“Democracy” is not a luxury to be “enjoyed” only when there is economic success!
By Azwell Banda(The Mast)
Last Tuesday the 11th of June 2024, Hakainde Hichilema met with outgoing British High Commissioner Nicholas Woolley at State House. Thomas Ngala of The Mast faithfully reported some of the conversation between these two, in The Mast newspaper, on Wednesday the 12th. I was struck by some of the things Hakainde Hichilema said to Nicholas Woolley. Specifically, I was shocked at the revelation Hakainde made about how he understands “democracy” and when best this “democracy” can be sustained.
First things first: Part 1, article 1 of our Constitution, sub section (1) says the following: “This Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic of Zambia and any other written law, customary law and customary practice that is inconsistent with its provisions is void to the extent of the inconsistency.” Subsection (2) says, simply: “An act or omission that contravenes this Constitution is illegal.”
Article 4 (1) of Part 1 of our Constitution says Zambia is a sovereign Republic under a constitutional form of governance.
Outgoing Patriotic Front government president Edgar Chagwa Lungu had declared Tuesday, 24 August 2021 as a public holiday to allow for Zambians to observe the inauguration of incoming United Party for National Development president Hakainde Hichilema to be properly inaugurated and sworn in, as the 7th Zambian President. While initially the event was billed to be by invitation only because of fears of spreading pandemic, this restriction was done away with, and Heroes Stadium was packed to capacity, on 24 August, 2021. Millions of Zambians throughout the country waited with bated breath, excited, and extremely hopeful that their plight would be dealt with by the new President, a supposedly “democrat”, champion of our Constitution, defender of “the rule of law” and essentially “Mr Fix it” of all our national challenges and problems.
Edgar Chagwa Lungu cut a lonely pathetic sight when he walked onto the presidential dais to perform his last public presidential ritual: the public gathered in Heroes Stadium booed Edgar Chagwa Lungu who had been successfully character assassinated, demonised, painted corrupt, a thief, incompetent, a constitutional delinquent, authoritarian, dictator, law vandaliser and promoter of violent politics and criminal rule, liar and corrupt among many supposed bad things. Of course there was more than a grain of truth in most of the accusations and demonisation Hichilema and his UPND cooked up, against Lungu.
Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his PF have in fact since apologised to the Zambian people, and Lungu himself has openly confessed there were bad things which happened during his terms of office. But we are now far much wise than we were on Tuesday the 24th of August 2021: it has since become extremely hard to judge which of the two men is worse at all the evil and criminal things Hichilema accused Lungu of doing, especially that, as they say, “time heals, and many people forget the past very easily.”
“I, Hakainde Hichilema,” with the Holy Bible raised in his right hand, boomed Hichilema’s voice throughout the stadium, as he took his oath of office: “having been constitutionally elected to the Office of President of the Republic of Zambia, do swear that I will faithfully and diligently discharge my duties and perform my functions in this high office; that I will uphold and maintain the Constitution and Laws of Zambia and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Zambia without fear, favour or ill will.”
And then he called upon God to help him in his work, as President of Zambia. The stadium erupted into delirious joy at this spectacle, the peaceful handover of power, and the inauguration of a supposedly economic genius who would fix our problems, defend and advance constitutional, lawful and democratic rule, in Zambia.
Almost three years down the line, we all know Hakainde Hichilema actually lied to Zambians and God forbid, to God upon whom he swore, when he took his oath of office! We now know he is a habitual and pathological liar. In his handling of the copper mines on the Copperbelt, we know Zambian assets have been sold to foreigners without parliamentary oversight and approval. His government discriminates against his political opponents and critics, in the application of the laws of Zambia. The shocking extent of this abuse of our laws is actually traumatising some of his loudest praise singers, those with still some conscience.
His government is the most incompetent, cold, insensitive, most insulting and demonstrates undying contempt for the majority of Zambians concerning their urgent crises such as the high cost of living, extremely high prices of fuels and electricity, crippling electricity and water “load shedding”, mass hunger, the national disastrous unemployment burden, extreme poverty, rising political violence and all crimes and so on.
Rather than attend to the needs and welfare of Zambians, Hichilema’s government preaches about hard work, our laziness, our wrong mindset, our inability to save and invest, our inability to see and grasp “the many opportunities” his hopelessly corrupt government claims to have created, and he now wishes we were Japanese – quite a self-hate, racist and actual hate speech jab at us, by a man who not only promised us heaven on earth when he was in the opposition, but also swore to dedicate his abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Zambia without fear, favour or ill will!
His newly appointed Minister of Justice says we Zambians must demand constitutional reforms and the Hichilema government, upon our begging them, may respond to our pleas. How pathetic! The UPND promised to embark upon comprehensive constitutional reforms including completing the unfinished business of our hopeless and thoroughly useless Bill of Rights, to the majority of hungry and poor Zambians. Even before the good lady warms her office chair, she is already embarked upon the classic UPND political behaviour: obfuscating, prevaricating, secrecy, and breaking election promises, and busloads of lies.
Hichilema and his government have now become serial constitutional delinquents themselves, they deploy illegal means of dealing with their opposition and critics, and, without mass protests countrywide, are quite happy to persist in sustaining their unconstitutional ban, now almost three years in place, of opposition rallies and other public activities. Their phobia and hatred of Edgar Chagwa Lungu has now taken them to criminally and unconstitutionally invading places of worship and priests’ offices where Lungu may or may not be. The United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) has also become a target of criminal and unconstitutional police behaviour. The Socialist Party is their punching bag.
It is so pathetic, childishly imbecilic, some of the extreme forms of moronic constitutional violation of our and the rights of the opposition by Hichilema’s government: one moment advice is given not to go ahead with a rally, another moment the rally must go ahead, people start gathering at the venue for the rally and they find large contingents of armed police who inform them they are not to proceed with the rally. Does Hichilema think he will be in government for ever? The UPND government and Hakainde have broken our Constitution and laws so many times that it will be extremely hard to decide which combination of criminal offences to get them locked up for, for good.
Meanwhile, there is the ongoing cruel circus of government serially violating the right to privacy, property, and fair trial, especially of PF leaders. Our legal system is being tempered with to accommodate the pathological hatred and craving for vengeance burning very hot, in the hearts and lungs of UPND leaders in general, and Hakainde’s chest in particular. We are now being threatened with criminalisation of free speech as Hakainde is set to pass new laws to “criminalise tribalism and hate speech”. Every Zambian with a half brain still alive knows which Zambians are being targeted, and who will be protected, by the proposed new laws.
Zambia is a sovereign and constitutional democracy. Every single act, big or small, Hakainde and his minions in government carry out outside the Constitution and our laws is illegal and they sink deeper into their criminality. They will answer for each and every act, when their hour of reckoning will dawn. Barely three years in office and Hakainde and his UPND choir in government are so politically disfigured they are unrecognisable from the fake constitutionalists, rule of law and democracy lovers, and anti-corruption fighters they faked to be, when they were in the opposition.
Now, Part 1, article 2 sub sections (a) and (b) of our Constitution give every Zambian the right and duty to defend the Constitution; and to resist or prevent a person from overthrowing, suspending or illegally abrogating the Constitution. Barely three years in office, Hakainde Hichilema and his UPND in government have long passed the constitutional and legal thresholds for violating our Constitution, and breaking our laws, that their stay in government now actually amounts to effectively overthrowing, suspending and illegally abrogating our Constitution. It is time for Zambians to assume their right and duty to defend the Constitution, and prevent its being rendered totally worthless, by Hakainde Hichilema and his UPND choir in government.
When speaking to outgoing British High Commissioner Nicholas Woolley at State House last Tuesday, Hakainde Hichilema actually horrifyingly revealed why he has imposed, effectively, an unconstitutional and illegal “State of Emergency” in Zambia and suspended some of our constitutionally guaranteed rights: he will only do so when the economy can sustain such political and democratic rights! This is the clearest evidence that Hichilema has imposed, unilaterally, unconstitutionally and illegally, a state of emergency in Zambia. We are effectively a one party state too.
Now that we know exactly how Hichilema and his choir in government are breaking Zambian laws and violating our Constitution in order for them to secure their economic interests and those of their foreign masters. The question is, when are we, all the Zambian people, going to stop being accomplices in the crimes the UPND government is committing and start behaving constitutionally and claim our right and carry out our duty to defend our Constitution and laws, against Hichilema and his criminal gang in government? This is our challenge, all Zambians irrespective of political affiliations. Otherwise, God save us all!
Send comments to: banda.azwell@gmail.com
Who has time to read such bu××shift?