12 Reasons Why Americans & the West Are Vengefully Mute While HH is “Politically Urinating” on Edgar Lungu into Suffocation and Extinction
By Dr Chris Zumani Zimba
1. Before 2021, we had many Western diplomats who openly opposed and criticized Lungu’s government repeatedly and defended HH as well as other opposition leaders and advocates to enjoy their fundamental rights, freedom of expression, association and assembly. Yes, the West invested heavily in defending democracy in Zambia before 2021. Today, the same Western diplomats have become so mute like dead frogs in the face of HH’s oppressive rule and brutal dictatorship as seen in the way and manner Bally is persecuting, harassing, oppressing and destroying Edgar Lungu’s political life as well as undermining and threatening the existence of democracy in Zambia. It’s like the Western diplomats no longer exist in Lusaka. What has changed? And why are our Western diplomats becoming accomplices to HH’s bad governance, oppressive rule and dictatorship in Zambia? Why are they not speaking for strangled Lungu and many oppressed citizens? Why have they stopped to defend democracy and good governance today?
2. In this article, “politically urinating” must be treated to mean “any action and conduct by the state and the UPND government that is aimed or/and interpreted at persecuting, harassing, oppressing, discriminating, humiliating, punishing, insulting, destroying and exterminating President Edgar Lungu’s PF party, his leadership legacy and his future political career both at home and abroad”. From documented empirical evidences of the Law Association of Zambia, CCZ, EFZ, ZEC, OCIDA, Human Rights Commission, Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa, Dr. Fred M’membe, Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, Laura Miti, Zambian Whistleblower, Diggers Newspaper, Mast Newspaper, Daily Nations, Sean Tembo, Edith Nawakwi, John Sangwa, Makebi Zulu, Chilufya Tayali, Linda Kasonde, Jonas Zimba, Senior Chief Mwata Kazembe, Archbishop Alick Banda, etc since 2021 to date, yes, we can all confirm that President HH has systematically been “politically urinating” on President Lungu into suffocation and extinction.
3. By the West, we are talking about Americans, British, EU, Germans, Swedish, French, Norwegians, Belgians, Canadians, Australians, etc whose voice is known for defending democracy, human rights, justice, accountability, transparency and rule of law in Zambia and beyond. Although HH is becoming more fearful, desperate, aggressive and dangerous against Lungu and many other people through weaponization of state agencies both in the executive, legislature and judiciary, American and Westerner diplomats in Zambia have decided to be “holy silent witnesses” of how Bally is horrifically fixing the former president into political extinction. The main question is how and why have American and European diplomats become dangerously so mute in the face of HH’s growing political brutality, bad governance, human rights violations and daylight dictatorship?
4. As Bally is “politically urinating” on Lungu and many others into political saffocation and extinction through the weaponization of state institutions, the so called democracy pioneers and good governance promoters don’t just care about it because HH has secured their best interests in the mining and energy sectors. When PF was in government, Lungu increased mineral tax thresholds which boosted Zambia’s benefits from minerals. This policy was opposed by big Western mining multinationals. The PF government further showered practical interest in growing state shareholding in the mining sector through takeovers of KCM and Mopani mining companies. This was a direct interference to Western capitalist interests in Zambia. So, Lungu was and is directly marked as a political enemy of Western capitalism and imperialism especially for raising taxes on minerals and for pushing state shareholding in mining businesses.
5. Hence, when their HH became president in 2021, he unilaterally reversed all the progress Zambia made in the mining sector in order to suit and benefit American and European mining investors. It is believed that Zambia has lost more than U$ 7 Billion in taxes and royalty revenues since HH made policy decisions to favor big mining companies in 2021. So, how can American capitalist leaders and European imperial diplomats oppose HH in fixing ECL and politically blocking the comeback of their mining investment opponent-Lungu himself? Both American and European big capital fear Lungu’s comeback into power in 2026 just like HH. So, Western diplomats understand this capitalist system and cannot be interested in defending Lungu!
6. Americans politically disapprove Lungu and the PF because he openly objected and vehemently rejected America’s request to secure and establish physical military presence in Zambia for the sub region-AFRICOM. When HH took over in 2021, he swiftly allowed the US to establish AFRICOM- a U.S. military office in Lusaka, a notorious position that all former Zambian leaders strongly opposed and avoided for decades. Kaunda, Chiluba, Mwanawasa, Banda, Sata and Lungu all refused to establish AFRICOM in Lusaka just like the AU guided all member states to reject it! So, the Americans cannot speak for Lungu in anyway nor seem to be supporting his comeback into power because it will injure and undermine their military interests in Zambia-AFRICOM. Neither can they censor HH in suffocating and fixing Lungu!
7. Lungu is hated in Washington and London for simply being conservative, Christian and promoting Zambian traditional values instead of liberal Western values. Lungu faced British Sky TV and openly denounced homosexuality as an act that is barbaric and projected Zambia as a Christian Nation. Liberal Americans and Europeans were and are still offended conservative policy gesture. President Joe Biden even kissed the sun, religiously “prayed” and physically supported regime change in 2021 in favour of HH. Therefore, Western diploid cannot speak in favor of Lungu, a known enemy of liberalism in Washington, Berlin, London and Paris. This, liberal American and European politicians have no political heart for PF and therefore cannot support not speak for Lungu.
8. When you touch an American citizen anywhere, prepare for fire storms to fall from the sun. By brutally condemning, embarrassing and deporting a pro gay American ambassador, Amb. Daniel Foote from Lusaka on 13th December, 2019, the PF regime automatically became an official political enemy of the US government especially to the ruling Democrats of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. That was a Self Red Card! From a distance when l was outside government, I saw that President Lungu and his PF government had undermined the impact and consequences of their diplomatic frictions with America. It was a known fact that Americans would approach the 2021 national elections in Lusaka with vengeance. And they did! Hence, Americans and Europeans still see Lungu as their core enemy for being openly anti gay and for deporting as well as disgracing a U.S. ambassador. So, HH is free to sort out Lungu!
9. In like manner, Lungu created the Ministry of Religious Affairs and National Guidance, declared 18th October as the Day of National Prayer and Reconciliation. Lungu went further to start building the National House of Prayer, a state cathedral like the Ancient Roman Emperor, Constantine The Great. For liberal Americans and Europeans, all these were aggravated political crimes Lungu committed. That’s why, HH, their sponsored puppet abandoned all such programs because he didn’t want to offend his political masters. So, how can Joe Biden and Kamala Harris feel to hear that American diplomats in Zambia are engaging HH and defending for the respect of the rule of law, protection of the former president, allowing the opposition to have rallies (of course Harry Kalaba excluded) and compelling Bally to give back PF to Lungu? It’s like supporting “Alebwelelapo”! They can be so offended by that gesture!
10. Indirectly , the West covertly agree with HH to brutally fix Lungu and destroy his political career because his PF government worked so hard to bring Lusaka too close to Beijing and consequently bolstered Chinese influence in Zambia and the sub region. With the prospects of Lungu coming back into power in 2026 due to overt failures by HH to effectively rule and deliver, the West do not want to imagine having the same president who may take Zambia back and closer to China and possibly Russia. It is for this reason that they shun and cannot support Fred M’membe of the Socialist Party because they fear him too. Therefore, West will remain mute as they cannot defend Lungu; he did not promote Washington and London interests when he was in power. So, they don’t have reasonable grounds to defend him, his PF party or anything and anyone associated with him.
11. By doing “watch and pray” as HH brutally suffocates and violently strangles Lungu into political extinction in undemocratic ways, American and European diplomats are indirectly agreeing with Bally to persecute, finish and bury ECL politically as the gesture is good for both parties. Where are the American and European diplomats today to speak against overt injustices, kleptocracy, aggravated corruption, executive interference into the judiciary, arbitrary arrests, police brutality, uncensored detention of opposition leaders and state critics, permanent “house arrest” of Lungu, blocking of public rallies, banning peaceful demonstrations as well as political capture and destruction of PF as a party by HH himself? As long as whatever HH is doing is designed to block Lungu’s comeback, the West will surely continue to be mute.
12. By being perpetually so mute as well as physically distanced from Edgar Lungu in the face of a direct threat to rule of law, national peace and constitutional order, Western diplomats have endorsed HH’s authorization rule in Zambia and are directly participating in vengeful hate and political persecution of the former President. During PF, we were all fooled to believe that American and Western diplomats in Zambia were true patriots and reliable promoters of democracy, rule of law, good governance and Justice for all. But since they opposed Lungu and helped HH into power, the West have become HH’s accomplices in persecuting, oppressing and destroying the former President’s party, his career and democracy in Zambia. For sure, the West truly fooled us by hiding their economic and political interests as they pompously supported HH, many liberal civil society organizations as well as many partisan human rights defenders before August 2021 in the name of democracy promotion. Now we know, they fooled and lied to us!
Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021. By philosophical approach, Dr. Zimba is a Pan Africanist as well as Afro-Christian by religion.
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