LAURA MITI “Hichilema’s Communications Team is the most useless since 1964. Imagine he has kept Clayson Hamasaka for five years. Imagine the clowning done by Mark Simuuwe and others.”
“This is so tragic that the August 2026 election is now a competition and he may lose elections”
“He chooses loyalty over competence. Imagine the competence he invested in the economy team if he had done the same with the communications team”
Civil Society activist and supporter of President Hakainde Hichilema Laura Miti on COSTA on Diamond TV
Laura Miti slams HH’s PR team
… for turning the August 2026 general elections into a highly volatile competition that the President risks losing
PROMINENT Zambian human rights and governance activist Laura Miti has sharply criticised President Hakainde Hichilema’s communications department, labeling it ‘the most useless since 1964’.
Ms Miti warned that the team’s ongoing lapses and poor strategy had severely damaged the administration’s public image, turning the August 2026 general elections into a highly volatile competition that the President risks losing.
She stated that President Hichilema continuously prioritises political loyalty over expert capability.
Speaking on Diamond TV over the weekend, Ms Miti noted a stark contrast between the highly competent team managing the nation’s economy and the ‘defunct’ team handling public relations.
She specifically called out State House communications specialist Clayson Hamasaka a former Public Relations lecturer, expressing deep disappointment that he and others like UPND media director Mark Simuuwe had let the nation down with what she termed ‘clowning’ and poor media management.
Ms Miti had previously argued that despite positive indicators on the ground such as praise from international bodies like the IMF regarding social spending and stabilised inflation, the communication team was completely incapable of packaging and selling these successes to ordinary Zambians.
“Because the Government’s communication apparatus is ‘dead and buried’, the President is regularly forced to do his own heavy lifting in the media—such as hosting prolonged, campaign-style radio talk shows—which diminishes the dignity of his office and leaves him overly exposed to political fallout,” she said.
Ms Miti warned that holding onto a failed public relations strategy had effectively alienated the UPND from its grassroots voter base, with political parties actively mobilisng ahead of the August 2026 elections.
She cautioned that the administration’s continuous inability to combat opposition narratives or address public grievances transparently could cost President Hichilema his re-election. – Alendo News
Laura is absolutely right.
UPND is like the British Prime Minister, now former, Sir K Stammer. Good management but poor communication. It is the alliance partners like Milupi, Nevers Mumba and Saviour Chishimba as well as diplomat Munshya who are working hard communicating with the voters while Clayson and his friends are drinking tea at State House. They do not read the people so that they can be proactive, but always reacting to the opposition.
Laura Mitti is very much on point, this HAMAwhatever has been totally blunt and their Simuwe thought talking everyday is was what matters even if their was no substance in what was being said. the team was totally flat.