Excerpts from my book, One Zambia One Nation; how Presidents have navigated around the issue

If KK thought he had enough problems on his plate to deal with especially with the rise of the Frederick Chiluba led MMD which was already breathing heavily on his neck, then he was in for rude awakening. Mid-1980s, a reformist leader, Mikhail Gorbachev had taken over in the Soviet Union. He introduced sweeping reforms which entailed openness (glasnost) – allowing for enhanced freedom of speech and press while at the same time embarking on decentralising economic decision-making (perestroika) to move the country from its stagnation.

Perhaps buoyed up by events panning out in the birth place of UNIPs ideologies, some youthful members of the party’s central committee approached their peer, Enock Kavindele, and asked him to consider challenging KK for the party’s leadership position at the next convention. Kavindele was a renowned wealthy businessman, having started his business career in the 1970s when he established Woodgate Holdings Ltd; a company with a vast portfolio of services that included agriculture, real estate, tourism, mining and transportation. However, before he could come to any conclusion, he sought to have audience with the President.

“The way I see things your Excellency, UNIP does not stand any chance of winning the elections,” he calmly said to him, not sure whether the man would immediately explode and show him the door.

Prior to that, a fatigued KK had hinted to his close colleagues he was retiring from active politics. As a person who introduced one party politics, he wasn’t keen on being at helm as the country reverted back to multiparty politics. However, some old-timers in the central committee, who weren’t quite certain about the future, prevailed on him to rescind his decision. They were literally in tears as they pleaded with him not to throw-in the towel considering that the new government might withhold their retirement packages.

During this period of uncertainty when KK didn’t know who to trust, central committee meetings had to be held outside the Cabinet room in the garden just in case it was bugged to avoid any unauthorised information leaking out to the public. Unknown to them, one of the ministers who was also a member of the central committee was a Judas Iscariot. He would pass-on whatever was discussed during meetings to the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD). Clement Mwananshiku would actually be rewarded with an appointment as Ambassador to Germany after the change of government.

Kavindele wasn’t bothered to square it off with KK after all, he didn’t have any running contract with government, his books were equally clean while he was upto date with his taxes. But wait a minute? Who in their right frame of mind would take on mighty Kaunda? To his hardcore supporters, Kaunda was a demigod. One would actually often hear the chants of, “Kumulu ni Lesa, panshi ni Kaunda (roughly translated, in heaven it’s Kaunda, on earth it’s Kaunda). Kavindele had dared stray into the Lion’s den fully aware he risked being mauled. He was yet to pay the price.

During the party convention held at the Mulungushi Rock of Authority in Kabwe in 1991, he had to endure all sorts of insults and threats from fellow delegates. Although he was provided with state security, some elderly women somehow managed to find their way to his challet half-naked and burst into songs punctuated with graphic language. It was a tense atmosphere; the notorious vigilantes were baying for his blood. Before the day of reckoning though, Kavindele chickened-out of the race and left for Lusaka!

He would resign from UNIP and form his own political party – the United Democratic Party which he bankrolled single-handedly. In the ensuing elections, the party would win a good number of local government seats. Nevertheless, he would later disband his party and join ruling MMD.

“I would rather be near the King than being the King himself,” he would say.

Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst

Israeli police raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its de facto office on Sunday following a government decision to shut down the Qatari-owned TV station’s local operations, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.
Video circulated online showed plainclothes officers dismantling camera equipment in a hotel room. The Al Jazeera source said the hotel was in East Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet shut down the network for as long as the war in Gaza continues, on the grounds the Qatari television network threatens national security.
Al Jazeera called the move a “criminal action” and rejected the accusation the network threatened Israeli security as a “dangerous and ridiculous lie” that puts its journalists at risk.
It said that it reserved the right to “pursue every legal step”.

The network has been critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, from where it has reported around the clock throughout the war.
“The incitement channel Al Jazeera will be closed in Israel,” Netanyahu posted on social media following the unanimous cabinet vote.
A government statement said Israel’s communications minister signed orders to “act immediately”, but at least one lawmaker who supported the closure said Al Jazeera could still try to block it in court.
The measure, the statement said, will include closing Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, confiscating broadcast equipment, cutting off the channel from cable and satellite companies and blocking its websites. It did not mention Al Jazeera’s Gaza operations.
There was no official comment from the Qatari government, which deferred to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera previously called Israeli efforts to curtail its operations an “escalation” and said in a statement in early April that it “comes as part of a series of systematic Israeli attacks to silence Al Jazeera”.

It said that Israeli authorities have deliberately targeted and killed several of its journalists including Samer Abu Daqqa and Hamza AlDahdooh, both killed in Gaza during the conflict. Israel has said it does not target journalists.
Qatar established Al Jazeera in 1996 and views the network as a way to bolster its global profile.
“Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act that violates human rights and the basic right to access of information,” the network said in a statement. “Al Jazeera affirms its right to continue to provide news and information to its global audiences.”

The UN Human Rights Office also criticised the closure.
“We regret cabinet decision to close Al Jazeera in Israel,” it said on X. “A free & independent media is essential to ensuring transparency & accountability. Now, even more so given tight restrictions on reporting from Gaza. Freedom of expression is a key human right. We urge govt to overturn ban.”
Israel’s parliament last month ratified a law allowing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to national security.

The law allows Netanyahu and his security cabinet to shut the network’s offices in Israel for 45 days, a period that can be renewed, so it could stay in force until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza.
Qatar, where several Hamas political leaders are based, is trying to mediate a ceasefire and hostage release deal that could halt the Gaza war.

Source: Reuters

Sudan is in the middle of a war.

By Benedict Tembo

War is not new in Sudan, which had previously witnessed a conflict in Darfur which began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppression.

The war in Darfur pitted Sudanese Government forces, supported by allied militia known as the Janjaweed, against rebel groups resisting the autocratic rule of former President Omar al-Bashir. The result was a devastating toll on Darfur.

Just as the country was recovering from the devastating armed conflict in Darfur, Sudan is bleeding again following a war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the Janjaweed leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo aka Hemedti, who has waged aggression against the government of Sudan.

The current aggression started during the Islam revered period of Ramadan on April 15, 2023, undoing the efforts of the Juba Accord.

The Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan signed in October 2020 was an accord by Sudan’s transitional government and by many of the country’s main warring factions.

In response to RSF gains in Darfur and subsequent abuses, the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (Minnawi), and other smaller factions renounced their neutrality and took sides with the Sudanese government by declaring war on the RSF militia to protect Sudanese sovereignty.

The current armed conflict, which has ignited probably one of the world’s fastest-unfolding crises with about 25 million people needing humanitarian aid, of whom 14 million are children, is in conflict with the spirit of the UN Resolution 1591 (2005) adopted by the Security Council at its 5153rd meeting on March 29, 2005.

The war impedes the peace process as it constitutes a threat to stability in Darfur and the region, commits violations of international humanitarian or human rights law or other atrocities, and violate the measures implemented by Member States.

The Human Rights Watch in its February 2023 submission to the United Kingdom Parliament reported that the RSF attackers committed a wide range of abuses, killing and injuring hundreds of local residents while they were fleeing or seeking refuge, burning and looting houses and other properties, targeting health care facilities and internally displaced people’s camps.

The current conflict in Sudan has reportedly forced about 8.6 million people to flee, creating probably the largest displacement crisis globally.

In fact, the Sudanese are looking forward to the ending of the hostilities while forecasting the future of the country after the war.

During this period, they have identified role models they think can help Sudan now and in the aftermath of the war.

And one of the role models is President Hakainde Hichilema who Sudanese have followed religiously and feel that he possesses the charisma and stature to swing the tide to the favour of the collective Sudanese people.

The maiden speech President Hichilema made at the United Nations General Assembly still rings in the minds of the Sudanese.

Part of his inaugural speech, President Hichilema read:” I am drawn to the prophetic inscription on the wall of the United Nations plaza, and I quote “…they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more…” Isaiah 2: 4-5. end of quote.

Through these words, President Hichilema served as a reminder to the United Nations to work towards global peace and international cooperation.

President Hichilema reminded the UN that though the world has made leaps and bounds, in the area of peace, security and stability, there remain pockets of conflict in many regions of the world where guns have not been silenced.

He said while the silencing of guns goes beyond addressing conventional warfare, it also addresses new emerging threats of the century which include: challenges of extremism and international terrorism, cybercrime, asymmetric warfare proliferation of non-conventional weapons and organized crime.

“As an international community, we need to continue to work together to address the root causes of these global threats through various national, regional and global mechanisms,” Mr Hichilema said

Sudanese Ambassador to Zambia Abbadi Nureldin Abdelrahman Nureldin says Sudanese hail Mr Hichilema’s reiteration that without peace and harmony, development cannot be attained.

Mr Abdelrahman Nureldin says Mr Hichilema’s resolve that Zambia will, therefore, continue to support national, regional and international initiatives aimed at promoting peace and security inspires the Sudanese and now look to his leadership in influencing the end of hostilities in Sudan.

He feels that as Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation in the Southern African Development Community as well as chairman of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa gives President Hichilema impetus to influence peace efforts in Sudan although their country it is not part of the SADC.

That he was able to join the six other African leaders on a peace mission for engagements with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin makes him equal to the task.

The historic peace mission which marked a milestone as it was the first time African leaders had ventured to the European Continent with the aim of advocating for a peaceful resolution to a conflict can be replicated in Sudan.

After all, it is Mr Hichilema’s mantra that that instability in any part of the world affects stability everywhere, hence the urgent need for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan, which has had devastating consequences such as the loss of life, destruction of property, and forced displacement of individuals, impacting the country’s economy.

Mr Abdelrahman Nureldin remembers Mr Hichilema’s resolve to work and act together with his like-minded on the continent to silence the guns and all hotbeds of violence on our continent – such as the Islamism insurgent activities in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Somalia, the Sahel and the sister republic of Mozambique, by addressing the root causes of these conflicts.

Sudan, Mr Abdelrahman Nureldin feels, should not be an exception.

Mr Abdelrahman Nureldin’s confidence has been boosted by the recent meeting he held with Etambuyu Anamela Gundersen, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations and Cooperation at Charter House in Lusaka recently.

The meeting was aimed at reaffirming the existing warm and cordial relations between Zambia and Sudan.

Mrs Anamela Gundersen and Mr Abdelrahman Nureldin held productive discussions on pertinent issues of common interest, including matters of peace and security.

“As a peace-loving country, Zambia, under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema, remains committed to working with other countries through the regional, continental and international bodies to promote the fundamental principles of territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and peaceful settlement of disputes as outlined in the African Union Constitutive Act and the United Nations Charter,” Mrs Anamela Gundersen said after the meeting.

Additionally, Mrs Anamela Gundersen said Zambia will continue to leverage its established leadership in conflict mitigation and promotion of peace and stability within the region and beyond to facilitate dialogue among parties.