Thursday, March 28, 2024

In Search of Truth and National Unity: Response To Obvious Mwaliteta’s Impulsive Outburst Against Sebastian Kopulande

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By: Hon. Sebastian C. Kopulande, MP

1. Introduction

I have read the Press Statement of one Obvious Summerton Mwaliteta, Lusaka Province Chairman for UPND, published on the Zambia Eagle page, an online publication of Tuesday 9th February 2021. The statement is entitled “Kopulande must concentrate on his failed adoption process in Chembe.” Obviously, I assume that because the Statement is written and signed off under Mr. Mwaliteta’s official party position and title, what is expressed therein is the official position of the UPND, or was he just being overzealous as usual, the character that has gotten him in conflict with the law in the past?

2. Cyberbullying

Obviously, Mr.Mwaliteta picked on me for the target of his venomous attacks and unsubstantiated allegations based on some audio that has been circulating on social media, ostensibly produced and issued by me when in fact NOT. I have received all manner of invectives on several social media platforms as a result of the same audio where some other person’s voice has been mistaken for my voice. I have suffered extreme cyberbullying in the last few days, including the one by Mr. Mwaliteta, an experience like no other in my many years of service to the people of Zambia. The truth, to put it in plain and simple language for him and those of his like who are just too lazy to do their homework before they open their mouths, that audio was NOT produced by me, period.

3. Need for Truth

If indeed Mr. Mwaliteta was interested in establishing the truth before acting impulsively in the manner he did, he should have played that audio to his UPND Members of Parliament who, for the last four-and-half years, have heard me debate serious national issues on the floor of Parliament, with passion and love for my country, every corner of it and every citizen in it, always seeking the best for our people across the entire country. The Honourable UPND MPs could have told Mr. Mwaliteta straight to his face that the voice in the audio was very far from being mine! They would have told him that I never go “always yapping without substance”. At every point, I speak with facts and passion as I represent the people of Chembe in fulfillment of the mandate and honour they gave me in 2016 to represent them in Parliament and to be their advocate for their development needs as I seek answers to the challenges that face them on a daily basis.

4. Development Chembe since 2016

Today, since independence 56 years ago, the people of Chembe have witnessed unprecedented development delivered by the Patriotic Front Government. They have had schools built and extended; they have a Mini Hospital and other health facilities built, extended or rehabilitated; they have seen communication towers go up getting the entire Constituency connected; they have new markets built in all the Wards giving our mothers decent places to trade from; Chembe has street lights; there is piped running water in addition to numerous boreholes that have been sank in all the Wards to provide safe drinking water and for other household needs.

Cooperatives have been created to accelerate economic empowerment and some of these have received livestock such as chickens and goats; school going girls do not miss class anymore because they receive free sanitary pads from their Member of Parliament.
The two major roads in the Constituency have been funded by the listening and responsive PF Government. Contractors have moved on site awaiting end of rains to commence major earthworks but minor works and others such as installation of culverts are in progress in readiness for the major earthworks; a new town is under construction with various infrastructure projects at an advanced stage; township roads have been done and continue to be done; electricity has been extended to previously unserved areas off the main road; the people enjoy exciting football tournaments sponsored by their Member of Parliament twice a year for their entertainment, hand washing facilities in schools and markets have been provided by the MP to avert the spread of Covid-19 etc, etc. And all these and others too numerous to mention, in only four-and-half years since I became the first Member of Parliament, the Pathfinder for Chembe. I am proud of my record and need not have Mr. Mwalitea’s approval or endorsement.

5. The Rush for Chembe

So, my dear Mr. Mwaliteta, what are you talking about when you have never even stepped a foot in Chembe? Yes, there are many so-called aspiring candidates wanting to take the mantle from me; it is called democracy and that is the name of the game! However, take time and ask some of these candidates which Primary School in Chembe they went to, who their classmates were, who their parents are and where exactly they lived, who their blood relatives in Chembe are so they can be properly identified! You see, there are those little black-and-white birds we call “tu katyetye mwenda mwalimwa”; those opportunists who only go to fields after the same have been cultivated by someone else. What have these people done for Chembe before this season? Do they know when and how Chembe became a District and later a Constituency and who was behind that? Do they know when and how Chembe Primary School grew to become Chembe Secondary School and who was behind that? Do they know how electricity got to Chembe and who was behind that? Do they know when and how the bridge on the Luapula River on the border with DRC was built and who was behind that? What exactly do they know about Chembe?

6 Prospects for my re-election in Chembe

Adoption is the preserve of the Party I belong to, the Patriotic Front under the leadership of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu. The leadership know what I have done in Chembe as well as my performance in the House and outside at times when my contribution was needed. I am therefore, not working to get adopted, I am working to deliver on my mandate and leave other issues to those responsible for them to make the necessary decisions when the time comes for them to do so. That is my attitude towards these things and I do not understand why the interest in my adoption from a person who is not even a member of my Party!

As regards my prospects for re-election in Chembe if I am adopted, which I am confident will be the case, that is obviously the prerogative of the people of Chembe; they are the arbiters and will chose amongst all the contending parties. I have served them to the best of my ability, against all odds. I may not have done everything the people wanted but development is a process and not an event. Rome was not built in a day and neither can I meet all the people’s needs in one term of service.

Nevertheless, I am proud of my record which the people of Chembe can all see with their own eyes. They know what was there before and they can see what is there now and I will tell them what will follow soon according to our vision as a Party and Government; it is for them to choose between reality and fake promises devoid of any evidence.
In his usual verbal escapade, driven by his violent disposition for which he is notorious, Mr. Mwaliteta goes on to make wild claims about my attempts to get attention and sympathy from President Lungu and getting none, my hope for a Cabinet position after Bill 10 but not getting one, my engaging in tribal hate speech and anger against Hakainde Hichilema and the Tonga people, my having been rejected by the Chief, blah, blah, blah, ad infinitum.

7. My support for Bill 10

As regards Bill 10 which I indeed fully supported and still do with no regret at all, I will not attempt to justify my position here as I can write an entire book on the subject elucidating the progressive provisions and benefits to Zambia in the content of the Bill. Needless to say, Mr. Mwaliteta could have obviously been a beneficiary if he had lobbied his Members of Parliament as regards the Grade 12 qualification for Parliament which was in the Bill.

8. Check your facts

If Mr. Mwaliteta had bothered to check his facts he would have at least found out;

i. How long I have known President Lungu and my relationship with him and that I could not have been a Member of Parliament on the PF ticket without his blessing;
ii. My position on tribalism and tribal hate speech which is on record at Parliament through my debates on the subject;
iii. How many Tonga people are part of my immediate family within my household;
iv. My relationship with the Chiefs in Chembe, etc, etc.

I have decided not to do a favour to Mr. Mwaliteta by giving him answers to these questions but to give him some homework so he can bring his essay with answers within 7 days for marking.

9. Conclusion

Lastly, here is my humble advice to all political actors in Zambia. This is our country; therefore, the development question faces us all in equal measure, opposition and ruling Party alike. I believe that political involvement is a noble calling, a vocation to work for our people so as to improve their welfare and living standards. This is the noble duty and responsibility of every citizen.

Let us, therefore, build a better Zambia together in unity, based on our cultural and moral values of mutual respect and peaceful co-existence. This is what has made us the envy, not only of Africa but the whole world. We cannot do that by insults and an insatiable appetite to get power at all costs to the detriment of our country. We can not turn at each other as though we are enemies when in fact not when we should be holding each other’s hands to address the challenges that face our country and our people. Let political leaders in our country desist the temptation to prey on the artificial differences amongst our people, such as tribe, to advance their narrow political agendas to get power for their self-aggrandizement to massage their overblown egos. Leaders must unequivocally condemn violence and cyberbullying which are showing their ugly faces in our politics.

The day the spirit of Ubuntu permeates our body politic and drive the manner in which we conduct our political engagement, will be the day when we shall see real development come to Zambia in a peaceful atmosphere where we are all equal stakeholders and participants in the noble duty of nation-building and national development.
It will not do to cannibalize our country into little tribal enclaves; we are and must remain;
ONE ZAMBIA, ONE NATION.

May the Almighty God bless our country and all the peoples that live in it.

Sebastian C. Kopulande, MP
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT-CHEMBE CONSTITUENCY, LUAPULA PROVINCE

21 COMMENTS

  1. You’re wasting time on trying to reason with Obvious Mwaliteta. Were it not for HRH Chieftainess Chiawa’s lobbying of MCS Mwaliteta would still be a minibus driver. Unfortunately she didn’t know Mwaliteta well at that time. I know that she sees him differently after he’s exhibited his “wisdom”. Hichilema has got a good choice of idiooots

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  2. “…….Do they know when and how Chembe Primary School grew to become Chembe Secondary School and who was behind that? Do they know how electricity got to Chembe and who was behind that?….”

    That is your job, and did you use your personal money or was that built using the $17 billion Zambians now owe ???

    Why are you getting paid ? To watch lungu or work for your area ???

    These people think Zambians are so naive that the must thank an ATM for dispensing their hard earned money…..

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  3. The reasons he has mentioned those projects is because they were constructed or implemented way before he was a member of parliament. He is trying to say that he has been lobbying for Chembe for a much longer period than he has been an MP. I remember his heavy involvement in lobbying for the Mwanawasa bridge in the early 2000’s. He only became MP in 2016.

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  4. The gentleman honorable Kopulande is recognized here.
    Mwaliteta is a nonentity political criminal. I end here.

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  5. My advice to my brother kopulande is that never respond to a non entity f00l. Lest you l00k like a f00l yourself. Remember the upnd know they are losing and have nothing to lose so will say anything to anger pf. Its like a man who has been told he has a day to live.

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  6. It seems so much has been done for Chembe constituency. I last visited Chembe in 1989 and look forward to my nxt visit. I hooe government has started collecting some taxes in Chembe after doing so much for the place. SK is an enlightened person. I had expected him to say more on hw to ensure that “one Zambia one nation” becomes meaningful. There are people who hv been marginalised by the PF government and that is not a way to promote national unity. I had doubts about the audio being SK’s whn I heard it and am glad that my doubts hv been justified.

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  7. But it is clear your administration is , among other evils, the most tribal ruling party in the history of Zambia. Openly & boastingly practicing of tribal appointments into all public sector jobs , tribal purging from civil service , open tribal hate speech by PF top leadership, Tribal impoverishment, tribal developments& Tribal killings .So if you don’t agree with tribalism why don’t you condemn it & resign from PF on moral grounds? Even in this defence article you did not condemn the hate speech &person behind the audio said to be you .Hypocrite. .
    Your party’s tribal hate & intimidation, especially directed at Tongas because of HH is evident even to a child & defending it only add insult to injury. Today it is Tongas, tmoro it will Lozis or kaondes hated for one of them wanting…

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  8. For wanting ot aspiring to be a president in a country where some tribes feel superior to others.
    Why then share this country with a section of people that are better then others. They eat the cream and through left overs at others. Better to devide the country and live separately instead of pretending one Zambia one nation.
    We can agree & do this peacefully without any blood shed.The like minded and those who like , respect & trust each other stay on their own & make progress. Simple & straightforward.

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  9. On tribalism, SK cannot pretend that he’s unaware of hiw some citizens are being treated. Just because some members of his immediate family are Tonga doesn’t mean that the problem has gone away. Did the election of Barack Obama as president mean that racism had ended in the USA? I intend to raise these issues the nxt time I meet SK.

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  10. If only your party doesn’t tolerate hate speech from people like professor, nyela, yalu etc and if these people have faced the law, maybe whoever made that audio would have thought twice, but you pamper hate speech just ,you should have equipped zp with Scotland yard state of art skills instead of those sarafina maybe they would have cracked code on who could have impersonated you. That’s why priorities are importanter or importantest.

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  11. I read a lot of articles from politicians but this one by Hon Kopulande is really balanced and factual. This is what I expect from leaders. He did not attack personality of Mwaliteta but what his attitude. That is really good. I hope we can be object in our comments as well. Bling party loyalty is dangerous. Well done muntu wa kwesu.

  12. If there was one zambia one nation the recently appointed permanent secretaries and others appointed before wouldn’t have been from two regions only. This one zambia one nation slogan is greatly abused as the people preaching it don’t walk the talk. The same way we continue pretending we are a Christian nation.

  13. Mr Kopulande you are agood man and I have always held you in high esteem. Now it comes as a big relief to hear that the repulsive audio that was attributed to you did not infact original from you. Stay well my friend, adoption or not you are a man of integrity. No pressue

  14. Well done Mr MP for this well articulated response, unlike someone who resorts to running to court to claim character assassination and demand 10 million USD$$$.

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  15. A well articulated response hon MP, unlike someone who does not respond but instead runs to court claiming character assassination and demanding 10 million USD.

  16. This is why this man is a PhD holder. This is the kind of response we like. @ the Eagle, he did personally attack Obvious Mwaliteta in an intellectual manner, ‘he would have benefited from the grade 12 clause’.
    Kopulande is one of the smartest people in PF and should be a minister, not people like Bowman or Nakacinda.

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