Lungu’s dismissal from State House haunts him – Imenda
By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
EDGAR Lungu’s unceremonious dismissal from State House by Zambian voters in 2021 is haunting him, says UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda.
Reacting to former president Lungu’s jokes veiled in innuendos against President Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday when he and his wife accompanied his son Dalitso to the Drug Enforcement Commission for questioning, Imenda said Lungu knows too well that at the time he was “being shown the exit door the mealie meal price was K140 for breakfast while roller was at K110”.
“Once again, we challenge you to come out in the open and we, the people of Zambia shall send you to your political graveyard. Mr. Lungu should not think that he can fool Zambians,” he said. “The country is in a mess today because of the calamity of having him as President from 2015 to 2021 – good wasted years. He ran this country like a ship captain without any campus. Therefore, Mr. Lungu cannot sit on a moral chair and claim to have left a better Zambia than it is today.”
Last Thursday, Lungu, who was accompanied by his wife Esther, a few PF central committee members and lawyers, satirically asked Chilufya Tayali and PF presidential aspirant Emmanuel Mwamba if they were not aware that fuel prices had been increased, and if the country had not experienced load shedding as he was coming out of the interview room.
Lungu also chatted with Economic and Equity Party leader Tayali over a social media video clip which he said mistook him for the subject in it.
“…Tamwishibe ati balilunda fuel (don’t you know that they increased fuel prices)? You know fiction, when fiction becomes reality ninshi (then) you are in trouble. You will struggle,” he said mockingly. “Ine nalilandile ubufi, boza, wenye… (I said it’s lies).”
Before he got onto his vehicle, Lungu beckoned Tayali to say something.
“Chilufya ati shani (Chilufya, what do you say),” Lungu said.
Tayali responded in no time, “…methomenya (in reference to President Hichilema’s methodical). Your excellency, methomenya bulwele; ulya muntu uubepafye (methomenya is a disease; that person who just lies). The person who has got the propensity to lie. Napashilingile ku bepa (even where it is not necessary he lies). So bulya bulwele (that is a disease). It is actually a clinical thing. You can actually go to Chainama, there are doctors,” said Tayali.
“Does it run in the family or their political party,” Lungu asked Tayali as those that accompanied him watched in awe.
“Even when wakula wakota (you’ve grown old) you will continue lying. Methomenya bulwele (it’s a disease), your excellency,” responds Tayali. “It affects everyone if it is government. So filiya imwe mwali nga mwalikwete bulya ubulwele, bonsefye ngabalebepa (if you had that disease, everyone else would have been lying). That is why mulemona abantu balebepa (you are seeing people lying); it is contagious.”
Tayali said it had to do with the upbringing of a person.
“Fuel, tabalunda fuel? Mwalikwatapo load shedding nangu tamwakwatapo? (Hasn’t the price of fuel been increased? Have you never had load shedding?),” Lungu asked and Mwamba responded in the affirmative.
“Eko ili load shedding (load shedding there),” said Mwamba.
But in a statement on Saturday, Imenda said it seems “former president Edgar Lungu’s unceremonious dismissal from State House by Zambian voters in 2021 is haunting him such that he can allow himself to be abused by PF cadres in the running of his life”.
“If Zambians don’t know, Mr Lungu should tell them where he took the US $200 million loan from China meant to buy 2,000 solar mills which should have reduced the cost of mealie meal,” he said.
Imenda said Lungu was not suffering from for him to forget that at the time of his exit from power, the price of mealie meal was K140 for breakfast while roller was at K110.
“He should know that the current adjustment to K160 for breakfast has been necessitated by fundamental economic factors. However, the UPND government under the leadership of President Hakainde Hichilema is working tirelessly to ensure that the cost of mealie meal and other commodities are reduced further for our people,” he said.
Imenda said it was amazing that Lungu could gather courage today to mock the new dawn government and people of Zambia at the back his failed leadership.
“Lest he has forgotten, Mr Lungu should be reminded that he presided over the most reckless government since Zambia’s independence. It is clear in our view that this man is unrepentant. How can he surely be mocking Zambians over the mess he created himself? We are aware that Mr Lungu is planning a comeback, but his machinations shall sink him further politically,” Imenda said. “This is a man leading a very deceitful life while he is projecting himself as a retiree so that he continues drawing taxpayers’ money for a salary, he is on one hand actively involved in politics. Is this not the man who on the floor of parliament announced to Zambians that he never needed accommodation support after he leaves office?”
Imenda told Lungu that he could not eat with both hands.
“The people of Zambia have not forgotten how you sunk this country into unsustainable debt, which President Hakainde is painstakingly dismantling and placing the country back on a recovery trajectory,” said Imenda. “The load management, you meekly referred to at some point during your interactions with your clowns cannot be compared with to power failure misery experienced under the PF. The speedy at which the problem of load shedding was resolved is unprecedented – we are back to normal electricity supply within a month. The UPND leadership shall at all times place the interests of the people at the centre of its governance.”