The Mast Editorial
‘Brenthurst capture of State House’
Last Thursday, President Hakainde Hichilema conferred the Order of the Eagle of Zambia, First Division on former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson (Liberia) and Ernest Bai Koroma (Sierra Leone) for their distinguished efforts in promoting democracy.
The awardees are advisory board members of Brenthurst Foundation, a mining lobby group established by the Oppenheimer family.
And Emmanuel Mwamba has repeatedly over many months said “Brenthurst Foundation is also in State House and meets the cost of private advisors to the President”.
“There is an advisory unit at State House that is on their private pay role. They are many. I don’t want to mention them. Then we have two from South Africa. I don’t want to offend people but it is the
truth,” says Mwamba, a former high commissioner to South Africa. “The concern there is, why would you have special advisors to the President that are funded by a private entity when the government has provided for special advisors? They are catered for. I mean, we don’t need outsiders. The relationship with Brenthurst Foundation promotes corporate, commercial and private interest. That is our objection and this is called State Capture in other countries. Brenthurst Foundation has captured our President [Hakainde Hichilema]. They are making him honour board members of Brenthurst Foundation. All those that were honoured are members of Brenthurst Foundation. State House is the heart of power in our country. It cannot be defiled in the manner the President has allowed it to be defiled where we have this private interest funding.”
This is an extraordinarily alarming statement which many have expressed doubts concerning its veracity. Our sources at State House have now confirmed that indeed a presidential advisor working full-time at State House, is the daughter of a former Zambian president and is on the payroll of Brenthurst Foundation. The source asked “have you ever seen her being sworn in like all other presidential advisors? Is this not a serious national security breach? Who other than the President does the seconded advisor to Hakainde Hichilema report to? Greg Mills? What was Hakainde thinking? Could he not have appointed this presidential advisor like he did all others and put her on government payroll? Why was it necessary for him to accept a Zambian presidential advisor to be on the Brenthurst Foundation payroll? Hakainde must explain to the nation.’’
In any other country, such a breach of national security would immediately attract an independent inquiry and the President would face very serious consequences. It is now an established fact that Hakainde is beholden to Brenthurst Foundation as can be seen from his various indiscretions. First, he lied that he was going to South Africa to promote investment, when in fact he was there to launch a book written by Greg Mills. Secondly, his clandestine trip to Lower Zambezi at the Brenthurst Foundation Security Conference recently. Thirdly, the presence of Greg at the initial negotiating meetings with Vedanta over Konkola Copper Mines with his other business partner.
It is also abundantly clear that Hakainde in honouring Obasanjo, Sirleaf Johnson and Koroma, was not about anything else other than honouring the Brenthurst Foundation. We say this because if Hakainde truly believed the reasons he gave for honouring these former presidents, then why did he also not honour Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania who played an important role during and after the August 2021 elections? Kikwete was the one who was heavily involved in shuttle diplomacy which led to Edgar Lungu accepting defeat during the power transition mediation brokered by late Rupiah Banda.
We urge Hakainde to search his soul and start to de-escalate. It’s too much of him stressing the nation unnecessarily with his business acquaintances. He cannot continue on a path of pitting himself against citizens!
Margaret Wheatley tells us that, “Leadership is a series of behaviours rather than a role for heroes.”
And Martin Luther King Jr noted that, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”