Pilato writes 👇
RELEASE SEAN TEMBO
The continued detention of Mr Sean Tembo is a scandal that the good citizens of this country must challenge. This is a scandal that will never be rewritten by anyone, it has happened and it will forever be attached to the UPND government. I know many of you are trying to justify it because it is Sean Tembo, a guy that you don’t like, truth is, this is a scandal that will haunt all of us at some point in future.
I do not agree with Mr. Sean Tembo and I do not agree with his politics, however, that should never be the basis for justice in a democratic country like ours. Today we have people rejoicing at his detention and I look at these people and I ask myself, is there room for we ordinary citizens to learn from our own history?
When President Hakainde Hichilema was arrested and detained, I saw people that passionately justified that arrest. I saw news platforms that went all the way to convince the Zambian public that he deserved to be arrested. When Mr Hichilema was abused and terrorized by the PF government, I saw memes, jokes and long posts celebrating the persecution of a Zambian citizen by its government. I struggled to find peace in that, I publicly sympathized with Mr HAKAINDE HICHILEMA even when it was not fashionable to do so.
Today, Mr Sean Tembo is detained and I see the same pattern of reaction from our people. Yes Mr Sean Tembo did say something very offensive, I was injured myself. I was disappointed by his expression but did he break the law? If he did, take him to court now. If he didn’t, release him now.
The police must be reminded that the continued detention of Mr Sean Tembo is an attack on President HAKAINDE Hichilema. A president with so much to celebrate about now the attention is being directed to the illegal detention of a political player. Mr Hakainde survived state sponsored insults from the PF. He survived psychological and physical attacks without police protection and went to win an election, why do you feel that you can defend him by arresting individuals who you did not arrest when he desperately needed your protection? This is a man that was called all the evil and terrible names, but no single person was arrested for calling him all those names. Today you are attacking him every time you arrest his critics on flimsy grounds.
To the UPND party and government;
When the police arrested some us, It was attributed to President LUNGU. Whenever the police attacked or arrested his critics, the attribution went to President Lungu. This is what is happening now, everything that the police are doing to Mr Hichilema’s critics will be attributed to current president. When citizens are getting arrested for defamation of the president, it is President Hichilema that will suffer the backlash. You are not helping the president, you are instead damaging him. I know you cannot see this now but as it grows bigger, you will see it.
To President Mr Hakainde Hichilema, Sir, it is not too late to redeem your name. Every time a citizen is arrested in your name, it is your name and reputation that suffers. When a bad law is enforced in your name it is your name that is tarnished. President LUNGU used the law to arrest us. He used the law to kill citizens of this country. He used the law to marginalize citizens of this country and in the end, a bad law produced a bad president. Sir, when you are guided by a bad law, you will become a product of a bad law. A bad law can’t produce a good leader.
The detention of Mr Sean Tembo is being attributed to you, not to the police inspector general, not to cabinet ministers etc but to you. These police officers, the cabinet ministers and party supporters will one day leave the UPND to join other parties and they will carry no blame or shame. They will say it was under your instructions. Police officers will shift their allegiance to another. Your ministers will resign and seek to become ministers in another party….YOU sir may never get that privilege.
The defamation of the president law is a threat to your reputation. Remember sir, People insulted you, they insulted your tribe, they insulted your spirit but the good people voted for you which clearly demonstrates that Zambians are able to separate politics from personal attacks.
I am appealing to you sir to distance yourself from this attack on you by the police.