HICHILEMA AND HIS INDISCIPLINED, CORRUPT, LAWLESS MINISTERS- Fred M’membe

HICHILEMA AND HIS INDISCIPLINED, CORRUPT, LAWLESS MINISTERS

There is a video circulating online of Dr Elijah Muchima, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, proudly exhibiting extreme levels of indiscipline and discrimination by issuing reckless and dangerous utterances.

In the video, Dr. Muchima is shown addressing what appeared like a UPND meeting, where he is openly pledging discrimination, favouritism, cronyism, and corruption in the allocation of land.

“…I have said if there will be any plots in any council, I will favour first UPND people and a poor person. That I’m going to do it…for ten years, you must also have a share,” said Dr Muchima to a jubilant audience.

This is highly reckless, unnecessary, and lacks control in behaviour by a person who, under normal circumstances, is expected to be above such divisive and cheap partisan rhetoric. What type of leaders are these who encourage divisiveness, discrimination, and lawlessness? What type of overzealous behaviour and unfair management practice is this?

Anyway, we are not surprised. Even the Holy Bible says “You shall know them by their fruits” and also that “…from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. That is the calibre of Mr Hakainde Hichilema’s ministers. This is how high Mr Hichilema has raised the bar of leadership in this country as per promise to the nation when he was elected in 2021.

Going by their record so far, it is evident that Mr Hichilema and his corrupt puppet regime are not true liberal democrats. They’re just quacks and ignorant democrats who wrongly believe that they have a moral responsibility to do what is necessary and best for themselves in order to perpetuate their greedy and corrupt political agenda, even if it means perpetuating illegalities and violating the laws of the land.

Theirs is an agenda that is only meant to satisfy themselves first and foremost, and then the citizens who voted for them later through a little bit of trickle down approaches like the ones Dr Muchima is suggesting in the video. These are deceptive, pretentious, and shameless people masquerading as leaders who are not even fully aware of the consequences of their irresponsible utterances and actions.

What is even worse about them is their over- adventurous nature and haste to make clowns of themselves through the predictable and thoughtless abuse of the law.

It’s clear that Mr Hichilema and his league have pinned their political survival on the abuse of the law in whatever they do. But it won’t work! It will backfire very badly if they don’t grasp the reality that power has limitations, too.

We are aware and understand the panic and fear in them. We also understand the pressure and confusion that is driving this highly corrupt regime and how they’re desperate to impress their disgruntled, hungry, and angry supporters who are increasingly becoming impatient and violent.

It was only last week during the burial of one of Mr Hichilema’s party security personnel at Lusaka’s Leopards Hill memorial park, that an irate and violent mob of UPND cadres ran amok and attacked senior party officials and cabinet ministers, who they accused of extreme greed, corruption, incompetence and neglecting their own members.

This unfortunate incident resulted in some cabinet ministers and senior party officials scaling up the fence to the cemetery and disappearing in the nearby shrubs just to escape a beating. Cabinet ministers and senior party officials fled for their dear lives, leaving their official vehicles and drivers behind. What was meant to be a solemn ceremony became a chaotic scene, with senior officials scampering in all directions and hiding behind anything they could find.

We have always warned Mr Hichilema to be very careful with the way they’re taking advantage of state systems and institutions. We have also warned them not to take citizens for granted.

Now, if their own membership can be this agitated, hungry, and angry about the current hardship and suffering they face in their own lives today, what about the silent common person on the streets?

The events of last week at Leopards Hill Memorial Park are just a tip of the iceberg and a reminder that all is not well in the country right now.

Uwafitala akaimwena!

Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party