JUST IN: HARRY KALABA ACCUSES PRESIDENT HICHILEMA OF HYPOCRISY FOLLOWING HIS DECISION TO ATTEND TANZANIAN PRESIDENT SAMIA’S INAUGURATION
By: Thomas Afroman Mwale
The opposition Citizens First (CF) has expressed concern over President Hakainde Hichilema’s decision to attend the inauguration of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, saying the event follows an election widely condemned as fraudulent and violent.
CF leader Harry Kalaba questioned why President Hichilema chose to attend the Tanzanian ceremony after previously refusing to attend Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s inauguration in 2023, which he claims President Hichilema criticised over alleged electoral irregularities.
In a statement Mr Kalaba accused the head of State of practising selective morality in his approach to regional democracy, arguing that his actions suggest personal alliances are shaping Zambia’s foreign policy.
He warned that such inconsistency could damage Zambia’s diplomatic credibility and weaken its moral authority within the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The Former Foreign affairs Minister has since demanded that the Presidency clarify Zambia’s official position on supporting elections marred by violence and repression, insisting that the country deserves principled leadership, not selective diplomacy.
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Leadership is not black or white. It is a delicate balancing act. There are other considerations to be weighed in the balance. Anyone quick to judge has never experienced the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” moment in leadership decision making.
Zambia is on the verge connecting to Tanzania’s excess electricity supply. The same Kalaba is on record complaining about loadshedding. Part of the solution to loadshedding is having good relations with our neighbours who produce more power than they consume.
Forsake you foolish man. Do you want to dictate to the president what suits you ? Just campaign hard and later win and make your preferences also. Avoid mass commenting. The president knows what he is doing, please keep your lane Harry.
This Kalaba has completely failed to share with us why we should vote for him. We need him tell us exactly what’s his plans are to revive our economy. Let him leave HH alone and concentrate on us because we’re the people going to decide who to vote and not HH. It’s become public knowledge that his manifesto is just to unseat HH. Chimbwi no plan.
It doesn’t take a genius to realise that Zambia is heavily dependent on Tanzania for its economic survival. The situation in Tanzania needs to be handled with wisdom not emotions. Yes, the happenings in Tanzania are of grave concern to all of us as Africans but taking a confrontational stance won’t help.
The position taken by President Hichilema is the correct one. He can even engage the Tanzanian President quietly away from the glare of the press and voice his concerns. This is more likely to yield positive results than staying away.
The relationship that HH has with Madam Hasan is not the same as that with Mr. Munagagwa. We are all aware of how opposition leaders (Messrs M’membe, Nakachinda, Mwamba, Lubinda) went to town criticising our President on Zimbabwean national TV after the sham Zim elections. So you can’t put the two on the same level. With Tanzania our very survival is at stake. Fuel comes through Tanzania and so does most of our trade. We have to be careful how we handle our relationship with them.
The President has done the right thing for the sake of our country, Zambia. The more you listen to Mr. Kalaba, the more you realise how shallow his reasoning is. He blurts things out without much thought. He is impulsive and that is not a good trait for one aspiring to run the affairs of our country (president). It is a fact that personal alliances do shape foreign policy. As a former foreign affairs minister, you should know this basic truth. Just look at Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
The opposition usually fail to do issue based politics.They would rather break the law and find themselves in conflict with it.And when they are visited they come with false claims.President Hichilema did well to attend the inauguration ceremony in Tanzania, it is not necessary to compare the situation in Tanzania and Zimbabwe because the two countries had different situations.President HH had a responsibility in SADC that was connected to the handling of the election in Zimbabwe and he appointed Zambian senior man to go and monitor and briefing was done accordingly.One can only dance in style to the tune according to how the chorus is appreciated.What you Mr Kalaba is thinking on this matter is not correct because you have failed to distinguish or to read between the lines.President Hichilema sent the Foreign Affairs Minister to represent him and the government of Zimbabwe appreciated.The understanding between the two countries is superb.