A coalition of opposition leaders has written to President Hakainde Hichilema warning that his recent public remarks and the approach taken toward constitutional reforms risk heightening political tension in the country. The joint letter, dated 2 December 2025 and signed by Citizens First leader Harry Kalaba and Socialist Party president Dr Fred M’membe, accuses the Head of State of using divisive language in defending the proposed constitutional amendment process under Bill 7. The group states that comments linking criticism of the bill to tribal hostility have unsettled citizens, faith bodies and civil society organisations, and argues that the government’s conduct is undermining confidence in national unity.
The opposition leaders urge the President to withdraw the current process, engage in broad-based dialogue after the 2026 elections and adopt what they describe as a reconciliatory approach in dealing with institutions such as the Church and the Oasis Forum. They also call on regional and international bodies to monitor the political climate, saying the country’s governance environment requires close attention as debate over Bill 7 intensifies.
Full letter Below.
His Excellency Mr. Hakainde Hichilema
President of the Republic of Zambia
State House
Independence Avenue
Lusaka,Zambia
02 December 2025
REF: AN URGENT CALL FOR NATIONAL UNITY, DIALOGUE, AND RESPONSIBILITY
Your Excellency,
We write to you today not as adversaries, but as concerned Opposition Leaders who hold a profound love for our nation, Zambia. Our message is motivated by an alarming and growing national sentiment, echoed by faith leaders and the civil society, that “something is wrong in the way we are living as a nation,” where division and anger are slowly replacing our cherished unity and oneness.
Mr. President, we are particularly disturbed by your reckless claim that those opposed to this non-inclusive, rushed and politically-engineered constitution amendment process hate you because of your tribe.
Such a statement is unfortunate, dangerous and unbecoming of one who holds the highest office in the land. It is an attempt to weaponize regional sentiment and sow seeds of tribal mistrust for personal political gain. Zambia does not belong to any tribe or region, it belongs to all of us.
This letter therefore serves as a formal reprimand and an urgent appeal regarding your administration’s conduct in pursuing constitutional amendments and exercising executive authority. We are compelled to remind you of the foundational principles upon which our peaceful nation was built and to alert you to the dangerous path of division you are currently navigating. At every turn when you speak to the people regarding the constitution, you have opted to use the language that is divisive rather than that which seeks to unite the nation.
1. Seek Unity not Division:
A true leader seeks to unite, not divide. The process surrounding the proposed constitutional amendments Bill No. 7 has been characterized by language and actions that are deeply divisive. Leadership demands rising above partisan rhetoric to apply fairness, compassion, and common sense. We urge you to immediately cease any communication that funs the flames of ethnic or political discord and to embrace a language of national cohesion, love and reconciliation.
Your posture thus far is to perceive anyone opposed to the amendment as your enemy. In essence, your actions surrounding Bill 7 constitute a real and immediate threat to national peace, security, unity and social cohesion. Instead of healing the country, you have opted to divide it. Instead of building consensus, you are seeking to bulldoze and beat everyone into submission. Instead of strengthening democracy, you are eroding it.
2. Disregard of OASIS Forum:
In your selfish pursuit to see Bill 7 through by any means possible, you have exposed yourself to the point of having your hypocrisy laid bare for all to see.
The Oasis Forum you seek to demonize and humiliate through your surrogate institutions and gutter media outfits is the very Oasis Forum you walked shoulder to shoulder with in fighting Bill 10 that was a much better crafted Bill and was not meant to give the PF a lifeline as is the case with Bill 7.
The conduct displayed by your guests on Monday December, 1 2025 during the so-called Courtesy Call Meeting on Consultations for the Constitutional Review at State House is a clear manifestation of your mindset over this matter: chaotic, patronizing, divisive and insulting to say the least. You clearly gave your guests enough protection to use State House to insult the wisdom and integrity of the Oasis Forum, its membership and the Catholic Bishops..
We would like to remind you that it is the same Oasis Forum you are insulting today that stood by you in rejecting Bill 10 in 2021 and at that time you showered them with praises as it suited your intentions.
Your inconsistency has revealed to
us a leadership that is more interested in convenient alliances than principled governance.
3. Respect for the Church:
The Church in Zambia is a cornerstone of our moral and social fabric. It is not a political opponent to be vanquished. The collective voice of church leaders from the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), the Council of Churches in Zambia, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia has unequivocally called for the withdrawal of Bill 7, citing the outcome of the ConCourt that ruled against the said bill as lacking consensus and the very spirit of constitution making. They have equally questioned the urgency of seeking to tie this constitution to the 2026 election cycle opting instead to allow for a more inclusive people driven process. Demeaning these institutions and dismissing their concerns—as some of your supporters have done by labeling bishops as “tribalists”—is an affront to a vast section of the Zambian populace and risks creating a painful and unnecessary rift within the body of Christ. The Church must remain a beacon of hope and dialogue.
Let it be placed on record that it is the same Catholic Church that stood by you when you were incarcerated and charged with treason.
For you to now permit attacks on the Church is hypocritical, disrespectful, and a betrayal of the moral voice of our nation.
4. National Division:
Your actions have reminded us of the prescient words of our founding father, Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda, who warned the nation of the risk the nation faced if the presidency was to be in your hands. We are sure you recall that he was very emphatic that anyone was better placed to lead this nation except one person who he feared would divide the country, and that’s – You. It is sad to witness that warning fast materialising and becoming a reality before our own eyes. The nation is boiling. The perception that your government is becoming increasingly intolerant to dissent and embracing intimidating tactics against the opposition, and eroding institutional independence is quite widespread.
Actions such as the suspension of Constitutional Court judges and the weaponization of laws like the Public Order Act are not signs of strength but of fragility, and they are tearing our social fabric apart. We would like to call upon you to reflect as to how you would like your legacy to be remembered when you leave office next year – a man who stood against all odds and united the nation or a man who threw everything to the wind and brought about division, tribal intolerance and regionalism.
5. A Call for the International Community:
We echo the painful lessons from our own recent history and that of our region: silence in the face of democratic backsliding is complicity. We, therefore, call upon the United Nations, the African Union (AU) Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and all international partners committed to democracy to pay close attention to the deteriorating political and social environment in Zambia. Do not wait until there is bloodletting begore you act. Preventive diplomacy and clear support for inclusive dialogue are required now. The international community played a crucial role in ensuring a peaceful transfer of power in 2021; that vigilance must not wane.
We, therefore, call upon you to take keen interest in Mr. Hichilema’s divisive conduct, which points to a worrying departure from democratic governance towards intolerance and authoritarian tendencies.
This is not the democracy we fought for in 1991 and it is certainly not the unity we pledged to uphold.
Conclusion: The Unifying Truth
Your Excellency, the ultimate power you wield is not to amend a constitution by force of will, but to steward the peace and unity of our nation. The prayer of Zambians today is for a dialogue that promotes “a people who do justice, who love goodness, and who walk humbly with their God”.
We conclude with the solemn and unifying truth that must guide all your actions: We have only one Zambia.
In this regards, we expect your immediate and public commitment to de-escalation, genuine national dialogue, and a leadership style that heals rather than wounds.
We therefore call upon you Mr. President to forthwith:
1. Abandon the divisive and confrontational approach you have taken on this Constitutional amendment process;
2. Withdraw the Bill 7 process until genuine, inclusive national dialogue is secured after the elections;
3. Respect the Church, Civil Society and all stakeholders who speak for the voiceless; and
4. Take responsibility for the rising political and tribal tensions and take steps toward national healing.
As opposition political parties, we reaffirm our commitment to stand with the Oasis Forum as they seek to speak for the Zambian citizens and defend our democracy, our Constitution, and our national unity.
Respectfully,
For and on behalf of the Concerned Citizens of the Republic of Zambia,
Harry Kalaba
President, Citizens First (CF)
Dr Fred M’membe
President, Socialist Party (SP)
Cc:
The Secretary-General,United Nations
The Secretary General – United Nations
The Chairperson, African Union Commission
The Executive Secretary, Southern African Development Community (SADC)
The Executive Director – Oasis Forum
The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops(ZCCB)
The Council of Churches in Zambia
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia
All Media Houses
cc: The whole world
The worst President
???
It can easily lead to dictatorship
There was a time when his writing meant a thing for Zambia…with time we all know he is…. a dribbler who dribbles and scores in his own goal. Bill No. 7 should go to parliament and let parliament vote, that will be the final and finality of this bill.
I concur with you
Who wrote this article?
The lowest Zambia has ever gone in terms of governance, the price you pay for experiments
From the picture Lubinda looks like a future president. With Kalaba his deputy. Stop giggling I said from the picture
The science of the buffoons! They say Zambia is boiling. What a science fiction! The buffoons don’t even have the sizeable pot. They don’t even have enough firewood and and water to boil Zambia. One interesting thing is that we are just waiting for the 2026 elections results and escort HH once again swearing in for the second time
This letter is very rude.
The language and its tone is disparaging and it’s not becoming of so called political leaders.
This type of discourse is the product of people who are discourteous, uncultured, disrespectful and primitive.
You guys need to remember that HH is the elected President of Zambia and not your boy.
Who do you all think you are to making demands. None of you command more than 1% of the electorate..
There is a saying “the tail trying to wag the dog”, that’s a classic situation of this here.
How about that language from those cadres who went to state house yesterday to pretend to support bill 7. Theirs was a super fine language?
Call it a a coalition of crooked hypocrites! Note that, when Kalaba resigned from pf, he publicly told the nation that he had resigned from the pf because of the crookedness and great corruption in in pf government. But few days later he rejoined and started working together with the same corrupt buffoons. He never showed the nation his credibility and consistency. As for membe, everyone knows that he is a special conman as far as taxes evasion is concerned. If you doubt, You can consult the courts in Zambia or ECL wherever he is. In this regard, I should also tell HH , not to listen from these hypocrites, national swindlers. These are time wasters in the national development process.
Exactly. If only he could come back to his senses
They both know that the progressive good works of hh, have now made their political ranting very irrelevant, and that they both have no chance to win the 2026 elections, hence their buffoonic behaviour. Buffoons!
Joker
Kwashala
Cc. J. J. Banda
Why me.
Jerabos
Just sorting out the loadshedding and the highest cost of living in living memory. You dont have time. Were you not supposed to be sworn in at 10hrs and at 14hrs the kwacha should have picked.
Economy yabija, just leaning to constitution now, to try and distract people. Lesson for all, dont make promises you cannot keep. Ivuta
Then you are financially illiterate bro. Zambia’s GDP growth and creditors confidence plummeted back to Fredrick Chiluba’s MMD levels once ECL took over. Any artificial economic comparisons one can assign to ECL was due to excessive borrowing to finance social services and corruption (more money in PF pockets). Zambia’s economy on world market is now rebounding. HH can only be compared with Levy Mwanawasa, and even he it took the mercy of HIPC writing off our debt that the strides of economic recovery were felt earlier.
Let Libinda move aside and let the party move forward why cant those within see that
and to a lesser degree upnd may be in the same boat
It’s the opposition boiling and not the nation. You’re representing your own interests and not the nation.
Kwashala
Cc. J. J. Banda
Why me.
Jerabos
Zambian leaders are always walking,. Do they ever sit down and do real policy work?