CALLING OUT TRIBALISM IS NOT TRIBALISM
It has become common for the UPND and their rogue online media to attack historian and political commentator Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa by accusing him of being sponsored by me or a supporter of the Socialist Party, the same way the PF accused him of being sponsored by Mr Hakainde Hichilema when the UPND were in opposition.
The latest person to make this false accusation is Mr Clayson Hamasaka, who is baying for Dr Sishuwa’s blood after he called them out for their regionalism in an interview with The Mast newspaper. Hamasaka, is the official spokesperson of the President of Zambia, so whatever he says represents the views of his boss. His latest threats to Dr Sishuwa’s life and his accusations represent the views of the presidency, who have quickly found a supporter to report Dr Sishuwa to the Zambia police service headquarters for alleged hate speech against Mr Hichilema. They can’t even mask their desperation anymore to gag critics because the whole scheme has their hands written all over it. Since when were alleged crimes reported to police headquarters? As Dr Sishuwa himself has said, if anything happens to him, Mr Hichilema must be held responsible.
https://x.com/ssishuwa/status/1859693969996652718
Why is the UPND so uncomfortable with any criticism of their regionalism? Why are they so keen to silence Dr Sishuwa when he has raised important issues that require proper debate? How many people are they going to arrest for expressing opinions that they do not share? Can they provide answers to the questions he has posed in the interview instead of demanding for his arrest. Can they explain why the panel of judges who are denying applications for bail to the people he named are mostly made up of judges from one region? Dr Sishuwa has raised serious issues that require sober reflection from those in charge of our country, not the threats on his life that we are seeing from State House. And how can they accuse Dr Sishuwa of promoting tribalism/regionalism when he comes from one of the tribes and the region that is benefiting from the skewed distribution of government positions? How can he be a tribalist against his own tribe? How can he be a regionalist against his own region?
Under the PF, Dr Sishuwa spoke out against the discrimination of Tongas and Lozis by the Lungu administration as shown in the article on the link below.
https://diggers.news/guest-diggers/2018/01/15/one-zambia-two-nations-the-disturbing-ill-treatment-of-tongas-in-lungus-zambia/
The UPND were happy with him at the time because it suited them. As Andyford Banda, President of People’s Alliance for Change (PAC), noted, “When Sishuwa spoke against tribalism in PF it was nice and objective and not hate speech, but now you want to make him a persona na grata over common sense subject. Let’s speak loudly against this vice [of tribalism and regionalism].” Calling out tribalism or regionalism is not tribalism or regionalism. It is a way to draw attention to the problem. The problem is those practising tribalism or regionalism, not those drawing attention to it. The most effective way of stopping tribalism or regionalism is for those in power to stop practising it. Once they do this, no one will talk about it.
But the UPND are extremely sensitive to any discussion of this topic because it risks exposing their weaknesses if it is extended to an analysis of the distribution of government positions at the levels of permanent secretary, CEOs of parastatals, board chairpersons, key ministries, and state institutions, and many more. The truth is that Dr Sishuwa has touched a raw nerve and the UPND are very weak on this position. There is nothing criminal about what he said, but they cannot defend themselves because the issues he has raised are real and the evidence is in favour of what he is saying.
I must say that I have usually avoided commenting on Dr Sishuwa’s political commentaries because, as I have previously stated on this platform, Dr Sishuwa is my relative; he is my cousin. But beyond family, he and I are very different on the choices we make especially in relation to our politics. Dr Sishuwa is an extremely independent minded person who says things that many people only whisper in the comfort of home or on WhatsApp. As former Attorney General Mr Abyudi Shonga SC said on X, formerly Twitter, this morning, “Sishuwa speaks loudly on what most would consider uncomfortable topics. He encourages discourse on issues that are hurting the country. for that, he has my respect. Silencing him is not the answer.” https://x.com/ShongaSC/status/1859832321593180225
And as prominent Lusaka businessman Mr Sipho Phiri wrote on X, “People forget that Sishuwa doesn’t NEED to do this [activism work]. Whilst I don’t agree with a few things in this post (possibly the world longest post) I admire SS’s steadfast belief in a better, fairer Zambia. Things are not well in Zambia and some tribal balancing was necessary after Edgar and crew had purged Tongas and Lozis from the system, but now that has flipped over into full blown tribalism the other way. It’s not right, everyone is whispering about it, but only Sishuwa Sishuwa states it out loud. If the state were to move against him in any way for voicing a well thought out opinion, they would lose my support for shuwa.” https://x.com/siphophiri/status/1859800321880465413
Clearly, the issues Dr Sishuwa has raised are real and being said by many other people. As Mr Phiri has said, one can disagree with him but that is part of political debate in a democracy. The best way of addressing the issues he has raised is not to arrest Dr Sishuwa for hate speech against Mr Hichilema. It is to pay attention to the content of his criticism. If those in power find nothing useful in what he has said, let them ignore him. Arresting him or accusing him of being sponsored by the Socialist Party will not help anyone. And let me say this to Mr Hamasaka and Mr Hichilema: Dr Sishuwa is neither a member or supporter of the Socialist Party, and he has never been one. Criticise him for his opinions, condemn him for many things, but not for his non-existent association with the Socialist Party. If anything, Dr Sishuwa is closer to Mr Hichilema, politically speaking, than he is to the Socialist Party. I say this because I know that he helped Mr Hichilema a lot and for free before the 2021 elections, but I respect that he did what he did out of principle. Yes, Dr Sishuwa is my relative, but he is under no obligation to support the Socialist Party just because he is my relative. That is why, despite being a member of my family, I respected his right to help Mr Hichilema even when I was a candidate against the same person he was helping. Yes, he has his weaknesses but those who know Dr Sishuwa will testify that he is an independent minded professional who has helped many people and institutions for free. Let not Mr Hichilema and his political lieutenants crucify Dr Sishuwa for being my relative. He did not choose the family to be born into. Yes, Dr Sishuwa’s criticism can be stinging, but Mr Hichilema and the UPND should know that even those before them complained against his criticism of their leadership.
If anything, Dr Sishuwa does not agree with much of our politics and has publicly called us out on many things. Do we harbour any resentment against him? No, we do not. We are revolutionaries and have no time to harbour resentment or hate against anyone. We recognise and respect that Dr Sishuwa is a citizen of Zambia, a public commentator, and has the constitutional right to criticise our political work, to oppose what we do, and to associate with those he likes. Sometimes he has been unfair on us in his public criticism of our political work, but we have never taken offence. Why should Mr Hichilema, who has greatly benefited from Dr Sishuwa’s work take offence? And when I say that Mr Hichilema has greatly benefitted from Dr Sishuwa’s work, I do not say this with any malice, ill will or objection. I say this to merely state a historical fact. Mr Hichilema himself knows what I am talking about here, and no wonder he would never directly attack Dr Sishuwa but would rather send his surrogates to do so on his behalf. Mr Hichilema knew long before 2021 that Dr Sishuwa is my relative, but this did not stop Mr Hichilema from regularly seeking help, which he got, at the time because it suited him.
If Mr Hamasaka does not know how the person he is attacking today helped his boss for free and as a matter of principle, he should ask for a briefing from Mr Hichilema. There are many things I am reluctant to say out of respect for the dignity of both Mr Hichilema and Dr Sishuwa, but one thing I can say is that Mr Hichilema knows that Dr Sishuwa has a very independent mind, is not for hire, and can never be sponsored by anyone – me, Mr Hichilema, Mr Edgar Lungu, Mr Michael Sata, or any other leader before or alive. In fact, if Mr Hichilema had any sense of respect and gratitude for those who truly helped him, he would not allow his political lieutenants to abuse Dr Sishuwa the way they have been doing. Yes, they may not know what help he received from Dr Sishuwa, but he can at least stop them from making malicious accusations against someone whose independence of mind he can at least attest to. Mr Hichilema cannot stand up today and tell the public that he sponsored Dr Sishuwa to speak out against Mr Lungu’s leadership and against the PF because he did not. So why would he think others can do to Dr Sishuwa what he himself failed to do?
I am not beyond criticism from Mr Hamasaka or anyone else. But that criticism must be truthful. I don’t own The Mast, I am neither a shareholder, a director nor an editor of The Mast. The Mast is owned by a not-for-profit foundation. Yes, it was started by me immediately after the closure of The Post to provide an independent news media outlet that is free from political or business interests, including of my own. And in pursuant of that, the publication was owned by an independent not-for-profit foundation, which I don’t control in any way. And a strict analysis of The Mast will reveal that the publication is far away editorially and otherwise from me. I have no direct links with the editorial staff and managers of The Mast. They operate independent of me. I can even reveal here that I don’t talk to them at all. I have no communication whatsoever with Mr Larry Moonze, the editor-in-chief of The Mast. If Mr Hamasaka is in doubt, he can ask Mr Moonze if he ever receives any editorial instructions from me or if he talks to me, at all, about what he does or publishes. I have no direct communication with Mr Moonze. So, its highly mischievous for Mr Hamasaka to link what The Mast publishes to me, and he should learn to be truthful. I don’t have the links or control that he has over Koswe and the Zambian Watchdog.
As for, Dr Sishuwa, like I have said, yes, he is my relative, he is my cousin. In our African sense, I would say he is my brother but he is an adult who does his own things. No wonder, in the last elections he chose to fight on the side of Mr Hichilema against Mr Lungu, and not on my side, and I had no quarrel with that. I had a number of family members who were with Mr Hichilema and I had no issues with them. I am not as petty as they are. I respect the choices of everyone, including those of people very close to me.
Let us disagree on many things but let there be a minimum of decency and courtesy in how we conduct our politics. More importantly, let us not criminalise political debate. Dr Sishuwa has raised serious issues that deserve discussion. Silencing him, arresting him, is not the solution. I endorse in totality the analysis and conclusions drawn by Dr Sishuwa in his article, and if he has committed a crime, I stand guilty of the same crime. Come and arrest, and prosecute me since Dr Sishuwa is far away. Tribalism has to be called out and things must be called by their names. A tribal practice cannot be called anything other than tribalism. The only way to cure tribalism is to stop tribal practices.
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party