A RETIRED ZAF officer has warned defence minister Davies Chama against campaigning for the PF when addressing military personnel.
Canon Colonel Cuthbert Sakala, who is also a member of the newly formed Our Civic Duty Association (OCIDA), said such pronouncements were against Chama’s job description.
Col Sakala is a former fighter pilot and director of operations at ZAF.
“Zambia is not a dictatorship and sometimes we the citizens are left to wonder where we are headed with such pronouncements coming out of leaders at your level. Let Zambian[s] determine their own destiny free of will,” he said in an open letter to Chama “Dear Mr. Minister, it is with a heavy heart that I have to write to you in this fashion. But because of your public pronouncements, hardly a week ago, and almost parroted by a relatively junior service chief (who is misemployed by the way), in the presence of the Commander-In-Chief himself, raises serious concerns. The defence portfolio is very senior in any government and ordinarily expected to be occupied by level headed senior politicians, if not senior ex-servicemen themselves.”
Col Sakala warned PF against recruiting cadres, as that lowered the integrity of the military.
“At the beginning of July 2020, you issued a stern warning to Zambians, including military personnel under your charge to desist from any action against President Lungu’s wish to go for a third term of office. This has sent shivers down a lot of people’s spines. I don’t believe [that] campaigning for the President is anywhere in your terms of reference as Minister of Defence,” he stated. “The Defence Act clearly states what your responsibilities are and ordering our gallant young men and women in uniform on how to vote is not one of them. It is unfortunate that the ruling party dictates the enrolment of cadres into these credible institutions and lowering standards to some degree at the expense of deserving young men and women. The nepotism and corruption in the recruitment process leaves much to be desired. The Minister of Defence has much more pressing issues to resolve for the defence forces than mere politicking.”
He challenged Chama to resolve the many issues that affected defence forces.
Col Sakala warned Chama that empty threats would not win PF the vote next year.
“He cannot for instance justify why he needs $6,000 per head to clothe its military men while former commanders are wallowing in poverty getting a paltry K150 per month (less than $10) as pension. The minister and his boss have this information on their fingertips because they are surrounded by very high ranking officers who should pass on this data on a regular basis,” Col Sakala stated. “I would like to reassure you minister that empty threats will take the ruling party nowhere. Give Zambians the latitude to choose their leaders without undue pressure. I trust and hope you will pick one or two points out of the above. Please allow the men and women in uniform to exercise their rights as enshrined in our Constitution. Remember you swore to uphold the Constitution as elected member of parliament and equally in exercising of your functions as Cabinet Minister.”
He stated that the men in uniform have from time immemorial pledged loyalty to the sitting government and swore not to participate in active politics.
“However, in 1973, upon introduction of the one party state, we in uniform were compelled to form UNIP structures in military establishments. I would like to remind you Mr.
Minister, if you had not attained voting age yet, that during elections where a president was standing against a frog, it would get more votes,” Col Sakala stated.
He stated that in 1991 when Dr Kenneth Kaunda reintroduced multipartyism, the thrashing he got “in that humiliating defeat speaks volumes of the peoples’ dissent against the party and its government.”
“The trend has since continued and even in the current political dispensation, the ruling party has tended to get a thorough bashing at the hands of the opposition in almost all military institutions including State House grounds,” stated Col Sakala. “This only goes to show how independently members of the armed forces think, despite loyalty to the state which should not be perceived to be support for the office bearer.”