SADC SUMMIT: HICHILEMA BLUNDERS AGAIN
Today, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will hold the 44th ordinary summit of Heads of State and Government in Harare, Zimbabwe. The SADC Summit is accountable for the regional bloc’s overall policy direction and control of functions of member states. It is the policy-making institution of SADC. The ordinary SADC summit convenes annually and is attended by Heads of State and Government from the SADC community.
During the 44th SADC summit, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa will take over the SADC chairpersonship from his Angolan counterpart President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço.
But for reasons best known by himself, Mr Hakainde Hichilema will not be attending this year’s 44th SADC summit in Harare but instead he has delegated the functions to his amateur Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mr Mulambo Haimbe. We are not surprised with the attitude adopted by Zambia because we are fully aware of this President’s pettiness, inexperience, and puppetry stance. In his ignorance, Mr Hichilema thinks that by staying away from the summit, he is isolating and humiliating President Mnangagwa and the Zimbabweans, yet the opposite is true. It’s actually Mr Hichilema and Zambia that are losing out when it comes to mobilisation of regional solidarity, coordination, and support on key issues. The negative spillover effects on this diplomatic miscalculation will be heavily felt at the most critical time in the nearest future.
Diplomacy demands sobriety, maturity, and wisdom in dealing with regional, continental, and transcontinental matters. So, whether Mr Hichilema has issues with his Zimbabwean counterpart or not, dealing with the matter in the manner he has done is not only unwise but highly reckless too. This is not the first time Zambia and Zimbabwe have found themselves on the opposite end of an argument. The late presidents Levy Mwanawasa and Robert Mugabe faced a more intricate and tension rising diplomatic emergency, but the duo, with the help of president Thabo Mbeki, navigated the crisis with a lot of wisdom, tact and maturity. Equally, Mr Hichilema has a grave responsibility to handle this matter with equivalent style. Snubbing the summit that would model the future of our region’s development and foreign relations only leads to isolation and intensification of the crisis.
What kind of puppet leadership is this? We ask a question to people within the UPND who think our observations on these matters are driven by malice and mischief? With such elementary diplomatic miscalculations, how does one describe Mr Hichilema’s ignorant and irrational handling of foreign relations matters? Isn’t this outright puppet leadership? Well, the writing on the wall is clear, Mr Hichilema is a sell-out and a puppet of neocolonial forces. At present and for the first time in our history, Zambia has a leader who has been captured by transnational corporations and global imperialist forces. Zambians already know that Mr Hichilema is not only a front, but also an instrument of neocolonial special interests. And like all puppets, Mr Hichilema’s governance style exposes a deep reputation for intellectual laziness, diplomatic spinelessness and a severe addiction for state power by just playing the role of President rather than enthusiastically shaping the nation’s foreign relations, development agenda as well as corroborating and developing consensus with fellow African leaders to establish an independent and dignified direction and vision for the future of our nation and our continent in general.
Mr Hichilema is operating on the end of a string held by his puppet masters. Even his diplomatic travels can only go as far as his puppet masters or foreign handlers are willing to stretch out the string that is yoking him. It’s a pity that Mr Hichilema clearly underestimated the repercussions of the imperialist links and covenants he entered into when seeking office. He lacks alertness of how he is being used and the consequences of this for our national sovereignty, security, and development interests. A leader whose supervisory competence and decision-making are solely tied to the agenda of the string pullers even when that agenda is clearly in contrast with our national values and interests is a disaster. How can it be that Zambia, a country with such a rich liberation struggle history, is among the evil forces dividing the region and supporting colonialism in the 21st century?
By snubbing the SADC summit in Harare, Mr Hichilema has scored a diplomatic own goal. It’s time Zambia returned to its traditional non-aligned position in the geopolitical arena!
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party
It’s you Fred M’membe who has blundered. If Emmerson Mnangagwa had concerns about the Zambia-USA relations, there’s a SADC forum where he should hv expressed Zimbabwe’s feelings and not through Russia, a non-SADC member. Ask yourself Fred M’membe, why do you think Russia leaked what should have been a confidential state-to-state matter for the whole damn world to see? HH has therefore done well to stay away from the Harare SADC summit. He knows the hostile feelings towards him within Zimbabwean officialdom. There’s no sound advice HH can take from a sworn enemy of his such as M’membe.
You wanted to kill HH we have that information HH well done your enemies they have remained in shock rude
Bo Namakando musitimbi you have chosen to forget what Emerson said about HH in Russia. How do your go in a home of a person who is busy arming himself against you
He is the only president not attending in person from the SADC countries. He chose instead to hold a rally in Mumbwa to insult ECL. Maybe his LGBT masters told him not to attend?
And we have his tribesmates above supporting this idiocy.
Vote wisely in 2026.
We have become the laughing stock of Africa now.
HH not attending a SADC summit in Zimbabwe makes Zambia a laughing stock of Africa?? What nonsense is this?? Do you think HH has no capacity to make independent decisions regarding summits he attends in person?? Are you not ashamed to be showcasing your narrow tribal bigotry on social media every day??
Do not support nonsense just because it is coming from your tribesman.
Your ka small conman is a total disgrace to Africa. He only wants to attend fake summits in Europe so they push LGBT agenda, and which mines he will give them.
We need a real man to take over in 2026, not this sad excuse of an impotent leader.
Vote wisely in 2026.
Even he attended you still would have had something negative to say about him so it makes no difference what he does.
Straight forward, Hakainde should have attended. This is beyond politics.
The negative things I say about what he does are actually true. There is no witch hunt here. Those that attended are not best friends, but they are putting country over pettiness. They have wisdom.
This was an opportunity for Hakainde to mend relations which he has broken.
Just be Christlike in your comments. God Love everyone
Lucifer incarnate!!
Just get busy working now. You are always online. When do you work you PF nincompoops???? Make money and you won’t be bitter. By the way I am non partisan and bemba and I love what this Ila bull s fixing in our country….I will vote for him come August 2026….zwaaaaa.
Yaba. You are free to waste your vote. You are brainwashed my fake Bemba blogger.
You are creating smoke where there is no fire.
Mmembe you and your PF freinds went there to fan the so called diplomatic rift you even went as far as lying to your freinds in Zimbabwe that zambia is building a military base.
Further you even betrayed your own nation by divulging classified info to a foreign nation.
Your freinds come out guns blazing threatening to harm the other one.
Now you claim he has blunder ed?When he was threatened with murder?
No wounder you just end up with that terrorists flag around your neck but not any where near state house. As even your little party is collapsing around you!!lol
Kudus HH for not attending the summit in Zimbabwe. The same country ‘s minister confessed killing our Levy . Munangagwa went to bad mouth Zambia in Russia even when we took care of him here in Mumbwa where he grew up……..and Fredbwith your five senses you want HH to travel to a traitor’s country?