Shishuwa’s Poisoned Pen is a Clear Indication of a Scholar Turned Political Mercenary

Shishuwa’s Poisoned Pen is a Clear Indication of a Scholar Turned Political Mercenary

By Abuild Mubanga

There comes a time in every nation’s journey when its people must stand up to protect truth from propaganda, scholarship from political pollution, and hope from those determined to poison it.

Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, once a respected academic voice, has sadly become nothing more than a hired pen for political losers, economic plunderers, and bitter elites desperate to return Zambia to the days of plunder and impunity.

His latest article, _“The fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it,”_ is a malicious distortion of Zambia’s political and economic reality, laced with bitterness, conjecture, and an obvious agenda to discredit a President who has chosen the difficult road of national reconstruction over populist deception.

To claim that Hakainde Hichilema “fooled” Zambians into believing he was a reformist is not just an insult to the President—it is an insult to the millions of voters who overwhelmingly chose him in 2021.

*These were not gullible fools; they were citizens tired of a corrupt regime that brought Zambia to its knees through theft, violence, and economic sabotage.*

HH did not rise by deceit—he rose on the promise of restoring dignity, cleaning the rot, and placing the country back on the path of economic sanity. And that is exactly what he has been doing.

Yes, the road has been tough. But governance is not a fairy tale—it is a complex balancing act, especially when you inherit a nation that was bleeding on every level. HH has worked to stabilize the currency, attract credible investment, restructure Zambia’s debt, restore rule of law, and ensure peace.

He has done this without violence, without censorship, and without the dictatorial tendencies that defined the PF government—yet Shishuwa dares to brand him a despot. What hypocrisy!

It is under HH that defamation of the president was repealed—a brave democratic step no previous government ever attempted. It is under HH that freedom of expression has flourished. It is under HH that no journalist has been killed, beaten, or hounded out of the country.

Political parties operate freely. Opposition leaders like Fred M’membe and Sean Tembo insult the President daily with zero consequences—and yet somehow, we are supposed to believe we are under dictatorship?

Shishuwa’s biggest crime is intellectual dishonesty. He deliberately overlooks the global economic realities—from the COVID-19 aftershock to the Ukraine-Russia war—and pretends HH’s government should have reversed all PF damage in under four years. That is not analysis. That is activism—paid activism with a bitter taste of sour grapes.

He cries about corruption, yet under HH, even UPND-aligned officials have been arrested, suspended, or investigated. That’s a break from the PF tradition where corrupt ministers were shielded by State House. The Anti-Corruption Commission is working, the FIC is unshackled, and the judiciary is freer than ever before.

But Shishuwa wants you to believe that nothing has changed—because in his world, change must mean his preferred tribe, friends, or class benefiting.

He dares speak of fear, yet it is PF that ran the country on fear. Remember gassing, hacked body parts, and markets burnt for political gain? Today, Zambia is calm. Markets are being rebuilt, schools are receiving desks, and CDF is empowering communities like never before.

The UPND government is building—not stealing—and that alone is a revolution in Zambia’s public service culture.

*The truth is this: Hichilema is not afraid of losing power—he is afraid of leaving Zambia in the same mess he found it in. And that fear is noble.*

He is not panicking—he is working. He is not desperate—he is deliberate. Deliberate in growing agriculture. Deliberate in stabilizing power generation. Deliberate in enhancing accountability. Deliberate in protecting democracy from both the PF vultures and pseudo-intellectuals like Shishuwa, who have sold their conscience to the highest bidder.

Dr. Sishuwa, if you have personal grief, take it up with God. Do not package political vendetta as academic critique. We know you. You never write about PF criminality, never question Edgar Lungu’s return, You only bark at HH because you know he will never use the state to shut you up—yet that freedom is exactly what proves he is not the dictator you paint him to be.

Zambia is not a failed state. It is a state recovering from failure. A failure authored by the very people Shishuwa defends. And Hakainde Hichilema is not the failure—he is the reformer. He is not the threat—he is the shield. He is not the panicked man—he is the adult in the room.

Zambians must ignore the Shishuwas of this world. They are not prophets. They are not patriots. They are polished mercenaries in academic robes.

Let them write their bile. Let HH continue to build. Because when the dust settles, history will not remember the bitter scribblers—it will remember the brave reformers.

And on that note, President Hakainde Hichilema will be remembered as the man who chose the harder path—and walked it with purpose.