Sunday, February 9, 2025

Is President HH Banking on UNIP’s 1996 Blunder to Win His Second Term?

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By Kapya Kaoma

When the Constitutional Court ruled to block Lungu from contesting the 2026 elections, no sensible person was surprised. President HH dismissed and replaced the three judges responsible for their earlier ruling that had deemed Lungu eligible to contest the 2021 elections—which he ultimately lost. The fact that the newly appointed judges ruled in favor of HH was unsurprising; after all, ‘He who pays the piper calls the tune.’

What did astonish me, however, was how little effort was made to connect that ruling with the events of the 1996 elections. Much like President HH, Chiluba had become increasingly unpopular during his first term. In just three years, Zambians, like the Hebrews in Egypt, longed to return to the Kaunda era. People missed the golden years when they lived better. Whenever Kaunda held campaigns, he drew large crowds—something that made Chiluba insecure. Despite preaching democracy and freedom, Chiluba resorted to terrorizing his opponents. In fact, he even shot at Kaunda, missing him by mere inches. When all else failed, Chiluba sought to change the Constitution, rendering Kaunda stateless. Muhabi Lungu represented Kaunda in challenging the parentage clause that stipulated both parents must be Zambians by birth or descent. Since Zambia’s independence in 1964, no individual whose parents were born before that year is eligible for the presidency. Tragically, the Chiluba judges ruled against Kaunda, declaring him stateless. Years later, when Mr. Sata attempted to prevent then-Vice President Rupiah Banda from contesting the elections on the claim that his mother was from Zimbabwe, the court ruled in favor of Banda. Why? Because his party was in power.

I find it difficult to respect the Zambian courts–they are owned by the party in power. Regardless of personal allegiances, it’s evident that our justice system is deeply flawed. Why should rulings always go in favor of the ruling party?

Paulo Freire links education to questioning rather than merely absorbing knowledge. He argues that state-sponsored education is premised on preserving the status quo. Students are seen as sponges to absorb what the state considers “good” education. A good teacher deposits knowledge into a student for safekeeping—hence the banking concept of education. By “good,” Freire means maintaining things as they are. There is no room for questioning—only belief. This type of education fails to facilitate transformation and is an instrument employed by the elite to keep people in a cycle of poverty and oppression. Questioning enlightens the conscience and gives birth to a genuine desire for freedom and liberty, which poses a threat to the oppressor.

Of course, very few young people are aware of the events of 1996. The history taught in Zambian schools scarcely mentions this transformative period. Thus, HH appears to be playing the same game Chiluba did, with seemingly similar results—possibly winning the 2026 elections after neutralizing his biggest threat, Edgar Lungu.

In 1996, UNIP boycotted the elections while smaller parties opposed the MMD. As a result, Chiluba won his second term. Will Edgar Lungu and his supporters fall for the same? Boycotting is off the table! They must fight. Wasting time in courts is also futile—they are likely to rule in favor of HH.

The answer lies in the hands of citizens. We possess the power to tell corrupt judges that enough is enough. They are public servants, not agents of the ruling party.

President HH is convinced he is beloved by all Zambians. Shouldn’t he be excited that he will humiliate Lungu at the polls in 2026? The truth is that HH is terrified of Lungu. The Constitutional Court eliminated Lungu without him ever entering the ring. As citizens, it is time to hold the court accountable by demanding impartial rulings. A “No Lungu, No Elections?” campaign could send a strong message to all judges that we object to politically motivated rulings. This is key to safeguarding our democracy.

A word of caution to the opposition: don’t be deceived into thinking Lungu must be replaced by someone else. This is precisely what President HH is hoping for—he wants to run against a weaker candidate, one without a record; someone who will make similar promises to those once made by candidate HH. Remember, ‘The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.’ It’s a winning strategy for HH.

26 COMMENTS

  1. It goes like, “the Devil you know is better than the Angel you don’t know”. However, you must be reliably informed that it’s HH or no President in 2026. Forward Forever!!!

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  2. It is not a blunder. They are implementing the law. The people of Zambia will get to decide who is president of Zambia. For HH, there cannot be anymore loadshedding. I understand the need to export electricity to pay the debt incurred by Lungu and Sata. There must be mealie meal. If these two problems are solved, he will win. If they are not, it will be hard. That being said, elections are hard to fund. All the thieves in PF will be reluctant to use their stolen loot given that there is no guarantee of getting it back. HH will have tons of money, plus the advantage of incumbency. PF will be yoked to their legacy of oppression, tribalism, hooliganism, corruption, murder, terror in public spaces etc etc etc…

  3. Haven’t you also noticed that you always write from your own perspective? Your articles are from a partizan point? Try hard to balance your articles otherwise you shall forever be writing for your own audiences.

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    • And to top ot off. There is little fact but conjucture and spectulation formed by the writer’s opinion.
      Is he campgaining such that his writing is slanted? Sad that such is allowed as we come here to seek facts not opinions aside from an editorial point of you.

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    • Mr Kapya,You should have started convincing us by giving a simplified analysis of the ConCourt ruling that disqualified ECL not feeding us historical events….And PF ignore Kapya’s advice to stick to ECL for president 2026.He is obviously in foool’s paradise

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  4. Lungu is not eligible, and the sooner the PF Tonse finds someone to take on HH the better. Don’t allows yourselves to be caught flat-footed!

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    • Besides if they had a credible basis for appeal or submiting an arguement in their favour, they should have submited. What is clear about the fired Judges, is that their conduct was mischievous. Conduct unbecoming of that office. And each of the Judges removed, they were subject to due process and the accusations laid bare for us to understand. So where does the suggestions of the current Judges being prejudice, partian or not impartial come from?

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  5. African presidents are an embarrassment. With all the problems that this country is facing, someone decides to go on a train ride in Japan. Whatever he claims to be doing in Japan today can be done online. The Japaneses right now are looking at a Baboon.

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    • What experience do you have in managing a country? You comment or posting simply shows you hate for New Dawn leadership.

    • Wow…what a poor way of making assessments and judgements.
      This is a state visit paid for by the Government of Japan. Have you seen the full itenariary? Or making judgements based on onw picture. Its important to understand and question than make unfound assertions.

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  6. I have the feeling that this reasoning is rather shallow. The Judges that made the decision for ECL to re contest in 2021 made a serious blunder in Law so it was easy to reverse their decision. No normal person would wish to go back to the days of PF. It is morally not right to compare KK rule to that of ECL. The two are different with different leadership styles. Surely ECL should find better things. With increased CDF funding I think we are better of now.

  7. kci., It’s not right to write that:” The Japanese right now are looking at a Baboon.”It’s important to respect the President, your own President. You do not lose anything at all. You may not like the Head of State personally, but you must know that He was massively chosen by the people. “The Voice of the people is the voice of God””.

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  8. “…. President HH is convinced he is beloved by all Zambians. Shouldn’t he be excited that he will humiliate Lungu at the polls in 2026….”

    Get it in your head….….

    If lungu was not barred based the 2 term saga ………..

    He was going to have his immunity stripped to explain how he became a billionaire in 7 years without paying any tax or recites or any proven business…………

    FWD2031

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    • Tikki

      “…… You keep on about Lungu WHY ???…”

      Do you understand English ?????

      Who is kapaya talking about in this article ??? Or who is the subject matter. ???

      Take time to engage your brain comrade Tikki before venting………

      Why should we talk about anyone else when the topic is about lungu. ???

      FWD2031

  9. Why tamper with judges is an issue of much concern? Are Zambians being robbed of fair justice? What is the role of every Zambian in this national issue?

  10. It would have been good for Lungu to get a second bloody nose, but the law is the law. He is not eligible and many sensible Zambians have known this for a very long time. It was an inept Con Court of unqualified judges hand picked by Lungu from who knows where who were grateful for this that broke the law and ruled that he was eligible. Read Munalula’s dissent judgements Mr Kaoma and you will be better educated. It is not HH who is barring Lung. It is the law as it was correctly interpreted by a better bench.

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