EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU RETIRES FROM POLITICS- OUR MEMORIES OF HIS PRESIDENCY
WE are not going to take a convenient path of sounding like we are giving a eulogy (a funeral speech where you always say good things about the dead regardless). We shall say it as it was and plainly what we feel about it.
Truth be told, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu (ECL) served two terms as Republican President during which times he swore to protect the Republican Constitution but he clearly worked so hard against it. His presidency can be described as a vivid example of what never to be done by a Republican President.
In the aftermath of 2016 elections, Mr. Lungu with impunity, refused to allow the Speaker of National Assembly Dr. Patrick Matibini to take over when his election victory was contested by President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) of the then opposition United Party for National Development (UPND). This was against the Constitution that he said he signed with his eyes closed just months ago. During the same election he defied the advice of the then Attorney General Mr. Likando Kalaluka who asked him to relieve his cabinet from performing Government work following the dissolution of Parliament. He blatantly refused and allowed his cabinet to campaign using Government resources in an election period (in a normal society this election must have been nullified).
Mr. Lungu knowingly and with his blessings turned this country into a tribal paradise where those who championed tribalism were hugely rewarded in his Government and got jobs as campaign frontliners. The non- Bembas and non- Easterners were hunted down from their jobs and those that survived were meant to believe that the Patriotic Front (PF) was doing them a favour. Under Mr. Lungu, hundreds of civil servants got fired in national interest on tribal grounds. Others got transfered to some places meant to frustrate them into retirement. Jobs in Government became for the favoured regions and not tenable on merit! His appointments were an open testimony of his tribal operation. Mr Lungu was very tribal and operated as the Patron of Tribalism in Zambia. For the records 2,694 civil servants were fired in national interest between 2011 and 2021. Compare this with 28 civil servants dismissed between 2001 and 2011 under the Movement for Multi party Democracy reign (MMD). Mr. Lungu in his fear for the UPND championed a tribal cleansing as a way of meting out his anger against his political opponents.
What about the grand corruption that characterised his government. Instead of fighting corruption me. Lungu agreed that his Ministers were corrupt and were stealing from the Zambian people but he only asked them not to over steal. He openly encouraged stealing by saying “ubomba mwibala alya mwibala but tekutila alila pamo nembuto” (loosely interpreted as you can steal but just be able to manage your stealing). Clearly, corruption under the Mr. Lungu’s reign was effectively shielded as the case became so clear when corruption accused Minsters continued to serve in Government.
Government procurements were littered with corruption as they were hugely bloated. Examples included Among others the procurement of the 42 fire trucks at $42 million, the procurement of expired drugs and medical supplies at $20 million by Honeybee, the $1.2 million Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriage way project, the $4 million Michael Chilufya Sata Toll Plaza, the procurement of a Presidential Jet at $380 million, the Ambulances procurement scandal, etc. Everything was overpriced and corruptly so to the benefit of Mr. Lungu who was the Patron of the Corruption Club.
Human rights; under Mr. Lungu the human rights space collapsed. He usurped the constitution and all other laws that guaranteed human rights and liberties. His perceived opponents suffered his brutal attacks using the state Police as they spent more time either in prison or the Court of Law than they even did meeting up their supporters. President Hichilema was arrested 15 times during the PF regime out of which 12 times came under Mr. Lungu’s reign.
During Mr. Lungu’s presidency political opponents were viewed as his enemies and automatically became less human in his eyes. President Hichilema’s brutal arrest and fictitious treason charges suffered after the 2017 road traffic circus in Western province was testimony of Mr. Lungu’s intolerance to opposition. The Pubic Order Act was brutally applied to restrict dissenting voices. Political gatherings involving the opposition were outlawed through abuse of the Public Order Act. Opposition supporters and sympathisers got killed by the police with impunity. The shootings by the Police using live ammunition became fashionable as a way of dispersing opposition supporters, a development that resulted in hundreds of fatalities especially among the UPND supporters.
On the other hand, the PF cadres became untouchable as they were instantly above the law. They haunted the citizens and perceived opposition supporters with impunity. Cadres terrorized the markets and bus stations where they became tax collectors as PF secretary General Davies Mwila openly called for further penetration of markets and bus stations by PF cadres during his Kabwe mobilisation.
Under Mr. Lungu, the dissenting voices were suppressed and those that persisted had to endure the torment from the Police and PF cadres. The labour unions were weakened and divided to support the PF cause even when the conditions of service for their workers became unfavourable. Protesting workers were dismissed, the case of doctors and nurses. Union activities in Public institutions of learning were banned as UNZALARU learnt its fate in the most brutal way when the PF Government through the Ministry of Labour deregistered it. Student unionism was banned too. Meal allowances from public institutions were scrapped off!
The economy fell irretrievably under Mr. Lungu. The kwacha lost against all major convertible currencies. At the time of his exit, US$1 was K22. The debt levels were unsustainable with external debt approximated at about US$ 12 billion. Government lost credibility and could not borrow from credible sources. The IMF denied putting Zambia on its package under Mr. Lungu as the country’s fiscal position was deemed irrational. Not even desperate efforts such as the hiring of Lazard, a French Company to help restructure the national debt could redeem the country’s lost image.
The cost of living under Mr. Lungu’s reign became unbearable and yet cadres became excessively rich as they openly flaunted their wealth. The source of revenue for the local authorities receded to it’s lowest as the councils lost their source of revenue to the PF cadres. Markets and Stations were hijacked by PF cadres.
Agriculture that forms a source of employment and livelihood for about 70% of our population was not spared. The Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) became polarised and politicized. Regions perceived to be opposition strongholds received less and less farming input in a clear case of political exclusion; Western, Southern and North Western Provinces suffered the most exclusion.
Under Mr. Lungu, development became either a reward or an inducement to vote for the PF party. Regions that were perceived to be opposition inclined were excluded from national development. Roads and other infrastructural projects were selectively done, and more so with considerations to punish the people in the regions that were perceived to support the opposition.
Mr. Lungu abused the church during his reign. Whilst his rule was characterised with subjugation, suppression and oppression of those perceived to be in opposition, he assembled gullible Christians who sung his praises and worked tirelessly so hard to paint him as a Saint. Some of them even openly refered to themselves as Christians for Lungu. He marshalled the support of the church to cover his shortcomings. The church sung of his humility whilst his Government looted public resources. The Church celebrated his humble outlook whilst his Government closed down any avenue of expression for those in opposition and everyone with divergent views. The Church prayed for him whilst his Government Minsters stole even social Cash Transfer, the funds meant for the most vulnerable members of our society!
Not satisfied with his two terms Mr. Lungu engineered a back door court process using Pastor Danny Pule who petitioned the constitutional court to interpret whether Mr. Lungu was eligible to contest the 2021 elections. The debate persisted over whether the court had cleared him or not. To make it clear, another sponsored court process was pursued this time using Mr. Bampi Kapalasa a former UPND Katuba Constituency Member of Parliament. Alongside these innuendos, Mr. Lungu viciously pushed for the Bill 10 against the Zambian people’s wishes. All these evil schemes were meant to benefit Mr. Lungu and absolutely not in national interest. Clearly, he is a greedy man that was never content with the privilege to serve this country as allowed by the Zambian people. He disrespected and undermined the intelligence of the Zambian people and took them for granted, perhaps he thought we were fools for him to even think of such an awful piece of legislation like the Bill 10.
Fellow countrymen and women, Mr. Lungu’s emphatic defeat in the August 2021polls was a clear message of the country’s disapproval of his leadership. He definitely goes in our country’s history books as the worst President ever. His resignation from politics is a relief to all well meaning Zambians that suffered his misrule. Let him rest and reflect on his horrible time as Republican President of this great country. There is no time to miss him even when we still keep our respect for him.
Enjoy your retirement Mr. Lungu!
Martin Mushumba ( He worked for Agric before ACC where he also resigned to further his education )