CHIEF Chisunka of the Ushi people of Mansa district says in view of this year’s general elections, the environment shall be tense.
He advises politicians and their supporters to “keep their emotions under control.”
Meanwhile, Chisunka says shedding innocent blood, as it happened late last year in Lusaka, is frightening.
“Certainly, in this New Year there will be a lot of political tension. It’s an election year and so, it’s expected that it shall be tense,” Chisunka said in an interview from his palace. “But what is important is for everyone to keep their emotions under control.”
He also said his fellow chiefs ought to desist from being evidently partisan.
“At the moment, it’s too much of chiefs involving themselves in partisan politics. To my fellow chiefs, be reminded that today’s politics are unlike old politics. There are a lot of insults [in today’s politics],” Chisunka said. “It’s for that reason that chiefs should be non-partisan. Let us not be used, especially this year, by politicians.”
To the opposition political parties and the ruling party, Chisunka reminded them to always know that all what “we seek in politics is development.”
“We are not seeking for war, like what has started happening now where innocent lives are being lost. It’s unacceptable! There is no chief who can approve of that,” he stressed. “Shedding people’s innocent blood; it’s now frightening! Remember that the motto of ‘One Zambia, One Nation’ is ever paramount in this country. We are one people.”
The traditional leader asked why Zambians could begin to kill each other over politics.
On December 23, 2020, riot police in Lusaka shot dead UPND supporter, Joseph Kaunda and State prosecutor Nsama Nsama Chipyoka, as they (police officers) beat up and teargassed pockets of the opposition party’s supporters.
UPND supporters had gone to police headquarters to render moral support to their party leader, Hakainde Hichilema, who was being interrogated for assumed fraud and conspiracy in relation to the acquisition of a farm in Kalomo district, Southern Province, in 2004.
“Politics is like a football match; one team will lose while the other will win. Even in politics, you can’t have one party that fights to retain power at all costs,” Chisunka noted. “Equally, you can’t have another party that fights to win at all costs. It’s not good, in either way.”
He emphasised that this year’s political campaigns must be devoid of cruelty.
Chisunka regretted that youths have been over-used to carry out nasty assignments for politicians.
“It’s too much,” Chisunka complained, further telling politicians to “please, spare us chiefs.”
“Stop abusing us [to do your political bidding]. I know of some chiefs who are no different from political cadres. They are traversing the whole country like political cadres. That’s not good. How are people going to regard us?”
He fears that continued political abuse of chiefs would result into their integrity being eroded.
“I saw even during the voter registration sensitisation that some chiefs were going everywhere to sensitise people. Why should a chief leave his palace to go and sensitise people in a different chiefdom to vote?” wondered Chisunka. “That’s unacceptable! We have been abused a lot as chiefs, by politicians. It is making us to lose integrity!”