Edgar Lungu can win an election – Bowman Lusambo

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Lusambo

Lungu can win an election – Bowman

By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka

THE way President Hichilema won elections in this country that is the way Edgar Lungu can win an election in this country, says former Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo.


He told The Mast that Lungu just lost an election once.
“No one has killed anyone. I was just giving an example to [UPND youth chairman Gilbert] Liswaniso yesterday. I told Liswaniso that if you are saying that President Lungu killed those people the President mentioned, who killed [North Western Province PF chairman Jackson] Kungo? Who attacked the Ndola PF youths in Ndola? Who attacked the Kitwe youths? Who denied entry to the youths of Kasama, entry to the stadium where Youth Day celebrations were being held? If you are telling me that Edgar Lungu did this, you are also telling me that President Hakainde Hichilema being the Republican President killed Kungo. Is he the one who attacked youths in Kitwe? Is he the one who prevented youths from entering the stadium? The answer is no. The police tear-gassed youths in Ndola, can we say it was President? The answer is no,” he said. “So they want to portray things in the wrong way. President Edgar Lungu is a free man. The way President Hichilema won elections in this country, that is the way Edgar Lungu can win an election in this country. Moreover he has just lost once. Ni kamo fye. It is just once. President Hakainde has been losing I don’t know if is not five times of six times. Lungu just failed once. And even at the university, when you fail once they give deferred exams. They look at the extent to which you have failed and they will say ‘this one is intelligent maybe he just never studied comprehensively. Let us give him a deferred exam so that he can obtain a certificate’. They give deferred exams even at the University of Zambia. They only ask you to repeat if you fail in everything. So president Lungu just dropped with a few marks. So his exam was deferred. So he can write the paper again and pass.”


Lusambo said whether or not Lungu should contest elections again it was not about the President’s wish.
“It is not about Liswaniso. It is snot about Madam (Vice-Presisdent Mutale) Nalumango. It is about the people of Zambia. The people of Zambia are saying we are tired na Bashi Promise (father of promises). Everything is promise, promise, promise. Zambians are saying they want bashi progress (the man of progress),” he said figuratively. “It’s not up to Bashi Promise and family to say bashi (father of progress) cannot come back. It is not them who vote. It is the people of Zambia.”


Lusambo said people were worried about the high cost of mealie meal, fuel and farming inputs.
“Bashi progress was not moving in the manner bashi promise is moving. The UPND have no moral right to talk about PF. The responsibility which they have been given by the people of Zambia is to govern this country and get the economy running by bringing the cost of fuel and food down and making money available to the people,” he said.


Lusambo said President HIchilema should apologise to Lungu for using strong words against him.
“He should apologise to Lungu because Lungu is older. What he is teaching us now is something else,” he said. “The President recently came from parliament where he talked about values, principles and ethics and morals. So what is he telling us?”
Lusambo called on chiefs to counsel the President.


“A child is never too big for his parents. Whether you are a president or not you are a son to somebody. Let the President concentrate on governing the country. Publicly or secretly the President should apologise to Lungu. He is going to apologise on the basis of Ubuntu. He is an elder. We have two groups which can sit the President down. The church SDA and the chiefs. We have to think about the bigger picture,” said Lusambo. “Zambia is bigger than all of us. Dr Kaunda ruled this country, he died and left it. Has Zambia died? No. [Frederick] Chiluba ruled this country he died. Did Zambia die? No. [Levy] Mwanawasa ruled the country, he died. Did Zambia die? President [Michael] Sata ruled for few years and died. Did the country die? No. Politicians come and go. Besides in Zambia the mandate for governing is five years. If they are happy that is when they give two terms but if they are not happy it’s one term. The UPND know Zambians. RB just ruled for three years. They know how Zambians are. The best example is RB. No one can force themselves to be President if Zambians have spoken.”
On Monday, during a card renewal exercise in Kitwe, President Hichilema said he would not have been alive had it not been for some party members who died in his place.


“They killed children. Lawrence Banda, putting a bullet in his head,” he said. “Joseph Kaunda, that bullet was meant for me, and Joseph Kaunda took that bullet for me. What do you think I think about that situation? When he says alebwelelapo what does he think I am? What does he think you are? What does he think the children of Joseph Kaunda are? Lawrence Banda, Mapenzi Chibulo, Grazier Matapa. What does he think about those women who were thrown in a cell together with me? Bushe aletontonkanya olo ninshi (are you thinking properly or what is it?” President Hichilema wondered.


He said God gave him a big chest but that should not be misunderstood.
President Hichilema said God wanted him to correct the wrongs of his predecessor.
“We must not misunderstand each other in this country. We must not abuse each other in this country,” he said. “How can one aspire to come back to come and start killing more young people? I am protecting young people, someone wants to come back and start killing the people he did not kill that time. Kwangala uko, kutumpa uko (Those are games. That’s being silly).”
President Hichilema urged Zambians not to be misled.


He said people were brought up differently and that his style of leadership was different from that of others.
“Some talk a lot, tick tock. All the time, talk talk. Those who are quiet do not mean they agree with noise being made. I am not supposed to be alive myself. I should have died a long time ago. But God protected us. But in a way a part of me died. We came for the Youth Day, you started fighting. Kutumpa uko (that’s being silly),” said President Hichilema. “If I allowed these guys to avenge after 2021 elections people would have died in this country.”

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