stay away from armed tongues, fiery tempers, and…

  14. If, indeed, this is coming from a member of the PF Central Committee, it only amounts to self praise.

  15. There is no need for self justification in this matter. It is very difficult for one to see their own mistake but paying attention to the voices of those that are watching your every move can wisen you up

  16. No Zambia has turn into dictator, now no one has right to express freedom, Zambia no longer understand what democracy is

  17. This author is a coward for not disclosing his actual name. Which democracy are you trying to preach about in this publication when hundreds of innocent Zambians including HH are incacerated and are languishing in prisons because of this intolerant dictatorship government. 90 percent of Zambians feel oppressed by this OF government and we are not happy with Lungu and the way he is governing OUR COUNTRY. THIS IS OUR COUNTRY, NOT FOR PF AND POLICE. Zambia is part of the international community, hence the Europeans have the right to react to the dirty which is in our country. VIVA EUROPEAN UNION VIVA!

  18. Moonga tell us why did the late M.C. Sata chase you from the PF central committee? If you tell the western powers not to meddle in Zambia’s affairs don’t go borrowing from them or seeking AID. Provide clean drinking water for Lusaka compounds and today even the plush suburb of Kabulonga has no running water! People are dying like flies in UTH, poverty is more today than when PF took over power! How much are we paying for electricity. The list is endless please channel your brains to addressing these issues

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