ACCEPT CRITICISM, RESPECT THE CHURCH, LUBINDA URGES HICHILEMA
Lusaka-Monday,5th June 2023
Patriotic Front Vice President Hon. Given Lubinda has reiterated his call for the UPND Government to accept criticism from stakeholders including the Church.
He said it was regrettable that insulting and demeaning language was used by President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND Secretary General, Batuke Imenda against Lusaka Archdiocese Archbishop, Dr. Alick Banda and Chawama Parish Catholic Priest, Fr Anthony Kapembwa Salangeta.
He said the only crime that the two Priests committed was to speak for the poor and on governance issues as guided by the Church’s Social Justice doctrine.
Hon. Lubinda said the Patriotic Front whilst in government accepted criticism, in many cases, severe criticism and did not dare call the Clergy as “Lucifer” or as “UPND Cadres”.
He condemned the rising intolerance being displayed by President Hakainde Hichilema and accused him of fostering a dictatorships and a police state.
He called on people to defend the church as it speaks for the weak, the poor and the voiceless.
Lubinda is defending his own. These are PF aligned priests and they beat the masters drums loudly for that paycheque. Show usLubinda where these two criticised PF in 10 years. Have they just been ordained priests or they lived through your violent PF reign and saw nothing wrong.
You can not criticise everyday
What is Lubinda talking about? What advice can he give to HH? Does he mean that calling someone a satanist is criticism. Calling for the rigging of elections to him is criticism. From the time of late,Mazoka, the known priests did the same, they were telling people not to vote for Mazoka because he was a satanist. HH came, the same priests continued and said HH is a satanist and a free Manson. So what is the difference between being a satanist and being a Lucifer? Is it not one and the same thing? According to Lubinda and some priests, only Tongas qualify to be satanists and should remain quiet because if they respond, they would be fighting the Church at the same they will be intolerant to criticism. FTJ, RB, Mwanawasa, MCS, ECL and KK were presidents of this country and no one ever called any one of them a satanist. People like Nevers Mumba, Edith Nawakwi, CK, GBM, Harry Kalaba and many others have been in politics for a long time, who has ever called them satanists? You are the people who are bringing confusion because of your perpetual hatred for Tongas. I am glad that Hon Mweetwa has promised to find time and sit with the Catholic Church and iron out these differences. We should stop misleading people, no one is fighting the Catholic Church because there is no reason to do so. And there is no Church which is fighting the government apart from some priests who are hiding their hatred of someone in the Church. Some Priests have a problem and a big one for that matter, they should be leaving politics outside when they go in Church, people need the message of love which will take them to heaven and not the hatred or hate speech they are being fed on, it has no spiritual benefit.
How about the church keeping away from politics and preaching love and unity from the pulpit. How about the church respecting the head of state and not mocking him from the house of God. This is why we do not want PF back ad they sanction wrong doing.
It is honourable to keep quiet when you have nothing to say ba Lubinda please! Awe taken a nama useless talking just to be heard ati naimwe mukamba. Just concentrate on exonerating yourself from what you have been charged with.