FORMER president Edgar Lungu says he’s willing to dialogue with President Hakainde Hichilema provided he stops funding the two PF factions led by Miles Sampa and Robert Chabinga respectively; and he restores records of the Patriotic Front (PF) at the Registrar of Societies to reflect the party’s leadership as it stood before October 23, 2023. This is in response to a letter the Oasis Forum wrote to him suggesting that they were ready to facilitate mediation between President Hichilema and himself following the Head of State’s offer to reach out to his predecessor for possible dialogue.
However, we delve into the nitty-gritties; it would be important for us to fathom what dialogue entails. It’s basically an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, especially a political or religious issue, with a view to reaching an amicable agreement or settlement.
A few questions would suffice at this juncture. What’s ba Lungu aggrieved about to warrant dialogue between him and his successor? Is it the arrest and possible imprisonment of officials from his regime for crimes they committed against the Zambian people? Is it the forfeiture of properties perceived to be proceeds of crime? Is it the arraignment of his wife and children for being in possession of unexplained wealth? Would paying a blind eye to the ‘SINS’ of ba Lungu and officials from his previous regime be in the interest of our nation? Of course not; it would actually be folly for us to let those that plundered our national resources or literally looted the treasury to go unpunished as this would be setting a very bad precedent.
Where’s ba Lungu’s drawing all this arrogance and courage give the President conditions for dialogue? Why should someone be putting the blame for his woes on the President’s doorsteps?
In case a few of us have forgotten, immediately ba Lungu suffered humiliating defeat at the hands of his nemesis in the August, 2021 general elections, he wrote Cabinet office informing them of his resignation from politics, forthwith. From that time onwards, PF was like a ship without a captain desperately trying to remain afloat on treacherous waters as its members scattered like headless chickens, hither and thither!
Smelling a vacuum in the office of the captain of the ship; obviously, Sampa wasn’t a man to remain ‘ndwii’ especially after being dribbled at the so-called PF convention a few years earlier. Readers would be keen to learn ba Lungu and his cohorts totally ignored to abide by the tenets of democracy within their political party by neglecting to call for a secret ballot during the elections. He was instead ushered-in by a mere show of hands by shadowy delegates and kaponyas rounded-up from the intercity bus terminals! Guy Scot has adequately tackled this issue in his autobiography, “Adventure in Zambian Politics.”
Obviously, Sampa had a big bone to chew with ba Lungu all these years even as he pretended to continue showing him ‘ivory’ and serving in his administration as mayor of the city of Lusaka, and later on adopted as aspiring candidate for Matero constituency.
Immediately a golden opportunity therefore presented itself, Sampa would put his Matero instincts to good use and prescribe the same bitter medication to ba Lungu! He quickly organised a ‘convention’ and sought the protection of the police from the brutal PF thugs on ba Lungu’s payroll, and voila…..Sampa was declared the defacto president of the troubled opposition political party which has a history of anarchy and total confusion!
As readers may agree with us, history can be quite funny; it has a tendency of always repeating itself. As suspensions and expulsions and counter suspensions and expulsions played-out in the former ruling party, Chabinga whom Sampa had suspended from his position as Secretary General of the party equally suspended him as party president, and went on to declare himself as new party leader!
How does the name of the President therefore comes in?
As State House has already stated, “the President he has no involvement in the internal conflicts of the former ruling party. It is worth recalling that prior to the 2015 Presidential by-elections Mr. Lungu and Mr. Sampa had similar disagreements. Could it be that the disagreements were caused by President Hichilema?”
Ba Lungu and PF have brought these woes unto themselves. Instead of giving ultimatums and setting conditions for dialogue with the President, the troubled former ruling party must be seeking to have dialogue amongst themselves.
If we may come to a conclusion, the only moment when dialogue was really necessary in this country was when citizens were being gassed and suffocated to death in their sleep; when cadres reigned supreme – taking over the running of markets and bus stations; when markets were gutted to ashes by the notorious cadres; when government positions were allocated to one particular region at the expense of others; and when the country witnessed lopsided development in the PF strongholds!
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
