God rejected Hichilema five times, Zambians forced Him to allow him to rule— Kambwili

God rejected Hichilema five times, Zambians forced Him to allow him to rule — Kambwili

FORMER Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili says President Hakainde Hichilema’s five unsuccessful presidential bids were a sign that God had not chosen him to lead Zambia.

And Kambwili says President Hichilema does not love the poor, arguing that his government’s policies favour the wealthy and foreigners rather than ordinary Zambians.

Speaking during a live broadcast on his Facebook page, Kambwili said God had already shown that Hichilema was not meant to govern the country by allowing him to lose five consecutive elections before eventually winning in 2021.

“God showed us that Hakainde Hichilema cannot govern Zambia well. How did He show us? He lost five elections. If a person loses elections five times, it only shows that God did not bless him to lead a country. God did not choose him to lead the country,” Kambwili said.

He said Hichilema lost the presidential elections in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016 before eventually being elected in 2021.

“But what did Zambians do? Anyway, I don’t blame Zambians. What was happening in the previous government is what led people into getting upset and deciding to try Hakainde Hichilema. But God rejected him five times,” he said.

Kambwili asserted that the Bible contains examples where God allowed people to have leaders of their own choosing despite His reservations.

“You know how God is. If He has not decided that you be President, and the people force Him that that is the leader they want, even in the Bible there were leaders that God said, ‘See for yourselves,’ and we know what happened,” he said.

He stressed that he does not hate President Hichilema and respects him as Zambia’s Head of State, but argued that public dissatisfaction with the President stems from his own leadership.

“We do not hate Hakainde Hichilema. He is our President, and we respect him as President of the Republic of Zambia. People have turned against Hichilema because of his own actions,” Kambwili said.

He accused the President of lacking compassion for struggling Zambians, saying a leader should prioritise the welfare of the poor.

“To run a country, you must love the people.
One must love the poor and have mercy on those who are suffering. But this man does not love the poor. He has no heart for the many suffering Zambians.”

Kambwili said if President Hichilema genuinely cared about the poor, his government would have implemented policies aimed at improving their lives.

“If he had a heart for the poor, he would have had pro-poor policies. Instead, our friends have policies that support the rich and foreigners. That is why when you see people praising him for having worked hard and delivered, they are foreigners.”

“When you go to foreign countries, they say Zambia has the best President. But when you come to Zambia, no one is seeing what he has done,” he said.

©TV Yatu | David Kashiki | August 6, 2026.
Picture credit: Andy Luki Jr