Mtayachalo advises HH to heal from incarceration and move on

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Chama North Member of Parliament Yotamu Mtayachalo

Mtayachalo advises HH to heal from incarceration and move on

By Christopher Miti

CHAMA North PF member of parliament Yotam Mtayachalo says President Hakainde Hichilema should get over the 127 days he spent in prison and move on.


And Mtayachalo says the new dawn government must quickly go back to the drawing board and make necessary adjustments to its economic policies so that people can start seeing light at the end of the tunnel.


In a statement, Mtayachalo urged President Hichilema to give politics a new image.
“I listened how President Hakainde Hichilema recounted his ordeal while in prison during the press conference, but my only advice to him is to get over the 127 days he spent in prison and move on. Because what he went through was an occupational hazard but instead during his tenure, he should endeavour to give politics a new image because political hooliganism and violence have no place in the modern world order,” he said. “These vices must be fought vigorously. However, I should commend President Hichilema for outlawing cadreism in markets and bus stations, which is a step in the right direction. I have seen again the culture of political violence and insults has slowly started laying its ugly face and as such the President should not relent but put his foot down so that the era of political violence and insults should never be tolerated.”


Mtayachalo urged President Hichilema to emulate former South African president Nelson Mandela who forgave those who abused him.
“I also remember in 2014, I was with HH at Sun FM during the radio programme in Ndola when we were attacked by cadres who were armed with guns and other offensive weapons while the police watched helplessly. And HH had to escape through the roof of the building, which was totally unacceptable and uncalled for,” he said. “And as such never should again such behaviour lay its ugly face on the Zambian political platform.


However, let HH emulate Nelson Mandela who was incarcerated for 27 years for fighting for a just society and against racial segregation but he had to pay a heavy price. But Mandela was not bitter and never frequently mentioned about his ordeal in jail but instead he preached love, reconciliation and even went a step forward by appointing Frederik de Klerk as one of the vice-presidents in the government of national unity (GNU) after the 1994 historic landmark all-race elections.”


Mtayachalo also cited Dr Kenneth Kaunda who was sent to prison by colonial masters before he became president of Zambia.
He further cited Michael Sata who was also sent to prison on an allegation of theft of motor vehicle during the Levy Mwanawasa administration but he moved on.


“By and large, competition for political power should not be a matter of life and death but a competition of ideas. And as such ruling and
opposition parties should not lead a cat and rat life but as social partners in national development. Let’s elevate our politics to a much higher level the way our friends in Kenya conduct their politics as President Uhuru Kenyatta sharing the same platform with an opposition leader Raila Odinga and several others thus should be our direction to heal the country because this country is deeply divided on regional and tribal lines in the last 20 years,” said Mtayachalo. “This is the reason why a new generation of African leaders must emerge and take radical reforms to build or strengthen strong and independent state institutions of good governance as that’s the only way we can fight corruption, nepotism, tribalism and under development. I was on the Copperbelt few days ago just to have a feel on how people are coping up with life under the new dawn government. However, I must be honest that what I found from the ground, that’s in Kitwe and Ndola, is not healthy as people are complaining bitterly for obvious reasons. The escalating prices of goods and services and as such many people cannot put food on their tables because the cost of basic needs had gone up to unmanageable levels even before the war in Ukraine broke out.”

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