HICHILEMA IS USING LAWFARE TO DESTROY THE OPOSITION AND ZAMBIA’S DEMOCRACY-AMB. MWAMBA
Lusaka-23rd July 2024
Patriotic Front Chairperson of Information and Publicity, Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba has accused President Hakainde Hichilema of using lawfare and shrinking democratic space to destroy Democracy.
He cited the case of Kwacha and Kabushi seats which stolen when the State prevented Hon. Bowman Lusambo and Hon. Joseph Malanji from contesting after the seats were nullifed.
He said it was public knowledge that the Constitutional Court has confirmed this position.
He said in his quest to destroy the Opposition the UPND has given numerous Ward Councillors jobs, especially in the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education.
The intention has been to cause by-elections and steal these seats.
He said there were more serious were the schemes to use the law, the threat or use of force against political opponents, and courts of law to destroy members of the Opposition accusing them of corruption, crimes, and hate speech.
LAWFARE
Amb. Mwamba stated that what was at stake was the use of lawfare, which is the strategic use of legal proceedings, judicial warfare, and court proceedings to intimidate or hinder political and business opponents.
He said even business entities in Zambia have not been spared. He said those deemed to be sympathetic to the Patriotic Front have been scandalised and denied government business on the allegations that they are Patriotic Front or Patriotic Front sympathesisers.
For example, these business were accused of supplying air. He said even when audits were extensively done, including the forensic audits of debt contracted by the State, government refused to clear the debts.
He said , the Ministry of Finance refused to pay, and many businesses went bankrupt and lives have been lost.
He stated that the country has witnessed how they have singled-out Mikalile Trading and his loan given to the Zambian Government. Government has defaulted and that loan has been subjected to audits after audits, and recently, the Ministry of Education was directed to cancel the receipt of educational material from the enterprise under the loan.
What is at stake is the destruction of democracy and the rule of law.
He said Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa has written extensively on the shrinking democratic space and the use of Law fare by President Hichilema; “How Zambia’s President is using lawfare to subvert democracy.
“Sometimes, democracy dies with a bang. But more often, democracies die slowly. In plain sight, at the hands of elected officials. Through the gradual erosion of political norms and institutions”, wrote Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt in their book “How Democracies Die.”
Mr. Mwamba was speaking at the Press Conference held by Patriotic Front, Secretary General, Hon. Raphael Nakacinda.