ZAMBIANS must move forward and use their voter’s cards effectively so that President Edgar Lungu and PF are shown that they were ruling on borrowed power, says Josephs Akafumba.
Commenting on President Lungu’s statement that he will now be called ‘president general’ because there are so many ‘presidents’ in the country, Akafumba, the NDC vice-president, said it was unbelievable that the Head of State could give himself a title that does not exist.
“What makes it worse and frightening is his order that from today onwards he should be called or referred to as ‘president general’. Where he is getting such titles only himself can testify. On what basis is he giving himself such a title which does not constitutionally exist?” Akafumba asked.
“I am asking the question…is President Lungu ready to hand over power next year when, and not if, he loses the election? The indications are that with such love for titles and appetite for power it makes it more unlikely that President Lungu will concede defeat. President Lungu knows that there is nothing special about being a president of the country as anyone in Zambia can be a president.”
Akafumba recalled that in history, presidents who loved titles ended up becoming the worst dictators.
He further recollected that the end of such leaders had been disastrous.
“This has happened before and stories of such presidents are around, and anyone who cares to look at history will find that at one given time Africa had an experience of such leaders who without any recourse to the law declared themselves as life presidents and cancelled elections,” Akafumba said. “There is a little story in our minds of emperor Bokassa who declared himself an emperor and outlawed the Republic. This is a route that dictators take and it’s unfortunate that President Lungu, realising that he is about to lose power in the next nine months, has chosen to give himself a title that does not exist.”
He said it was saddening to imagine that the country might be headed for disaster.
“This is a title given to a leader in the sense that whilst all of us are capable of being presidents of this country, democracy allows us to choose one person at a given time. And this time we chose President Lungu, but that does not make him above all mortals in this country,” said Akafumba. “Even in America where there is Donald Trump, he has not gone that far as to declare himself as president general. The earlier the Zambians realise that President Lungu and the PF do not mean well for this democracy which all of us want to protect, the better. President Lungu is coming up with non-existent titles, we should not lose sight that this is coming immediately after the fall of Bill 10.”