By Hopewell Chin’ono
I have great respect for Prof Stephen Chan, but I disagree with him here. We can’t definitively blame Hichilema’s advisers for what he is doing.
I would not excuse him by saying that he has been badly advised. What we are seeing is who he really is. Advisers can be as bad as they come, but if the principal is competent and has good judgement, he removes them. You cannot tell me that, after five years in office, President Hakainde Hichilema has not realised what these people are doing.
His advisers may be contributing to the embarrassment, but the ultimate responsibility rests with him. They act in his name, implement his policies and shape the image of his administration.
Their conduct is therefore a reflection of his leadership, judgement and character. He must stop hiding behind advisers and take responsibility for the government he leads.
What we are seeing here is personality politics, in which advisers and, as we have seen on this page, his supporters defend every stupid decision made by the administration, including the decision to cancel Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa’s passport merely because he criticised Hichilema.
It was one of the stupidest and most indefensible decisions any government could make, yet his supporters still tried to justify it.
This is how personality cults operate. People stop defending principles and start defending a person, no matter how irrational, abusive or destructive his decisions may be.