SIX MILLION YOUTH READY TO GIVE EVIDENCE FOR JEAN CHISENGA- Sakwiba Sikota

SIX MILLION YOUTH READY TO GIVE EVIDENCE FOR JEAN CHISENGA

(BUFI BAKATEKA BWACHILAMO)

Honourable Jean CHISENGA was called upon to exonerate herself for telling President Hakainde that lies have become too pervasive and they should be scaled down.

This was at the end of President Hakainde’s address to Parliament on the progress made(if any) in the application of National Values and Principles.

President Hakainde approached Hon. Jean Chisenga to expand on the areas she felt had been subject of lies. She obliged by giving a litany of false promises that had not been met. President Hakainde, much to the disappointment of his handlers, failed to provide any coherent ansers and merely claimed that h was not responsible for the problems we were buried under but it was the drought at fault.

The President’s handlers were then given the cue to go into attack mode. A letter was issued to her demanding that she exculpates herself for having challenged the president on lies. She responded and was expecting to be accorded a hearing. After all the much talked about ‘Rule of Law’ ordinarily would allow the accused to challenge her accusers and to call witnesses in their Defence.

It seems that Parliament was merely going through the motions and the fate of Hon. Chisenga had already been decided. It is clear that this is the case because Local Governmenr Minister Gary Nkomo publicly declared, even before Jean Chisenga was heard, that, “Jean Chisenga won’t go unpunished for calling HH a liar in Parliament.”

If accorded the right to a hearing, I am sure she would have put forward twenty plus a bonus one instances of justification for her call out to President Hakainde with regards to lies.

She would have called the witnesses set out below to give evidence on her behalf. The authorities in Parliament were afraid that having a hearing would be opening a Pandora’s box full of cans of worms.

The contents of the Pandora’s box would include, but not be limited to, the following;

1. DEATH-ROW

As all the president’s men were sending Jean Chisanga to the ‘Parliamentary gallows’, they should have remembered that President Hakainde has been claiming to all and sundry that he was once on Death-row.

Jean Chisenga had lined up the Commissioner General Fredrick Chilukutu of the Zambia Correctional Service(ZCS), the Attorney General Mulilo Kabesha SC., and Chief Justice Mumba Malila SC., to come and tell us if President Hakainde was ever on Death-row. I am sure that they would not lie.

2. CHALLENGER GULF STREAM SALE

Bally on several occasions said he would sell the Gulf Stream challenger jet.

Essential witness to call is the Attorney General to state if there has ever been any sale contract reviewed by his chambers. The Zambia Air Force Commander would be able to confirm that this military asset has never been lined up for sale.

Bally’s claim that he was selling the Challenger would clearly not fly.

3. NO FLIGHTS ON GULF STREAM CHALLENGER

Talking about the Challenger flying, Bally stated that he and his officials or family would never fly in the Gulf Stream challenger.

Witnesses would be brought from Civil Aviation to state which flights the Gulf Stream has undertaken and who appears on the flight manifests.

The authorities in Dubai, Johannesburg, Kiev and Moscow would be flown in to give evidence on this.

Video security footage at these airports would also be viewed to jog a few memories.

4. LOAD SHEDDING

President Hakainde said under UPND load shedding would come to an end. Infact at a press conference in 2022, missed by numerous people who were without power that day, Bally challenged Zambians “Who is experiencing load shedding?” and asked If anyone was being loadshedded. He then boastfully claimed, “we have ended load shedding in less than a year.”

I would bring Engineer Victor Benjamin Mapani, MD for ZESCO ZESCO Limited with his Board Chairperson, Mr. Vickson Ncube and Hon Eng Peter Chibwe Kapala, the Minister of Energy to shed light on Load shedding.

5. K12 FUEL

HH promised that Fuel price would be reduced from K17 per liter to K12.

Thousands of motorists can be called to give evidence and fuel the growing mountain of evidence of bold untruths that Zambians were fed with.

6. NO MIDDLE MEN IN FUEL PROCUREMENT

Bally also promised that Middlemen in fuel procurement were to be done away with.

The Energy Regulation Board will be called to give evidence on the Tazama pipeline and who is bringing in fuel, from what source and at what amount.

7. V8 CAR SALE

As far back as August 2022, Bally promised to sell the Government V8 fleet as it was too expensive to maintain. He told us how just revving it chews up ten liters of fuel.

Jean has lined up security footage from the Parliamentary car park and several drivers for ministers and some senior military and security personnel to give evidence on what they drive and whom they drive.

This evidence will drive most Zambians crazy.

What is driving Toyota, the makers of the V8, crazy is the claim by HH that merely revving a V8 twice chews up ten liters of fuel. This damages their brand name. The CEO of Toyota and their top engineers are ready to come and present evidence, on behalf of Jean Chisenga, that Bally must have been pressing the wrong peddle when he claims two quick revs chewed up ten liters of fuel.

8. RULE OF LAW

Bally claims that his government follows the Rule of law.

Witnesses from Parliament will be called to show that the Mopani sale was never brought as required by the Constitution for ratification before Parliament.

It appears Bally has confused the Rule of Law to be the Rule of Man.

9. MILES SAMPA

On the Miles Sampa PF hijack scandal Bally, like Shaggy, simply said, “It wasn’t me!”

Witnesses we would call to come and say they saw it was Bally whom Miles Sampa met at community House, to get the green light and possibly some green bucks for the project, would be Mr. Ground and Amerika.

Bally would then hopefully humbly admit, “It was me!”.

10. GRAPHIC CHANGE IN EXCHANGE RATE FROM TO HOURS

Bally seems to have a fixation for 14 hours pledges. He famously promised that when he is sworn in at 10:00 hours the Kwacha Dollar exchange rate by 14:00 hours would have reached K10 from K21 that it was.

The Bank of Zambia Governor will be called to give evidence that the Kwacha Dollar rate has never come anywhere near K10 during the UPND reign. Right now it is at the highest it has ever been.

Bally cannot convince us that 14:00 hours is a ‘leap hour’ that we should only expect, like February 29th which only comes once every leap year, four years from now.

11. ANOTHER 1400 HOURS PLEDGE

At his last press conference Bally said police on arresting people on bondable offenses before 10:00 hours should release them on police bond or take them to court within twenty four hours.

As he was making this solemn pledge, journalist Sam Kaseba had been held in custody for a few days and continued to be so held even after what was supposed to be a solemn pledge.

He is not the only witness who will be called but others such as Namo Phiri and Abel Musonda of Millennium TV, Thomas Allen Zyambo and many others will be called to testify.

HH is quickly running out of time for his 14:00 hours pledge. We have gone past injury time on extra time on this promise. No need for VAR review, this was clearly a lie.

12. INVESTMENT OF 25.8 BILLION WITHIN SIX MONTHS

On 18th October 2019 Bally promised, whilst in Washington, that within six months of his election 25.8 billion dollars investments would come into Zambia. He announced that he had secured these pledges which were just waiting for his election.

Two and a half years after his election it is clear that he never secured any such firm pledges.

Minister of Finance will be subpoenaed to confirm that Bally’s pledge and promise of 25.8 Billion Dollars within six months, were clearly as brittle as a lover’s oath.

13. DEBT RESTRUCTURING IS SKILLFULLY DONE

Bally has posted again that, “It is done!”

He has said debt restructuring has been achieved and ‘done’ because of his skillful negotiation prowess.

Skillful resolution of debt restructuring has been debunked by the IMF MD Kristalina Georgieva Eurobond Creditors when she warned Ghana President Akufuna-Addo that Zambia was a bad example on how to negotiate with bond holders. She said we were only useful for other countries to know what not to do.

On 24th June 2023 the country was brought to a standstill when thousands were bused to Kenneth Kaunda International Airport to receive Bally from Paris. Zambians made to believe the deal had been “done”. Home Affairs Minister Jack Mwiimbu also believed this and said in his welcoming remarks that it was done. Turned out this was premature.

Again this week we have been to,d on none less than Bally’s page that, ‘It is done!’ We now learn from Minister of Finance who will be subpoenaed as a witness that it is only 75% done.

Clearly again it is not done and the elation leading to celebrations and back slapping is counting chickens before they hatch.

This may be a medical case of PE, premature elation!

14. CYBER SECURITY

Repeal of Cyber Security Act was a very clear promise made by Bally.

Court records will be subpoenaed to show that the greatest and most frequent prosecutions made under the Cyber Security laws have been instigated and pursued under the UPND government.

15. REPEAL OF PUBLIC ORDER ACT

Bally promised immediate repeal of Public Order Act upon coming into office.

A long line of opposition party leaders, NGO’s and others have been stopped from gathering and can give evidence. Church leaders will give evidence of police surrounding their congregations to stop certain people from congregating there.

16. GOLDEN JUBILEE MEALIE MEAL

Bally promised that Mealie meal prices would come down to fifty Kwacha

When calling for President LUNGU to resign over the mealiemeal prices which were then at K152, Bally wetted our appetites and promised he would bring this staple food down to the Golden Jubilee figure of fifty Kwacha.

Jean Chisenga was ready to gather all those people, queuing up for mealie meal, across the country to come and tantameni outside the Privileges Committee hearing in readiness to give evidence that they have never seen the Golden Jubilee mealie meal in any of the shops.

17. REASONS FOR MEALIEMEAL SHORTAGE

Bally has blamed the current food shortages on drought.

Witnesses to show that Bally’s excuses have dried up would include former information minister Chushi Kasanda who stated that our strategic reserves of maize grain from the 2019 to 2022 harvests, stored in the Food Reserve Agency sheds, was all being sold. Another witness we would strategically keep in store would be Agriculture Minister Mtolo who said we were going to keep on exporting maize grain stocks.

No doubt these witnesses would not exhibit a shortage of truth about how we sold everything in the granary leaving us nothing for, figuratively a ‘rainy day’ like the drought we are now facing.

Just like you cannot have your cake and eat it; you cannot have your maize grain and sell it.

18. NO CADRES ABOVE THE LAW

Bally promised that cadres would not be holding sway over our lives.

Jean Chisenga will call the Chinese businessman on the Copperbelt dragged to the police by cadres. She also planned to subpoena GilbertLiswaniso to testify on how he has acquired mining interests in foreign firms mining in Zambia.

Beene Hachoomba, a presidential campaign member for HH, would also be subpoenaed to give evidence on the attack on Monday 25th March in Kanyama perpetrated by whom he identified as ‘UPND Zealots’.

19. BAG OF FERTILIZER EACH

Bally promised that in the fertilizer support program peasant farmers would be receiving full bags of fertilizer each.

Jean Chisenga has lined up hundreds of thousands peasant farmers who were made to take only a meda out of the bags of fertilizer that were distributed.

Hakainde and his promises would make Pinocchio, if he heard them, feel inadequate and want to retire.

20. RAINDROPS
Bally has been on CNN and BBC claiming that Zambia has not had a drop of rain in two months.

Jean Chisenga would call some people from Muchinga, Northern and Luapula Provinces to tell us why raindrops keep falling on their heads when the President has declared to the world that there has not been a drop of rain in Zambia for two months. He further claimed that this was the worst drought experienced by Zambia in a hundred years.

Even the weather reporters and forecasters from both CNN and BBC could be subpoenaed to produce the weather reports for Zambia over the past three months.

These witnesses will show that the “worst drought in a hundred years of Zambia’s history”, is only in Bally’s head.

21. JOBS FOR THE YOUTH

Bally made the youths get up as early in the morning as 0400 hours to queue up to cast their votes. This arose from his promise that once elected, Jobs for the youth would be provided to them all.

Two and a half years later and the youths are now lining up in their tens of thousands when job adverts go out for a few jobs like that of enumerators. Another example is that in 2023 government budgeted to recruit 4,500 teachers and 69,000 applied. Of the 137,129 people who applied as health workers in 2022 less than ten percent got jobs.

The minister of Education Douglas Syakalima can be subpoenaed to give evidence on behalf of Jean Chisenga.

Health Minister Sylvia Masebo will also be called to confirm that only 11,276 were recruited in 2022 meaning that the promise to give jobs to all the youths is yet another unfulfilled promise.

These are but a few of the long lines of lies.

That is why the youth have woken up early (Ba UKA) and an endless line of witnesses, winding throughout our country, is being formed by six million youth ready to give evidence for Jean Chisenga.

By Sakwiba Sikota
(Lawyer/ Politician)