Thursday, March 28, 2024

UPND MPS are very disappointing

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UPND MPs boycott opening of PArliament
UPND MPs boycott opening of PArliament

By Michael Chishala

They did it again! The four that were not on suspension walked out of Parliament on 11th July 2017 during one of the most consequential debates in the House for the last 20 years or so. I am left scratching my head wondering what role the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) Members of Parliament imagine themselves as having in the Zambian Legislature.

Even though we all knew that the results of the Parliamentary vote was a foregone conclusion, why would the UPND MPs who claim to be representing their voters pass up the opportunity to argue vociferously against the 90 days Threatened State Of Emergency (TSOE)? Why did they decide it was pointless to let Zambians hear their arguments against the TSOE, even if for posterity? I had to stop listening to the debate on Parliament Radio after an hour because it became rather predictable.

If I were a UPND MP, even if I had misgivings with the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) government, I would have made sure I attended the debate and questioned the Home Affairs Minister Mr Stephen Kampyongo on the issue of the oftentimes unprofessional Zambia Police which more closely resembles a force than a service. I would ask the Minister for concrete assurances to be given to Zambian citizens that there will be no human rights abuses by the often trigger happy police in the current climate where they have been given broader powers.

Not too long ago, a young student Ruth Mbandu was brutally murdered but instead of professionally investigating the case, the Zambia Police arrested the wrong people and tortured them into signing a confession. The case was thrown out and the suspects freed with the judge strongly rebuking the conduct of the Police.

Why haven’t any of the police officers involved been disciplined, suspended or punished (to our knowledge)? They should have been fired immediately and charged with assault, but instead they are free and probably continue harassing and beating up innocent people.

Meanwhile the murderers of Ruth are still out there enjoying life. I feel sad that the life of a young woman in her prime was cruelly cut short and we have a police force which apparently does not care enough to investigate the case properly. The case has died a natural death as with many things in Zambia.

I saw with my own eyes just last year a Police Land Cruiser driving along the road from Meanwood Airport area towards the Natural Resources DEvelopment College (NRDC) at night. It stopped abruptly, officers jumped out and grabbed people who were peacefully walking along the road and tossed them roughly into the van. There were the usual slaps and all this is apparently normal for us. Even if there is some legal basis due to the infamous one-party era “shishita” laws, why slap people and handle them violently just for walking home at night? What is to be gained by the police harassing peaceful citizens?

In another case, a Zambia Air Force (ZAF) officer was apparently beaten to death while in police custody at Woodlands Police. Initially the police officially blamed the inmates but now their own officers have been charged. If indeed police officers committed the dastardly deeds, one wonders why plenty of them feel comfortable to do illegal things to people they arrest, apparently knowing they shall always get away with it.

We also had the case of a drunk policeman (captured on video) wielding an AK-47 rifle at UPND MP Mr Garry Nkombo which could have led to loss of life in the heat of the argument. The Police defended the officer but a few days later, another video surfaced of a totally drunk officer falling down while in uniform. Up to now the police have never bothered to update us and tell us if the drunk officer was disciplined and what steps they have taken to reduce such indiscipline.

The examples I have mentioned are just a few of the many documented cases stretching from independence to date. Many citizens are fearful that the chequered history of the Zambian police may be a sign of bad things to come. After all, what will stop over-zealous policemen doing unethical and illegal things to appear to be producing results to their superiors?

In the eyes of many Zambians, the UPND MPs have engaged in a serious dereliction of their duty to provide checks and balances. If indeed they care about us Zambians and want to make our lives better and get us to vote for them in 2021, they should have been arguing for the preservation of our human rights and against potential police brutality during the TSOE. Instead, I am seeing the Minister of Justice Mr Given Lubinda making the argument which the four UPND MPs should have been making in the House.

The UPND MPs for example could have asked Mr Kampyongo to set up an independent body for the public to report cases of abuses at the hands of the police during the TSOE. The body can have toll free lines, WhatsApp numbers, emails and the option for reporting anonymously through an online Whistle Blower system. The UPND MPs seem to forget that these and other suggestions they could have made in the House are meant to protect everyone, including innocent UPND members so that there are fewer cases of brutality by rogue police officers.

The UPND MPs keep absconding themselves from Parliament while happily “eating” their fat allowances, salaries and enjoying the power and privilege that comes with their position in society. Whenever there is a debate about increasing salaries of Members of Parliament, not a single UPND MP is absent and they all vote 100% in favour.

I appeal to all the opposition MPs to please be serious and do their duty all the time. If they have good reasons to be frequently absconding from parliament, let them explain themselves to us and we shall be all ears. They should think about the fact that the ruling party will do many more things that they will not like. It will become utter absurdity of the highest order to keep absconding in “protest”.

You can’t keep protesting forever, even when the train has already left the station. With much authority comes great responsibility and the UPND have to put Zambians first instead of their political agendas for which I suspect most Zambians have zero sympathy for. If UPND MPs are not prepared to do what we pay them to do, let them resign on moral grounds and I shall be first to cheer and clap for them for being principled.

The Author is a businessman and a software and web developer based in Lusaka, Zambia. He was trained as an engineer at the University of Manchester in England and has interests in Philosophy, Economics, Politics, Theoretical Physics, Architecture, Music, Art and Movies.

69 COMMENTS

  1. The only one disappointing is that father of yours who decided to not wrap up all in the name of 2 minutes of enjoyment and in the end came up with a child like you who now writes useless articles. ****deleted****

    • The day these MPs will realize that their participation in parliament is beyond their allegiance to their leader they will change their attitude. Until that happens we’ll expect more walk -outs. The unfortunate thing is that even the people that voted for them don’t hold them accountable, but hey – this is Zambia for you, people are chewing free tax money and we are there watching, laughing and blogging it away. WE ARE EATING INTO THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN AND IT DOESN’T SEEM TO BOTHER US.

    • @ NEZ is Typical of what UPND does. To oppose even what makes sense and support anything said by fellow party leaders or members. Completely no sense of responsibility. How can such a party win hearts of reasonable voters?

    • And you think you can attract new voters like that??
      So for you, you just looked at the name of the author and trashed everything,really sad and disappointing!!

    • If I were a UPND MP…….. I would have made sure I attended the debate and questioned the Home Affairs Minister Mr Stephen Kampyongo on the issue of the oftentimes unprofessional Zambia Police which……. Then what would that have changed? Nothing. Chishala, you should realise that you are not dealing with a normal government under PF. There are no laws, rules, policies etc. What counts is what PF want to achieve. Period. All laws are suspended since 2011 until PF is out of power, unless when they like.

    • the author is just another useless id..io.t. what was there with UPND MPS to debate when it is clear that this was a planned move. Don’t bring out your tribal hate on social media Ceta iwe. PF knew they will vote for the motion and if anything PF MPS are to be blamed because if it means voting for cockroaches to become part of our family members for the sake of being in power they can do it.

    • Remember the part in ANIMAL FARM where Napoleon dictator of the farm he sent his dogs to eat up any animal that didn’t agree with him. If something went wrong (like when the windmill they’d worked so hard on was wrecked), Napoleon blamed it on Snowball. According to Napoleon, Snowball was sneaking around Animal Farm ruining everything.

      Similarly PF has adopted the tactic of committing a crime & passing the blame on the victim:-

      – PF Closed Post Newspaper but put the blame on Mmembe for over-inflated tax bill
      – PF rigged the elections but put the blame on UPND & even arrested Mwaliteta for trying to arrest Kaizer Zulu red-handed with Ballot boxes.
      – PF cadres caused election violence but put the blame on UPND for defending themselves
      – PF bribed the ConCourt judges but put the…

    • CONT’D…
      – PF bribed the ConCourt judges but put the blame on UPND for dwelling on preliminaries
      – PF abducted HH & charged him with treason for a flimsy traffic offence but put the blame on him for disrespecting their president
      – PF tortured HH & co-accused when arresting them but put the blame on HH for locking himself in the Safe Room.
      – Lusaka market fire was started at a stall that had no electricity for 3 days. In the morning, when the power was switched at the mains, the fire started. But the blame was put on UPND.
      – PF declared State of Emergency without any investigation into the fire but now want to put the blame on UPND
      – Next PF will ban all opposition parties & put the blame on HH

    • @1.3 If HH had endorsed the torching City Market NEZ was going to support it.When his “official ” disowned the incident, NEZ followed suit.

    • @ 1.5 Jack. It is indeed true that the arguments of the UPND MPs could not have changed the status quo but walking away is not the right thing to do. UPND Mps were suppose to put up a spirited fight that in itself could have vindicated them in future as a reference point.Walking away shows that you dont have anything to put across. Put your points across and let the Zambian people know what you think on their behalf because you are peoples representatives.How are the people going to know your worth if you are always walking away? You are doing us and yourselves alot of deservice.

  2. This tonga party should never ever be allowed to run the affairs of the nation. Let them remain opposition until they fade naturally

    • I HOPE YOU ARE GOD CHOSEN BUT IF YOU ARE A NORMAL HUMAN BEEN, WHATEVER YOUR TRIBE WHICH IS USELESS MAY YOU BE DELIVERED KOLWE IWE

    • @Tantwe, your tribal attitude is ingratiating. When late Sata set up a government of all Bembas and Ushis and evidence is on record, you pretended all is fine in Zambian politics. To call UPND party tribal whose election results has been stolen, deceived by our own laws resulting in disrepute of Zambia by the international community is really self delusional. You have small minds incapable of finding root cause of national issues.

  3. At least if you put your argument in Parliament, you’ll be able to tell your people that “we did our best but the majority couldn’t listen “

  4. Their Arguments Against TSOE Would Have Been Pointless Even If They Had Attended. The Voting Pf=85, And While UPND=4.

    • You missed the author’s point … which is that UPND must use the parliament platform to put forward their arguments and who knows, tomorrow people may just buy into their vision. Perhaps they didn’t have any argument to make!!!

    • but the world would have heard their argument and posterity will have jugded them in their favour. sometimes its not about numbers but about openess, truth , and facts.

    • Umwina nkana

      Who would have heard their arguments when all independent media is threatened?? Was ZNBC going to let the public know about UPNDs arguments ?

  5. The impression one gets is that UPND members are in parliament not to represent the interests of the people who voted for them but the interests of HH.

    • Spot on, Facts!! One commentator on facebook said the difference with PF mps and UPND mps is that the PF mps love their party while the UPND mps love hh. Even when hh instructs them wrongly, they will follow with zeal and not question or advise him on the repercussions. It is like taboo to question hh in UPND, look what happened to Dr. Canicius Banda?? PF was like that when MCS was alive but under ECL they are now a team; They make collective decisions and properly scrutinize their decisions. PF is now an effective political unit while UPND remains a party controlled by a “strongman” dictator leader just like UNIP in the 70s and 80s.

  6. Mr micheal you can’t advise the upnd like that, the battle in the house of the parliamentary is now a concern for PF and UPND not representing their electorates. The oppositions members want to come out openly and provide paunch to paunch with the ruling which is not suppose to be the case but provides checks and balances on the issues of national governance. The oppositions are not doing enough of what they were voted for.as a result they would keep on politicking instead of representing national interests and get more frustrated as it is now.

  7. I want to find out why it is ok in Zambia to drive at any time whether it is 24,01 03 etc but you will be arrested for alleged loitering for walking at 21 hours?

    • You have said the answer ‘loitering’. Loitering anywhere in the world bamanga. No mula du ukulu.

    • Loitering can land you in cells. But going home from a bar, work, hospital, a visit is not loitering. Hope you knew what you were writing.

    • Stop hiding in grammar. You all know what he means. Walking to your home will attract a loitering charge when driving home won’t get you any charge. Its an elitist bias. If you have a car we won’t touch you but if you are poor we will

  8. Mr Chishala well articulated. Regardless of political affiliation a good opposition is needed to provide checks and balance- something UPNDunderheads have failed to do since 2014 after the Presidential By election. Their party is a one man show where everything rotates around their tribal Lord Human Hyena(HH). These jokers have missed their opportunities and the bus has left them behind. Zambians as I’ve said many times deserve a better opposition than UPND. Even I as a supporter of ECL have not always agreed with the govt, I’ve condemned some of the govt actions but never will you see UPND bloggers condemn their sa.tanic party or their MPs, this is why I call these chaps dunderheads and cretins.

  9. I am very surprised that UPND loyalists can trash this well tabulated police inefficiencies! The writer has stated examples of serious scenarios that would have been the basis to oppose increase of powers to a police which is already a police force. Does it mean any advise for as long as it doesnt come from UPND is trash?? Forget the unbalanced numbers in parliament, look at how Malema argues in parliament. He doesnt care as long as Zuma and them listens.
    This party is sure a disgrace and its members like Nez above continues to prove why they should not be given votes!!

  10. Very good article Mr. Chishala. Your point on ZP is very true, infact ZP is not just the problem of PF but any government that will be in power. ZP needs urgent attention, its training methods, operations and relevance are obsolete!! They cannot serve a modern society; Through our mps (regardless of which party) we need to pressure the executive to kick start its reform!!

    • @ Zambian citizen, spot on what Chishala points out on ZP. That line of thought should have gone further to look into whats wrong with our electoral system, inbuilt mechanisms to prevent influence from the government in power and independent judicial system among other things. To suggest that all this is disappointing on account of UPND MPs boycotting parliament is being economical with truth if not delusional on Chishala’s head lines.

  11. To commend chishala for this article shows lack of analysis.PF mps to begin with are there for Lungu and not for people.How many voted against?Its a 50-50 affair.In schooled parley unprogressive bills can be shot down.Why debate when the matter is predetermined?Moreso you argue against cadres heading ministry who do not distiquish a toe from a finger.Infact we have the worst parley and cabnet may only one or two ministers are proffessional.

    • Thats the more reason to be meeting them head on in parliament. Regardless of the unbalanced numbers, Its their job to debate and as the writer has stated we the people shall be the judges of whos with us or not. Its you and me who should be getting frustrated if our ideas and suggestions are over looked not people with a mandate to do so who even gets paid to do so. As a matter of fact if you run away from engaging these ‘cadre’ ministers in parliament, where else will you engage them from??

  12. All MPs, I repeat all MPs, are a disappointment when it comes to representing the people who voted for them, period. All they care about is themselves, as one Munkombwe put it, it is politics of the belly, full stop!

  13. This article is very good. HH has chosen to be Antagonistic rather than providing checks and balances objectively and all his members have followed suit. They have been blinded and as a result they keep on scoring their own goals. Poor leadership indeed. These MP’S are and the entire party is extremely irritating.

    • No opposition MP can work in a dictatorship, name any country where opposition MPs do anything when there is a budding dictatorship???

  14. You cannot say and do anything in zambia if you are in the opposition. Nobody listens to the opposition. They will simplify shout them down and life goes on in Pf zambia limited. At the top is the chief constable who lied that 11 people were arrested for market fire. Where are they? Which court are they appearing in?

    • No opposition MP can work in a dictatorship, name any country where opposition MPs do anything when there is a budding dictatorship???

  15. Donkeys, UPNDonkeys, how many times are you going to advise them? For them no underfive no UPND. But I suppose it makes sense, after all one of the reasons which was given for underfive to succeed Mazoka was funding the party, and not the political suitability of underfive. Even though some used it to disguise a tribal preference, the results are there to see – loss after loss and excuse after excuse for the perpertual loss. And inexplicably the UPNDonkeys have never thought that a proper party is not run from an individuals pocket but mobilisation of resources from members especially the senior members like Gary, Jack, and from well wishers once the objectives are sold well and resonate with members and well wishers. Tell me a party which has ruled Zambia since independence and was…

  16. …. Tell me a party which has ruled Zambia since independence and was funded from the party president’s pocket? Then you wake up and wonder with shock why your “party” keeps losing elections and you keep pointing fingers at other imagined “enemies”, including the international observers who keep declaring Zambian elections free and fair.

  17. But I just made a shocking discovery that no Donkeys have ear drums, its a see through tunnel. Believe me I looked into one ear and discovered that through that ear I could see the trees on the other side of the donkey’s head.

  18. Ruth Mbandu issue is the only matter I’m concerned. Dr Solomon Jere is answerable on this one. He knows the big fish involved and didn’t arrest him after being promoted. #GODPUNISHTHEDEVIL

  19. What did the UPND MPs gain by absconding the debate on the motion? NOTHING. What did they gain by absconding the State of the Nation? THEY LOST THEIR JUNE SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES. What should they learn? Walking out (AVOID-IT) approach doesn’t solve any conflict; it is like burying your head in sand hoping that the problem will vanish on its own. Be assertive; tell people what you want.

    • No opposition MP can work in a dictatorship, name any country where opposition MPs do anything when there is a budding dictatorship???

  20. from the comments i am getting from our friends the “educated ” supporters of the UPND, i would not vote for them if there was elections tomorrow. Their one and only agenda is lets put HH in state house or I dare say lets put a tribesman into office.

  21. My brother u are actually the one who is disappointing because you have decided not to see the point the upnd MPs are driving. In the first place the suspension is illegal and meant to force the Lungu presidency into the throught of upnd and their supporters. Secondly the 4 were suspended to divide and rule the upnd. The presence of 4 MPs would’ve made no difference but legitimise that illegality.

  22. IV BEEN NON-PARTISAN TILL NOW BUT CLEARLY THE UPND MP’S ACTION IS INDICATIVE OF A PEOPLE THAT CANNOT GOVERN A NATION.
    ZAMBIANS OPEN YOUR EYES THESE PEOPLE ARE DESTRUCTIVE , NOTHING GOOD COMES OUT F THEM HABAI WOULD NEVER VOYE UPND EVEN IF IT WAS THE LAST PARTY STANDING- COME 2021 I WILL RETURN TO CAST MY VOTE FOR PF

    • No opposition MP can work in a dictatorship, name any country where opposition MPs do anything when there is a budding dictatorship???

  23. Yes their arguments against the SOE were needed but their vote they could withhold. However politics is about grandstanding and that’s what they came to do on the day

  24. @24 I Support you, they do not know that their behaviour is putting off a lot of people. Unfortunately they do not listen to advise.

  25. As we look to welcome the dawn of political reconciliation championed Catholic Bishops, wisdom should inform all of us to overcome the temptation to indulge in witch-hunting escapades.

    We are long past that dark era when it was fashionable to advertise each other’s guilt or unrighteousness at the expense of charting the way forward. An era where a wise man was one who cried about the speck in the neighbor’s eye while not caring about the log in one’s eye. Thank God we have awakened from that night-marish epoch and striding into a new dawn where our way of life is to be governed by the necessity to engage in SELF-INTROSPECTION and LOOKING OURSELVES IN THE MIRRORS!

    The ‘blame-game’ conveyed by this article, as well-meaning as it could have been yesterday, has missed the train to…

  26. Cont./-

    The ‘blame-game’ conveyed by this article, as well-meaning as it could have been yesterday, has missed the train to new dawn and the Zambia we yearn for posterity.

  27. When you have a government of men and not laws even good things can not happen.
    They did there best to remain out.
    The court ruled that all those illegal Ministers to pay back the money which they received when parliament was dissolved they have not paid back up to date.Then what do you expect.
    The court ruled that HH must be kept at Chimbokaila but was the order followed?
    Zambia has lost its glory

  28. So when a fellow PF MP yaps nonsense in parliament there is no objection i think these so called MP,s are only representing the president and not the people that voted them. Useless bunch of people

  29. No opposition MP can work in a dictatorship, name any country where opposition MPs do anything when there is a budding dictatorship???

  30. THIS ARTICLE IS VERY IMPORTANT. SOMETIMES PARLIAMENT DEBATES ISSUES SUCH AS THE 14 DAYS FOR HEARING ELECTORAL PETITIONS. BUT WHEN YOU ARE ABSENT YOU WILL GET THE SHOCK OF YOUR LIFE WHEN THE JUDGES TELL YOU THAT YOUR PETITION HAS RUN ITS FULL LENGTH. SO BA UPND MPS, PLEASE BE PRESENT TO DEFEND YOUR CAUSE. INSTEAD OF ARGUING ABOUT THE SPEAKER TAKING OVER THE PRESIDENCE OR KEEPING BALLOT PAPERS AT THE HIGH COURT. BE PRESENT IN THE HOUSE.

  31. Am sure we all value our lives and if we noticed anything that is likely to endanger our life and that of our family, we would stay away. The current dictatorial climate in Zambia would silence anyone, whether MP or ordinary citizen. People are being abducted and locked up for speaking against the wrongs and do you therefore blame them for walking out? What difference will it make if they put their views forward, except being placed in danger ? There is no such a thing as multiparty there anymore. Put yourselves in their shoes.

  32. “Current dictatorial climate in Zambia!” @Nchimunya Habalengwa! These guys smoke weed and are delusional! Where did you see dictatorial climate in Zambia? Go to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi or Congo DR! You must have been born yesterday and never heard about Mobutu! Maybe you would have known what a dictator is! This thinking makes me to let it rot there! You guys can destroy a nation! You are highly delusional!

  33. In a democracy one is allowed to express their views without being labelled as delusional. Evidence based reporting is everywhere and any compassionate person can see it . Only those who benefit from oppressive forces ban not see it !!

  34. The author is one of those people with hypothetical solutions. No wonder Zambia doesn’t progress in it’s democratic space. The author omitted to mention the elephant in the room, which is, that it is the PF government that brought a bill to parliament that is essentially against the people! The PF MPs voted for it en-mass, and no one is holding the executive accountable. The speaker of the national assembly seems to be coordinating with the PF! So, to come out vehemently against ONLY UPND MPs is so lame!

    • ???? You expect hh or Nawakwi to bring this matter to parliament??? Which constitution do you read??? It is only a sitting president who can invoke Article 30 or 31!!!! Not your beloved hh in opposition, he is president to you but has no power under the constitution of the republic. Being abroad doesn’t help you people think, does it??

  35. The article is written in good faith unfortunately this is not how these PF people functions,these are people who get what they want at whatever cost ,talking or debating anywhere including parliament is a waste of time

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