Not long ago, I came across a statement from the Zambian government urging its citizens in the United States to return home voluntarily, citing shifting immigration policies under the Trump administration. The announcement followed a meeting between President Hakainde Hichilema and the U.S. ambassador. And for once, I couldn’t help but wonder: What exactly did our president say to the ambassador behind closed doors? Did he, even for a moment, assert the dignity of his people?

Too often, African presidents enter diplomatic spaces with Western powers as if stepping into a confession room—not a negotiation room. There is a disheartening and all-too-familiar ritual– shoulders slouched, voices lowered, and of course, tails tucked between legs. They present themselves not as equals, but as subordinates—grateful, deferential, and meek. This isn’t diplomacy but neo-colonial submission.

Take the U.S. visa regime, for example. Every year, thousands of thousands of Zambians are denied entry into the United States. The process is opaque, arbitrary, and deeply dehumanizing. Long queues form outside the American embassy, often under punishing sun or relentless rain. No waiting rooms. No benches. No regard for the elderly or disabled. This isn’t a logistical oversight—it is a deliberate performance of humiliation. A reminder of who holds power and who is seen as fully human and who is not.

That’s not all. Applying for a U.S. visa will now cost upwards of $500. There is no guarantee of approval, and no refund if denied. Multiply that by thousands of thousands of applicants, and you begin to grasp the scale of economic extraction. This is not aid. It’s reverse aid. Zambians are effectively subsidizing the American economy through a system that denies them dignity at every turn.

Meanwhile, American passport holders waltz into Zambia visa-free, without paying a single ngwee. If reciprocity is the bedrock of diplomacy, how did we end up with such a lopsided arrangement? No serious country allows its citizens to be treated like beggars while rolling out the red carpet for foreign nationals. Shame on us.

The excuse, of course, is tourism—we mustn’t upset wealthy visitors, lest we scare off their dollars. But that’s a tired and dangerous myth. Development theory teaches us that dependency on volatile sectors like tourism is not a path to growth. It’s a trap. Rather than building resilient, self-reliant economies, we’ve bought into the logic of eternal hospitality. We accept crumbs and convince ourselves they’re investments.

Here’s the harder truth–Africa doesn’t need America nearly as much as America needs Africa. Our continent holds the rare earth minerals, arable land, labor, and strategic alliances that will shape the next century. That’s why Washington panics at China’s Belt and Road Initiative or Russia’s growing influence across the continent. Yet we still behave like it’s the 1960s—pleading for aid while surrendering sovereignty.

Our own Dambisa Moyo has warned us for years: most foreign aid is not charity—it’s leverage. It’s a tool to keep African nations politically compliant and economically dependent. Our leaders welcome it because it shields them from domestic accountability. When the books don’t balance, they plug the holes with donor money and call it “development.” But real development begins with dignity.

It’s time to confront the myth of Western benevolence. It’s time to discard the colonial hangover that equates whiteness with legitimacy. Reforming visa policies is not a petty diplomatic tit-for-tat—it’s a statement of self-respect. It’s the first step toward a more equitable global order.

Our leaders must stop genuflecting before the West and start speaking as equals. Sovereignty is not just about flags and anthems—it’s about the courage to say no, and to mean it.

It is time to realize that the world is changing. Africa must rise to meet it on its feet, not on its knees.

Kapya Kaoma

By Kapya Kaoma

President Hakainde Hichilema’s much-touted anti-corruption crusade has collided with a scandal of staggering proportions — and this time, the spotlight is pointed directly at State House.

The leaked audio recording, allegedly featuring Leader of the Opposition Robert Chabinga, is now making the rounds. While some have been quick to dismiss it as AI-generated mischief or a political smear campaign, such dismissals no longer suffice. The content of the tape is nothing short of explosive — a brazen admission of cross-border judicial interference, attempts to bribe a foreign judge, and the implication that the President himself was not only aware but possibly complicit.

This is not politics as usual. It is not satire. It is not gossip. It is the shadow of a potential criminal conspiracy with international dimensions — one that strikes at the heart of Zambia’s rule of law.

In the recording, Chabinga speaks with disturbing ease. He claims he was dispatched to South Africa, not for diplomacy, but to meddle in a foreign court case concerning former President Edgar Lungu’s remains. He alleges that his trip was funded by the government, coordinated through the Zambian embassy, and conducted with full knowledge — and direct communication — with President Hichilema. He even boasts of attempting to bribe a foreign judge to sway the outcome.

Where in any functioning democracy is this legal?

Chabinga’s action is not just unethical, but a potential violation of international law and a textbook case of abuse of office. If carried out with presidential knowledge or direction, it amounts to an assault on Zambia’s legal sovereignty — and an indictment of the very integrity this administration claims to uphold.

This issue transcends partisan politics. It is not about UPND or PF. It is about principle. It is about power unchecked. About whether our republic still honors its own constitutional vows.

Chabinga must be investigated — urgently and impartially. This is not a witch hunt. It is a matter of law. Airline bookings, flight manifests, hotel invoices, embassy logs, and call records can corroborate or disprove his claims. These are not mysteries requiring divine insight. They require one thing only– political will.

Sadly, that will appears to be in short supply. Under President Hichilema, the Anti-Corruption Commission has become a toothless watchdog, reluctant to bite the hand that feeds it. How many leaked audios, how many brazen confessions, must surface before justice is served?

If a hungry youth steals a loaf of bread from Shoprite, they are swiftly arrested. But a senior party operative admits — on tape — to bribery and judicial subversion, and nothing happens. Why? Because the trail leads uncomfortably close to the presidency.

That is not justice. That is impunity.

The Zambian Constitution is unequivocal. No one — including the President — is above the law. Our Constitution enshrines the principles of integrity, transparency, and accountability. It also guarantees equal protection under the law and allows for presidential immunity to be lifted in cases of gross misconduct. This case squarely fits that description.

Then there is the moral dimension — perhaps the most disturbing of all. At a time when the nation was mourning the death of former President Lungu, this administration, we are told, was strategizing how to weaponize his death for political gain. That is not just unethical — it is grotesque.

Whether or not the bribe succeeded is beside the point. In law, an attempt is still a crime.

President Hichilema cannot continue to deflect, delay, or deny. The allegations are serious, specific, and verifiable. Who arranged the trip? Who funded it? Who placed the calls? These are not speculative questions. They are matters of public accountability.

If the President is innocent, let him say so — openly, clearly, and with evidence. Until then, suspicion will only deepen, and public trust will continue to rot.

This is not just about a voice note. It is a mirror held up to a presidency that may have lost its moral compass. For a leader who campaigned on honesty and reform, the contrast is damning.

Enough.

If the Anti-Corruption Commission won’t act, and if Parliament stays mute, then civil society must not flinch. The press must not cower. The people must not forget. Because if this scandal is allowed to pass without consequence, we declare — in full view of the world — that the law is negotiable, justice optional, democracy disposable, and the presidency untouchable.

Today, it is the Lungus under attack. Tomorrow, it could be you and me. Corruption knows no party. It simply corrodes whatever system allows it.

This is a test of our national conscience. In moments like these, silence is not neutrality — it is complicity.

If the law still means anything, justice must be done. Because justice delayed is not just denied — it is democracy undone.

Ever since they recovered from their shock defeat in the 2021 general elections, the Patriotic Front, since metamorphosed into the so-called Tonse Alliance has been shamelessly flexing its muscles, bragging they will soon bounce back into power!

However, if we bother to interrogate the record of the PF in power…..one wonders where they are drawing their courage from as their tribalism and regionalism was record breaking…..out of this world!

Before embarking on the proverbial road to Damascus, one Fred Namakando M’membe was a Capitalist par excellence…. running a thriving business empire – from an influential newspaper, courier services, trucking business, and real estate to communication. Whenever it suited him, he would use his tabloid to greater effect to scandalise and humiliate UPND, the main opposition political party at the time, to such an extent of dismissing it as nothing but a Bantustan!

Hitler’s Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels once said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually believe it?” True to this, some people would eventually start buying into The Post Newspapers’ propaganda which the defunct tabloid continued ramming down the throats of the public with screaming sensational headlines such as, “UPND is tribal; a Bantustan!”

Fast forward, M’membe has now supposedly discarded his fancy business suits for the more casual slacks and baseball caps! We suppose M’membe has equally bid farewell to his Limousines and vacated his breathtaking mansion in Rhodes Park for a modesty bungalow in Chibolya. One thing remains constant though – his warped imagination UPND is a tribal party and that a manifestation of this can be attested by those being appointed to various government positions.

“Those who are refuting that this is the most tribally inclined government in our post-independent history can prove us wrong with facts – graphs, charts, figures, and so on. Let them publish the ethnic composition of the leadership, management and boards of each ministry, department, parastatal, agency, commission and so on and so forth,” M’membe has dared.

Our yet to be published explosive book, Dilemma of One Zambia One Nation; Presidency, Governance & Regionalism delves into the murky world of Zambian politics and provides answers that may put an Ostrich egg on M’membe’s face, and of course, other detractors and naysayers.

Although this book actually indemnifies President Hichilema of all accusations of tribalism and regionalism, UPND leaders are seemingly reluctant to sponsor its publication when their colleagues in PF and Tonse would have jumped at the golden opportunity without warning!

Anyway, since it’s said figures don’t lie, kindly refer to the data hereunder……by the way, this is just a kadyonko (tip of an iceberg):

UNIP – KENNETH KAUNDA
Eastern – 2; Western – 4 ; Northern – 3 ; Central – 2; Luapula – 2 ; Southern – 6; N/western – 3; Copperbelt – 1 ; Lusaka – ; Minority – 1

MMD – FREDERICK CHILUBA

Eastern – 2 ; Western – 3 ; Northern -8 ; Central – Nil ; Luapula – 3 ; Southern – 6; N/western – 2; Copperbelt – 0 ; Lusaka – 0; Minority – 1

MMD – LEVY MWANAWASA

Eastern – 4; Western – 3 ; Northern – 3 ; Central – 4 ; Luapula – 3; Southern – 2; N/western – 3; Copperbelt – 1 ; Lusaka – 1; Minority – 1

MMD – RUPIAH BANDA

Eastern – 3; Western – 4; Northern – 2; Central – 4; Luapula – 2; Southern – 9; N/western – 6; Copperbelt – 2; Lusaka – 1

PF – MICHEAL SATA

Eastern – 1 ; Western – 1; Northern – 10; Central – 2; Luapula – 2; Southern – 12; N/western – 1 ; Copperbelt – 1; Lusaka – ; Minority – 1

PF – EDGAR LUNGU

Eastern – 7 ; Western – 1; Northern – 13; Central – 1 ; Luapula – 2; Southern – 1 ; N/western – 2 ; Copperbelt – 2 ; Lusaka – ; Minority – 0

UPND – HAKAINDE HICHILEMA

Eastern – 3 ; Western – 3 ; Northern – 7; Central – 3 ; Luapula – 1 ; Southern – 4; N/western – 2; Copperbelt – 1 ; Lusaka – 1

If you took the trouble to compare and contrast the above analysis, you’d find that certain Presidents took the trouble to try and reunite our country by ensuring every region is represented in government. Would you surely want to bring back in power those that consider themselves superior to others…..those that can bring war to this country, unmatched only to Rwanda?

Aikona man!

Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analys0