UPND DEFENDS REJECTION OF HOT FM CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE:
UPND Media Director Mark Simuuwe has defended the party’s decision to reject a congratulatory message from Hot FM following President Hakainde Hichilema’s victory in the 2026 general election.
Appearing on Crown TV’s Spotlight programme, Mr Simuuwe said the decision was not a rejection of the station’s goodwill, but rather a response to what the party considers unfair treatment by the media house during the election campaign.
He argued that the UPND could not accept congratulations from a media organisation which, in the party’s view, had previously failed to provide it with fair access to its platforms for political advertising.
“Stability must be founded on sincerity. It is not accountability if there is no sincerity,” Mr Simuuwe said.
He questioned how the party could accept congratulations from a media house that he alleged had earlier refused to accommodate its campaign activities.
Mr Simuuwe claimed that Hot FM declined to broadcast UPND campaign advertisements despite the party meeting the conditions set by the station.
He also raised concerns about how political supporters were treated when they tried to participate in programmes through telephone call-ins.
According to Mr Simuuwe, supporters of the Patriotic Front (PF) and the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) were allegedly provided with different contact numbers for call-ins, while UPND supporters experienced difficulties connecting to programgiven different contact numbers for call-ins, while UPND supporters had difficultymes.
Drawing on his experience in the media industry, he alleged that some calls were connected directly to the station’s console while others appeared unable to get through.
Mr Simuuwe said the UPND had sought to engage media organisations in good faith throughout the campaign but became increasingly frustrated by what he described as difficulties in securing airtime on Hot FM.
He contrasted the station’s alleged conduct with that of other media organisations that congratulated President Hichilema following the election without attracting similar criticism from the party.
Mr Simuuwe further accused some media practitioners of crossing the line between reporting political developments and actively participating in political discourse.
He argued that the media’s primary responsibility was to provide information and ensure that competing political voices had an opportunity to be heard.
“If the media becomes a political party, that is the problem. The job of the media is not to be newsmakers,” he said.
The UPND Media Director maintained that the party has internal guidelines governing its engagement with media organisations and that rejecting Hot FM’s congratulatory message was consistent with those guidelines.
He said the party was within its rights to decline the message based on its previous experience with the station.
However, Mr Simuuwe stressed that the decision should not be interpreted as a refusal to engage in dialogue with Hot FM or other media organisations.
He said the party remained open to constructive engagement, arguing that frank discussions should not necessarily damage relationships.
“Frank talk does not kill friendship. We must be sincere with one another,” he said.
Mr Simuuwe urged media organisations to provide balanced platforms where political parties and opposing viewpoints can be heard, maintaining that concerns raised by the UPND should be assessed on their merits rather than dismissed simply because Hot FM extended congratulations after the election.