MY RESPONSE TO MADAM CHISHALA KATEKA’S STATEMENT

MY RESPONSE TO MADAM CHISHALA KATEKA’S STATEMENT

By Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba

I welcome debate. I have lived in it for more than four decades. What I do not welcome is the deliberate twisting of words in order to create outrage where none exists.

My original statement on Bill 7 had a clear and narrow intention. It was to explain that the failure to reach agreement is rooted mainly in deep and long-standing mistrust between political players, not simply in the content of the bill or the procedures around it. That mistrust has grown over time and now shapes how every national issue is received. Even reasonable proposals are rejected, not because they are wrong, but because of who presents them.

That was the argument. Nothing more.

Madam Chishala Kateka chose not to engage it. Instead, she rewrote it. In her version, my analysis suddenly became “arrogance”, my caution to the nation became “contempt”, and my call for realism became an attack on the people, and conveniently, an attack on women. This shift was not innocent. It was strategic.

FRIENDSHIP IS NOT DISQUALIFICATION

Much of her response rests on the claim that my voice is compromised because I am an ally or friend of the President. This is a weak and dangerous idea. My public life did not begin with this administration and it will not end with it. I have spoken freely under different governments, often at personal and political cost.

Friendship with a President does not cancel independent thought. If it did, then only the permanently angry would be allowed to speak. That is not democracy. That is exclusion by suspicion.

TURNING DISAGREEMENT INTO A GENDER BATTLE

Madam Kateka attempts to frame this disagreement as women being silenced or looked down upon. That framing avoids the real issue. Disagreeing with a woman is not attacking women. Questioning an argument is not silencing a voice.

Zambian women do not need to be shielded from debate. They need space, opportunity, and fair engagement. Turning every disagreement into a gender struggle may sound powerful, but it weakens serious discussion and cheapens real battles for equality.

THE IRONY OF BILL 7

There is also a striking contradiction that Madam Kateka avoids. Bill 7 seeks to expand representation, including creating more opportunities for women to enter Parliament and leadership positions. Opposing such reforms while claiming to champion women requires explanation, not slogans.

If we want more women in leadership, including women like Madam Kateka, then we must be willing to discuss practical reforms, even when they come from political rivals.

SOCIAL MEDIA, TARGETING, AND CALCULATED OUTRAGE

We must also speak honestly about the environment in which this response was written. Madam Kateka knows that my name attracts organised hostility online. There exists a loud and ready crowd that will insult, troll, and vilify anything associated with Nevers Mumba without reading or reflection.

By twisting my statement, she presented me as an easy target. She knew the reaction it would trigger. She knew the noise it would generate. That is why I say this was not misunderstanding. It was positioning.

This is how political debate is poisoned. Analysis is replaced by attack. Argument is replaced by profiling. Reason is drowned out by online mobs.

CONCLUSION

My intention was simple and honest. To warn that when mistrust becomes absolute, no explanation is ever believed and no reform, however sensible, can succeed. Madam Kateka has tried to portray that intention as something darker because doing so serves a political moment.

I reject that portrayal.

I remain committed to open debate, to wider representation, and to seeing more women and younger leaders enter public life. I welcome their voices. I challenge their arguments. I expect the same in return.

Zambia will not be built by distortion, prejudice, or social media bullying. It will be built when we argue honestly, read fairly, and refuse to turn every disagreement into an enemy.

That is the standard I stand by, and it is the standard our Republic deserves.

For those who wish to read her original statement, Please Check the comments here:👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽