IN DEFENSE OF UNIFORM:
THE ARMY DID WHAT THE CONSTITUTION DEMANDS
The article by M’membe “AN INJUSTICE UNDER UNIFORM” gets one thing right: the Constitution is supreme. Where it goes wrong is in pretending that the Zambia Army abandoned their Constitutional mandate on 13th August 2026.
Probably what M’membe should be lectured on is that the Army’s mandate is not limited to borders only,
Article 193 of the Constitution is clear: the Defence Forces shall defend Zambia and uphold the Constitution. “Defend” does not only mean fighting external aggression. When civilian institutions are overwhelmed and the electoral process itself is threatened by violence, intimidation, and sabotage, the President as Commander-in-Chief can and must deploy the Army in aid of civil authority. That is not overreach. That is duty.
Therefore, to call commandos at Mulungushi “intimidation” ignores context. Electoral staff were being threatened. Ballot papers were being moved illegally. Opposition agents were clashing with police. The Army was there to secure the integrity of the vote and the peace of the country— the very thing Article 2 says every citizen has a duty to defend.
With regards to the death of a former Minister, the truth is we are all mourning. MHSRIEP. But to claim that commandos were deployed to assassinate a political figure without evidence is reckless journalism. The Army does not choose who to protect.
There should have been credible intelligence reports of arms being stockpiled and plans to disrupt counting in Kabulonga, thus the deployment was lawful and necessary.
If there was excessive force, that must be investigated — by the Zambia Police, the DPP, and the courts. But to pre-judge Lt. Gen Zyeele, Brig Gen Shapwaya and Major Kapumpa in a newspaper article is itself a violation of the right to presumption of innocence in Article 18.
Otherwise, calling our Military a political militia is mischievous.
The Zambia Army has a 60-year record of professionalism. From UN peacekeeping in DRC, South Sudan, Lebanon, to keeping peace during our own past elections. The same Army you now call a militia is the one the UN trusts to protect civilians abroad.
Elections are tense. Emotions run high. But a few isolated incidents do not turn the entire institution into an enemy of democracy. The moment we start describing our own Defence Forces as occupiers or malitias, we play into the hands of those who want anarchy.
Otherwise, as patriotic citizens we need to be real, what Judiciary cannot do is to hold a trial in the media and demand heads to roll before facts are established. That is the same “coordinated suppression” M’mbe’s article claims to oppose — just done with a pen instead of a boot.
Criticism is good. Scrutiny is healthy. But criticism without context becomes sabotage. The Army serves the people — all the people, not just those who won or lost on 13th August.
Bo Namakando M’membe please the uniform is not the problem. Lawlessness is. And the Army was called in to deal with exactly that.
One Zambia one Nation of peace love and joy.
@MP2026.
Well articulated!