Fellow Citizens,
This morning, I came across the latest remarks from Kenyan’s renowned constitutional lawyer and Pan Africanist, Professor Patrick Loche Lumumba concerning Zambia’s political leadership which caught my attention.
Speaking in Kenya yesterday at a radio show focusing on “democracy in Africa” as monitored by News24, the Kenyan distinguished lawyer said “everyone can now see that former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu was a democrat and that Hichilema is a dictator”. Remember, this is Prof. Lumumba who was very critical of my leadership everywhere, praised President Hichilema in opposition and my administration even blocked him from entering Zambia between 2018 and 2020.
I have read that he was expressing his latest views on recent developments in our country where Zambia Police has been blocking public rallies for the opposition parties since 2021 as well as chasing non UPND political leaders from attending church services including the brutal invasion of the Catholic Church office in Kabwe where armed police went to search for me like a criminal. “It is very clear that Hichilema was all the time pretending to be a democrat”, Prof. Lumumba concluded.
From an honest comparison, I am happy to hear from Professor Lumumba that my efforts to promote and safeguard democracy in our motherland which were undermined then are now deemed to have been far much better when mirrored with HH’s UPND regime. When foreign scholars who at some point criticized you begin to appreciate your efforts on democracy promotion against the person they once deemed better, then it means that their feedback is morally noble and politically sincere.
In September, 2020, I remember Prof. Lumumba saying “President Edgar Lungu is intolerant, paranoid and a demagogue”. Today, I am happy to hear that the same Kenyan lawyer and Pan Africanist is saying “everyone can now see that former Zambian President Edgar Chagwa Lungu was a democrat and that Hichilema is a full fledged dictator”. This gives me a sigh of relief as I am being vindicated for warning everyone that “you will appreciate me when I leave office”.
Therefore, I agree in totality with Professor Lumumba when he argues Zambians to find ways of terminating the mandate of Hichilema in 2026 because “he poses a danger to Zambia’s peace and Africa at large”. Remember, it is the first time since independence that under my successor, a brotherly nation, our own neighboring Zimbabwe now feels so insecure about Zambia because of wrong political leadership and foreign policies in Lusaka. 2026 should be marked as “a year to restore democracy and good neighborliness”.
When a person who praised you as ‘the hope and light of Zambia’ begins to describe you as “the worst dictator since Zambia’s independence”, then wisdom demands that you pose, listen and take a deep self reflection at once. President Hichilema must listen to “his former allies” like Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, Bflow, Laura Miti, Brebner Changala, Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu and Professor Patrick Lumumba himself and tone down on his authoritarian and law-fare politics. He is speedily losing stakeholders trust and public confidence both at home and abroad!
And if President Hichilema is to start walking democratic values, he will do better to stay away from political vengeance, bitterness, tribalism, regionalism, selective justice, weaponizing state agencies, suffocating free speech as well as start allowing opposition parties to freely conduct politics in public spaces. It is not by coincidence that Professor Patrick Lumumba, Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa, Brebner Changala, Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, Bflow or his Laura Miti are all complaining that “he is a dictator and a threat to national peace”.
Once more, I am happy to learn that many stakeholders at home and abroad now appreciating the fact that I was by far a democratic leader who meant well for Zambia than President HH who repeatedly promised to rule democratically better than me but has delivered and shown “the worst despotic politics so far”.
Edgar Chagwa Lungu
Sixth President of Zambia
Patriotic Front President
Nkani izibika.
What Zambians should do is avoid fighting other people’s battles!
HH and ECL have failed to reconcile for the sake of peace in the country.
I wish Zambians were rich and not desperate and worrying about who is better among those who have failed our country!
We should lock HH and ECL in the same room to fight their own battles and spare us their thirst for revenge!
As things stand, UPND and PF are armed militia groups ready to shed innocent blood!
Zambians should look beyond HH and ECL in 2026!
We should also do away with Presidential Immunity!
It’s working against us!
Which option is better: To be ruled by a “dictator” who is focused on doing good for the country OR to be ruled by a corrupt “democrat” who is blank but who thrives on thuggery?
ECL you’re the worst President Zambia shall ever have. Take it or leave it
There’s no way Zambians can bring you back. If you and HH7 are evils then HH7 is a better evil
Prof Lumumba is just a spokesman for the highest bidder and can say anything
As a Zambian Citizen I’m enjoying my democratic rights and liberties better than in your Defunct TuPF crimminal government
You an example of a person with potholes in the brain. reserve your vote bwana choir member and continue praising. Its not you to decide whether ECL can run or not
Hakainde is gone. He is history. Failure to manage Politics has been his undoing. The break down in governance. You can’t just be arresting everyone, everyday… espionage, Sedition, Hate Speech, aggravated robbery, illegal assembly, tribal wars..All opposition leaders have had their day in Police cells.
Then you start destroying all democratic Institutions…the executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
You can’t even hold a simple credible bye Election. Kabwata, Kabushi, Kwacha bye Elections…utter nonsense. Talk of Ward bye Elections..the shame of these so called elections..and you start restricting other parties from participating in elections using the use ECZ.
Talk of the stealing of political parties..the DP , and the PF Hakainde – Sampa useless Mingalatos. State security sanctioning illegalities… Registrar of Societies…Nellie Mutti’s National Assembly.
And no right to assembly…no mobilisation for political parties.
And storming churches mwebantu… uprooting a suspect in church.
A Police man bull dozing himself in the sanctity of a BISHOP’s office.
Police manning gates at church! Searching parishioners…This is total madness..
Not even the lowest Scams of Africa went this far…the Mobutus , Bokkassas, Kamuzus.
If what is happening in Zambia was happening in Zimbabwe Crooked and sleepy Joe Biden, and his western world would have been on the highest mountain talking about the break down in law and order.
This man should be sent to the trash bin in 2026. He is a danger to Zambia, and Africa as a whole
as Professor Lumumba says.
Just cool down baba. Those friends of yours are holding illegal political rallies in churches. The rule of law is now being upheld. No one is above the law. Not even Lungu. In fact the Presidentshould just ban all political rallies especially by UKWA. These saboteurs. Thwy don’t mean well. They make seditious utterances. They propose tribal wars and no go areas etc. Which President would allow such charlatans to operate freely? Lunguand his cronies are capable of setting the country on fire. Let Lungu retire again. There’ll be peace.
So prof Lumumba wants Lungu start genocide by using churches to incite tribes start fighting one another I zambia? And you call it democracy? Lungu stopped Lumumba from landing at KK airport. Now he is become more democratic!
Stop your shopet propaganda!
Ba Lungu don’t get excited about what Prof Lumumba thinks of you. Be concerned about what I think of you. And as of now, I still rate you as a crippling disaster and you, Mr. Lungu, will never get my vote.
Even if HH fails, I would rather look elsewhere than voting you back, Mr. Lungu.
Even though Bally is not doing well economy
Wise I would not want PF rule again.lts just
That we do not have a strong opposition
Leader who Zambians feel can lead us.
@Moto
PF were terrible and I don’t miss them. UPND are not progressive They are amateurs and very gullible to anything from Western Europe.
The Professor who trots from one place to another doing nothing but just talking. Ask the Kenyans what achievements he has made in Kenya, they will tell you that there is nothing apart from talking.
Is gassing people being democratic, killing people, burning markets, arresting people on tramped up charges, cadrerism, lawlessness, if all these are democratic to Prof Lumumba, then the word democratic has lost its meaning.
Yet by your own admittance you were the first person to ban this guy from entering zambia for no valid reason but merely since he was critical of you. Only dictators ban people who they think are critical of them because they don’t tolerate critism.
Sooner than later, you will hear that Lumumba has nothing to do with the claimed article.
Is it not the PF that blocked Lumumba from visiting Zambia where he was supposed to have been the main speaker?
Very true. Knowing Lumumba I doubt these one track sentiments portrayed here
Truely Prof Lumumba is right and deserves respect. Even when lumumba speaks even in west Africa. I heard him speaking in Nigeria with the elite and educated and they were nodding their heads in agreement and applauding his speech.
The trouble that we have is that HH was not fully prepared or aware the gravity of holding the highest office of the land. HH has struggled to capture what it takes to be the president of the country. HH strongly believes that to hold on to power, he has to be surrounded and supported by the Zambezi region tribal mates by giving the highest positions so that the government institutions are captured and controlled. Go to ministry of Finance then you will see and witnessed the worst form of tribalism at its best. The cleansing of other tribes is at one of the highest levels of inequality and oppression of humanity, a good friend of mine who is Tonga even had to say this, I don’t know how they feel to get rid off people from other tribes just full of tongas and Lozis. It’s this kind of tribalism and cleansing of other tribes from civil service, parastatals why people are talking and thus is not hate speech. If there is hate speech, we need to have a law to punish also those promoting and defending tribalism, hatred and cleansing people from their jobs just because of where they come from. HH must be charged too
Ba Pafwena Umwine, so if the elite and educated (whatever you mean by this) in Nigeria were nodding their heads in agreement to whatever Prof Lumumba was saying, we should do like wise?
If truly Prof Lumumba has reassesed Mr. Lungu as being more democratic than Mr. Hichilema, then he has taken leave if his senses. I lived under the tyranny of Mr. Lungu’s reign and I am in a better position to judge than Prof Lumumba. The democracy lapses we are having under the UPND government are nothing compared to the nightmare we experienced under the democrat, Mr. Lungu.
Stop propagating lies there is no cleansing of any ethnic group from the Civil Service. By and large civil service is predominantly populated by people from North and Eastern. The statistics are very clear from PSMD who the majority are in the public service i.e its Northern and Easterners, even in HHs cabinet whom you accuse of tribalism the majority its North East. Even if your brain doesn’t function well the organogram for cabinet is everywhere in public Offices for all to see who the majority are.
Disappointing a few PF cadres who were stationed in the Zambian embassies across the global does not amount to cleansing. Every political party does tht. R.B did it, Sata did it, ECL also did it. When ECL replaced the people appointed by Sata, it was simply removing a person from Northern, Eastern, Southern or Western and replacing them with another person from Either North or East. In those appointments and disappointments your refused to see tribalism and when the incumbent appoints a few from Southern to replace ECL’s chola boys you want to lament tribalism, be real man that is hypocrisy.
Your hatred for HH should not blind you to wish ill on many Zambians that want to live in Unity and harmony. They are many of us that are born from mixed marriages that do not approve of this nonsense of ethnic divide u r championing. Our voting in the next elections will not based on ethnicity but deliverables.
Stop the lies, at MOF like any other Gvt Ministry there is no cleansing, Directors that ECL left are intact unless any that committed crimes and dealt with using the Disciplinary code for Civil service. PS on the other hand have contracts and if their contracts are not renewed that does not amount to ethnic cleansing. Just because my relative who was PS during ECLs tenure had his contract not renewed i can’t start promulgating lies that they is cleansing. Let’s be factual, look at the stats and prove me wrong.
What a liar!
The problem is that you forget so easily. Who prepared Lungu when he came to power through raising of pangas instead of votes?
HH7 stayed in opposition for more than 15 years if I am not mistaken
This is not true but propaganda.
The professor may have his own views which may not necessarily be correct, especially given that he did not experience ECL’s rule of terror first hand.
Someone doesn’t become democratic because his successor is undemocratic. Both Lungu and HH would nt pass kindergarten in democracy lessons. Both don’t know what democracy is. Democracy is about allowing freedom of speech association and also, devolution of power. Since HH took over, his focus has been to outdo Lungu in making appointments that just make him a stiffer dictator. He has not given up any undemocratic privileges that Lungu had and he is bent on outdoing Lungu in locking up opponents and barring their freedoms.
Compared to Lungu yes HH fails but both are tinpot dictators who don’t appreciate but bask in the power of the electorate.
If you look at Cyril Ramaphosa in South Africa you see someone who understands democracy better than the Zambian presidents. Ramaphosa is willing to work with the opposition. It takes great maturity to do that. His experience is certainly derived from his experience of leading South Africa from apartheid to democracy. He chaired the constitution reform committee.
Lungu and HH need to know that political power is not something to enjoy wielding but something to use to bring positive change to the nation
You are living in alternate universe with different realities and experiences. Go in lusaka central or markets and see for yourself that Zambia is now heading to failed country .
The paranoia and psychological reality have engulfed this administration. You really need therapy, it’s normal to deny the reality but what is helpful and meaningful is to accept that you need help. The imposter syndrome is hitting hard for UPND on this blog , if it’s not true that you need therapy more than self unworthy because the more you deny the reality the worse your conditions will become worse and untreatable and unfortunately you will continue on destructive pathways and fail to put your party in order and govern the people of Zambia.
Some of you critical of some of us telling the truth is that , you were not even there to campaign or support HH, when he was facing challenges in opposition. We trust and believed HH will make the best president because of his past experiences because he can relate to his experiences and make Zambia a better place.
Alas, we were mistaken, immediately he started surrendering by surrounding himself with people who have no plan to work with others that was an eye opener. Capturing state institutions by appointing his tribal mates and the so called Zambezi region . Stopping opposition parties from have campaigned or mobilising. Failure to have mature and seasoned political advisors. Example Vernon Mwanga, has valuable experience, insight and knowledge because of his vast experience in politics and running of the government. What will Hamasaka, advise the president apart from causing unnecessarily bad decisions for the president. Surely the better president HH change who he is governing the governed beyond tribal lines the better to hold on to power. Critics who are enjoying the fruits of this administration, will never accept things are bad , they have hefty salaries, food on their table , the police are guiding them, can even command a anti hill , they have forgotten that four years ago we facing hard times and some of the worst enemies of today were best friends whom they have stabbed to get their positions. There is no hate speech against the Tonga but exposing their evil deeds does not equate to hate speech actually it’s like letting a chief free and charging an innocent man who inform the police that Mbozi is committing crimes in this community. He stole the money, goat and chickens every day. Please stop him from spreading his criminal activities before people act for self defence. This administration is stone deaf.anyway it’s there time
Lumumba….even a chikala like you is allowed to say such things…..when you were with PF were you allowed to say such things without going to jail or death……no way.
So….stop being a baboon that you are. Effer
Does this Professor know what democracy is? I wonder!!! How do you compare democracy under ECL and HH. Sure Zambians lets get serious if we want this country to develop. It makes me sad really in fact the whole article makes sad reading.
What I know
Under UPND , Zambian citizens enjoy more freedoms than under PF. Lumumba should come and interview people in markets. , bus stations , offices etc. Of course, he will hear of tribalism in office, but certainly not much harassment
. As for public rallies, Lungu himself set a rule that you can’t be campaigning continuously after an election.
Campaigning in Churches is very divisive and should never be tolerated.
imwe just continue speaking its free otherwise Lungu amd his Gang are gone and never coming back.