Zambians not at ease despite swearing-in President — Lumumba
RENOWNED Kenyan lawyer and Pan-Africanist Professor Patrick Lumumba, popularly known as PLO Lumumba, says Zambians are still not at ease despite the swearing-in of President Hakainde Hichilema on September 1.
Lumumba says the country’s post-election disagreements demonstrate how Africa continues to export its problems instead of finding solutions to them.
“As I speak to you today, the Zambians are not at ease. They may have sworn their President on Tuesday of last week, but the opposition are now taking the matter, they say, to the United Nations,” he said.
Professor Lumumba says the inability of African countries to resolve electoral disputes internally is a sign of deeper weaknesses in the continent’s democratic systems.
“We’re exporting our problems. Africa cannot solve our problems. They have just been through an election and they do not agree as to who has won and who has lost,” he said.
He further observed that elections in Africa are often characterised by competing claims of victory, with losing sides reluctant to accept the outcome.
“In Africa, everybody wins the election. In Africa nobody loses an election. The Zambians are not at ease,” Lumumba said.
He also criticised what he described as Africa’s persistent inability to accurately count votes, arguing that the problem has become a major weakness in the continent’s electoral processes
“You know, I was telling a friend of mine that Africa has a problem with counting votes. In other parts of the world, they can have voters in 50 million, in hundreds of millions, but in Africa voters never get past 10 million.
“But for some reason, when we are called upon to count our votes, we never, can’t count the votes. This is an African disease. The inability to count the votes,” he said.
Lumumba says Africa must therefore rethink its approach to politics and electoral management if the continent is to strengthen democracy.
“And in my view, and in my submission, that inability and the inadequacy of Africa to count the votes is one of the problems why Africa must reorient and must reawaken in our politics,” he said.
-TV Yatu | Noel Iyombwa | September 10, 2026.
Which Zambians ???
The criminal elements and the fugitives are obviously gnashing their teeth.
But do we care??
Hell, no !
Zambia’s voting system needs an upgrade.
To electronic. Secured by blockchain technology.
Blockchain technology is being used already in several African countries.
Land Ownership: Ghana (via Bitland), Kenya (via Land Layby and government pilots), Rwanda (via WiseKey and Microsoft), and South Africa (via DRDLR and CSIR pilots) have implemented or piloted blockchain-based land registries to combat fraud and improve transparency.
Voting System: Sierra Leone tested blockchain technology during its 2018 general elections using Swiss tech company Agora’s platform to ensure vote transparency
Do you stay in Zambia Sir? Zambia is as peaceful as it it has been, which Zambians are you talking about? Can you compare Zambia to Kenya and Tanzania post election protests and violence that erupted there? Don’t exaggerate things, because in some way, you are just inciting people to take advantage of your unhelpful speech. We Zambians voted freely and peacefully, who told you that we are not at easy? If those who lost are not at easy, it is those and not the whole country. Stop misleading the world, things are just okay here, those who were arrested committed very serious crimes and the law will take its course. There are no short cuts to presidency, those trying to use shortcuts were visited by the long arm of the law. President Ruto of Kenya delivered a very good and powerful speech which most us peace loving Zambians highly appreciated. In every election, there are winners and there are losers and after the elections, we put everything behind so that normal life goes on and we move on as a nation.