By Patson Chilemba
First Republican president Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s sons have offered differing positions on presidential booing, with Colonel Panji arguing that people have the right to boo President Edgar Lungu, and his brother Kaweche describing the conduct as unacceptable.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, ruling PF member Col Panji said Zambia was a democratic country where booing was a form of demonstration, for people to air their grievances against leaders, in this case President Lungu.
He said any President is supposed to have a thick skin, but President Lungu has overreacted like a baby following his recent booing in Monze.
“Booing is the same as you going to stand in the middle of the road with a placard. It’s not a criminal offence, it’s a way of showing displeasure. My father (Dr Kaunda) was booed because people didn’t like the way things were going,” Col Panji said. “You have to stand the hit of the kitchen if you want to be President. If you want to be president you have to have a thick skin so that whatever comes to you you don’t react like a baby. He (President Lungu) has overreacted. It’s (booing) not something he can say is serious.”
Col Panji wondered which law police were going to use to charge the people who booed the President, saying offenses like inciting violence can only arise if people acted violently.
On the threats against the youths who conducted demonstrations in the bush, Col Panji said the youths went in the bush because they were not allowed to protest by the police.
Reminded that his own brother Kaweche had offered differing views to his on booing, Col Panji said the Kaundas were a democratic family, saying that’s why there were members of UNIP, UPND and PF in the same family.
“We are telling the nation that we have different views but in the evening we sit together on the table. I am not going to cut Kaweche’s head off because he is differing with my views,” said Col Panji, who said he had lived through all the governments in Zambia, including the federal government, but ranked President Lungu’s as simply terrible. “In school when a fellow student misbehaved the teacher would tell us to boo him to show displeasure by the teacher. So booing is a normal way of showing unhappiness.”
But Kaweche said it was not acceptable to boo the head of state.
“Whatever you think of the President it is not acceptable, because one day you will be President, I will be President, Mr. Phiri there will be President and we have got to respect the presidency. Let other issues we have with the President or disagreements we need to talk and bring to his attention and hopefully get it resolved,” he said
Asked if it was a crime for people to boo the President, Kaweche said he was not a lawyer to speak on how the law affected those who were involved with such behaviour.
Kaweche urged leaders to resolve the violence the nation was experiencing, saying each leader should take it upon themselves to talk to their followers.
“What has been resolved by doing those things? Nothing. But you can resolve it if leaders sit down and talk to each other and find a common way of dealing with these things,” said Kaweche. “Let me just say we are going down a dangerous path if our leaders don’t take hold of this, a very dangerous path and it’s not a path anybody would wish for the country.” – Daily Revelation