A consortium of Civil Society Organisations is concerned that the Patriotic Front has not taken any action against its members in Northern Province for issuing tribal sentiments on Lutanda radio.
The CSOs are concerned with the growing tendency by political parties of mobilizing support from citizens on the basis of tribe and ethnicity which does not only go against Zambia’s social, cultural and ethnic heritage but is also against constitutional values.
In a statement issued on behalf of the CSO’s by Nicholas Phiri, the Executive Director of Zitukule Consortium, the CSO’s are that this tendency is against the principles that seek to promote and uphold national unity in diversity.
The CSO’s are concerned that political mobilization based on tribal lines has potential to ignite civil strife and tribal wars between and among Zambians given the multiplicity and diversity of our ethnic heritage.
“We are particularly dismayed and disturbed by the latest tribal sentiments uttered by officials from the ruling Patriotic Front on radio Lutanda in Northern Province”, read the statement in part.
They said it is even more disturbing that these officials have not been censured or disciplined by the PF party hierarchy as a way of curbing the spread of hate speech and tribal sentiments.
The CSO’s said it is clear that politicians deliberately choose to ignore constitutional provisions and opt to use tribal remarks in political mobilization knowing too well that no punitive measures would be taken against them for engaging in tribal schemes to win votes.
They have urged the Zambia Police Service to apply the law firmly on any political leader promoting hate speech based on tribal and ethnic diversity.
“The people of Southern Province together with other tribes in Zambia have always coexisted, intermarried and conducted politics and business together long before even the PF came on the scene without acrimony based on ethnicity. For this reason, we wish to implore citizens not to buy into tribal politics as that does not and will never improve the well-being of millions living in poverty”, they added.
The CSOs have also reminded Zambians to do everything within their power to preserve the unity in diversity while defending the constitution as provided in Article 2 of the 2016 amended constitution.
The Consortium comprise among others, Zitukule Consortium, Action Aid Zambia, Alliance for Community Action, Care for Nature Zambia, Chapter One Foundation and Center for Trade Policy and Development.
Zambian school curriculum up to Grade 9 needs re-examination so that it begins to teach the difference between citizenship and membership of a tribe and the obligationsthat go with the formerand the latter. In officials in the Ministry of Education should see this as a priority on their to-do list. If only I could be involved.
UPND calls on tribal finger because of themselves.
STOP translations at HH rallies. HH speaks Bemba and other languages.
Like in Kitwe HH was speaking Bemba and some idyot behaving like a PF “correcting” in pure Bemba.
Translating is only for whites.
It incumbant upon each one of us to fight tribalism. We must all, regardless of our political affilliation, condemn tribalism. Our leaders have the greater responsibility in their words and actions, as well as taking action against the perpetrators of such vile behavior.
We do not want to end up with a genocide because of careless utterances. Lets learn from Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo how ethnic violence can so easily lead to unrest and violence
Journeyman: It’s because citizenship as a form of identity isn’t taken seriously in Zambia. It’s tribe that counts as PF govt appointments to public office show. For now, Tongas and Lozis hv to accept second class citizenship status. The message is that it’s the only suitable status for them.
@Nemwine indeed.
UPND please stop translating HH’s speeches, he speaks Bemba. Stop portraying him as if is not local. People loves his Bemba vibes!!!
HH is a leader of a tribal Horganisation. To me, HH is like something that causes NAUSEA & VOMITING and I wonder how a person who is sane can support such unless he too is a member of the a TRIBAL HORGANISATION. The good news is that he is UNELECTABLE! Putting such a thing into a MUSEUM is about the best H-OPTION.
Start your review of the curriculum in cowthern province . Also inform all the cows that HH is not a god.
to be honest, i feel both leaders of PF and UPND are the ones perpetuating this tribal talks. I feel the president , being the supreme man of the land should urgently put a stop to it.
Zikomo
Let’s wait and see wht happens next. But the Zambian media, especially the weekly print press , are a let down. Where are the long features onbthis issue? Nothing so far.
Just pulled the plug, simple
Look at what has happened to the Duke of York he has plunged into a deepening crisis today as a succession of charities and companies threatened to sever their ties with him.
As the fallout from the Duke’s “disastrous” BBC Newsnight interview about his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein showed no sign of abating, the Outward Bound Trust, the prominent youth organisation, convened an emergency board meeting to consider his patronage.
KPMG, one of the world’s biggest accountancy firms, confirmed it had pulled the plug on its sponsorship of Pitch@Palace, the Duke’s flagship charity initiative, with sources citing “adverse media publicity.”
AstraZeneca, another partner, said: “Our three year partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire…
Continued
AstraZeneca, another partner, said: “Our three year partnership with Pitch@Palace is due to expire at the end of this year and is currently being reviewed.”
In a further blow to his reputation, the Duke was also accused of using the racist n-word during a business meeting with a Downing Street adviser seven years ago.
Just look at the regional appointments in government. That’ll be a very good election campaign tool in those marginalised areas.
People get rewarded in PFoools for such actions including violence, if you actually kill someone and take proof to their uneducated tuma party leaders, they actually pay a bonus for that
HAZALUZA HAGAIN! Even Prof HANSONI in RSA has confirmed the news to the UN on his University Letterhead HAGAIN!
At least those were just tribal sentiments. In 2016 when Hakainde lost for a record 5 times his al shabaab in namwala went on rampage, brutalised and displaced over 100 families perceived to be Northerners and Easterners. Did their tribal warlord say a single word? I am not justifying what those PF lunatics did on that radio programme. Both PF and UPND leaderships are useless.
@Danielle. Those were just PF lies you fool. Up to now you take PF NAZI propaganda as truth. Why didn’t perpetrators get punished if it happened? Since PF is in power you have no excuse to continue displaying your folly. Why did the commission on voting patterns initiated by your foolish dictator have to say about the Namwala incident? I am even wasting my time to writing to someone like you who has no hope of wisdom ever.
GBM sowed the seeds with full blessings from one mushilumbulwa and got away with it! CSOs, you know that PF Law breakers are protected by the powers that be! We doubt if anything will be done! There is always rejoicing in PF whenever someone slams HH and my good Tongas. In fact, the way the word Tonga invokes hatred in these people is shocking. It borders on Paranoid Schizophrenia, a form of mental illness characterized by paranoia! They make it sound like it’s a disease to be Tonga. Of the 72 tribes, why single out Tongas? Tonga is not a minority tribe by the way! You wonder what becomes of minority tribes if Tongas are considered less suitable to aspire for the higher office in the land. No wonder our national prayers go unanswered! You cannot hate a Tonga you are able to see and claim…
You cannot hate a Tonga you are able to see and claim to love God you can’t see! Hate unfortunately is contagious! Some have no idea why they have such hatred! Hate precedes all cases of murder! Read Matthew 5:21-26! Whoever is angry with a Tonga brother or sister because they are Tonga is already guilty of murder! It follows therefore that those propagators of hate speech need to be behind bars for conduct likely to cause violence!
And why did you conveniently keep quiet when Namwala talibans brutalized and displaced easterners and northerners after their ka god lost the 2016 election?
Hi Danielle, I am Bemba and the major finding on the Namwala unfortunate incident was that our Bemba brothers and sisters were openly insulting Namwala natives. How do you call your fellow human beings cows? The Root cause for that fracas was the victims themselves! I am wondering whether they thought they could do chi Mbiya with anyone! We all need to develop our intercultural competencies if we wish to be global citizens! We must respect each other regardless of ethnicity! A little courtesy goes a long way and that is what is lacking in some of us Zambians. If something doesn’t culturally make sense, respect that. That is what is called cultural shock! We must celebrate our diversity by mutually respecting our different cultures!
Whoever is H-angry H-against a Ngoni brother, is already guilty of HaMURDER. HaGayJay, Nose Demon, Prof. Hansoni, BoSpakata, Defunct NEDCOZ/NECZAM and Ha Little HaJoonny and MUTINTA have also confirmed and H-approved this message.
@6.2, HaModerator HATwisting the truth! “NAMWALA NEVER HAPPENED!” If I can come into your house and call you a ‘monkey’ then I must be very brave and perhaps fuulish too because that could NEVER HAPPEN! Please stop lying! You cannot change what we know and the facts! “SAKWIBA you are not TONGA and UPND is for TONGA and only a TONGA can be President of UPND,” SeJANi. Please stop rewriting history for your TRIBAL PARTY!
Hi Sharon, Try to come to my house and call me monkey because I am Bemba, you will be lucky to leave with your head on. Try to go to any village in Zambia and utter all the unprintables and see what will happen to you! You will be lucky to escape alive! If you were raised without manners, you will have a hard time relating with people of different ethnic extractions! As for me, I am a civilized human who has risen above petty Tribal Politics, a great prerequisite for Global Citizenship. Intercultural Competence is the new key to success!
The Kalomo Male nurse was suspended even before investigations were done by the able Minister of Health , Dr.Chilufya. The challenge here is that the law in Zambia is never applied fairly to all Citizens. face it , its LOZis and Tongas who suffer the brutal arm of the law while our colleagues from the Northern Circuit get away with it. Its this which amplifies the Northern Circuit as more Zambians than others.
UPND is a TRIBAL H-organisation! Everyone knows that! “NAMWALA NEVER HAPPENED!” “They just hit themselves with pangas,” UPND INCOMPOS.
LET GBM GO TO BOTSWANA AND INTRODUCE HIMSELF AS A BEMBA,HE. WILL BE LOCKED UP IN POLICE CELLS BECAUSE TSWANA’S BELIEVE THAT BEMBA’S ARE THIEVES.
8: In Botswana and anywhere else outside Zambia, the only identity that counts is the Zambian identity. I guess that’s the only time it counts. In Zambia, it’s the tribe.
@#8 (SONTA) You HA RIGHT! I was in Botswana and I found that the HATRIBES UTD FOOTBALL CLUB had spread rumours to the Tswanas that “Bembes” Ha Thieves! When other well-meaning ethnic groups outside the HATRIBES UTD FOOTBALL CLUB arrived they corrected the rumours and the TSWANAS were surprised because it was because of the inherent tribalism in the UTD football club that the rumours had been circulating! This is the reason why the BOY will NEVER be a President in Zambia.
At no time in our history has tribal attacks and corruption being so prevalent as of now under lungus rule…..
UPND, CK Mmd have been around for decades but only now with lungu in charge are we seeing a spike in tribal attacks
That is why I hate lungu with a passion, ….
I am certain HAZALUZA HAGAIN! That is why I don’t like people who have THREE MANSIONS!
No tribalism in Zambia gained prominence because of the way HH took over leadership of UPND. “only a Tonga can be president of UPND” cannot be construed as a none tribal statement by any stretch of imagination.
Someone once told me that the day a mosquito will sit on your tesiticles is the day you will learn better ways of conflict resolutions. Most Zambians still don’t know. Learn from Rwanda.