FROM “HH IS SICK” TO “HATE SPEECH”, HOW FALSE NARRATIVES KEEP CHANGING

FROM “HH IS SICK” TO “HATE SPEECH”, HOW FALSE NARRATIVES KEEP CHANGING

By Tobbius Chilembo Hamunkoyo

The latest attempt by sections of the opposition to accuse President Hakainde Hichilema of hate speech is not grounded in fact but desperation.

This accusation emerged only after earlier claims, that the President was sick and secretly flown to South Africa which collapsed completely when he appeared live in Choma at public gathering, addressing citizens at a public rally. Faced with reality, the opposition simply changed the accusation, not because new facts emerged, but because the old lies failed, ala mulelapila (you will suffer), this one is a bull , he has taken you on just as he took you on in opposition.

What the President actually said has been deliberately distorted. Speaking in his mother language, he stated: “Mwakali kunga mwaseluka mu bus izwa ku Choma nkumwa,” meaning, “When you arrived on a bus from Choma, you would be harassed and beaten at Intercity.” This statement referred to past violence and intimidation at Intercity Bus Terminus, which events are widely known and documented during the PF era. The words used were Choma and Intercity, both places. There was no mention of tribe, ethnicity, or cultural identity.

To suggest that this statement amounts to tribal hate speech is either politically dishonest or intellectually careless. Where exactly is the tribe in that sentence? None exists. The President spoke about conduct, not identity; about violence, not ethnicity. Twisting this into tribal rhetoric says more about those making the accusation than about the speaker himself.

Harry Kalaba, in particular, has no message on offer to Zambians and appears not to understand the language he is attempting to interpret.

By misguiding himself and others on a Tonga statement that contains no tribal reference, he exposes a deeper problem, a willingness to invent controversy where none exists.

Similarly, Konsonde Mwenda, Emmanuel Mwamba, and others have failed to present any coherent alternative vision, relying instead on recycled outrage.

This growing dependence on propaganda is not accidental. It is happening at a time when the government’s results are becoming visible, load-shedding has reduced, farmers have been paid, rainfall has been good with a bumper harvest expected, Bill 7 has been concluded, and the US dollar is steadily falling against the kwacha. These realities leave little room for credible opposition messaging, hence the rush to manufacture controversy and deep propaganda.

Zambians are watching, and many are no longer persuaded by noise without substance. Propaganda cannot replace facts, and misinformation cannot compete with lived reality. As the saying goes, “ala mulelapila ba opposition”, because “alebomba umuntu.” The President is working, and with each passing day, empty narratives are running out of space.