TONE DOWN!
….Harry Kalaba implores Emmanuel Mwamba to moderate rhetoric for national healing
By DAVID KANDUZA
IN a surprising and blunt intervention, Citizens First (CF) president Harry Kalaba has publicly called on prominent opposition figure Emmanuel Mwamba to immediately tone down his political commentary and media programming.
Mr Kalaba warned that the country’s high post-election political temperature required restraint from all factions to allow for urgent national reconciliation
The remarks were made directly to Mr Mwamba on his online broadcast, Emmanuel Mwamba Verified (EMV).
This came amid heightened tensions following Zambia’s contentious August 13 general elections.
During the broadcast, Mr Mwamba questioned Kalaba on what his immediate priorities would be regarding the current political impasse and the detention of political figures.
Mr Kalaba responded with an uncharacteristic candor, targeting his host’s own aggressive public relations strategy.
“If I were the Republican President today, and [Brian] Mundubile and Makebi [Zulu] were in prison, the first thing I would do is call you, Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba, and ask you to tone down and keep quiet for now,” Mr Kalaba explicitly stated.
Mr Kalaba elaborated that where Zambia stands right now, the primary objective for political key-players must be looking for practical solutions and national healing, rather than persisting with relentless political antics and personal bickering.
While Mr Kalaba took Mr Mwamba to task over his rhetoric, the Citizens First leader remained fiercely critical of the State’s post-election crackdown.
He renewed his calls for President Hakainde Hichilema to facilitate the immediate release of Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance leader Brian Mundubile, lawyer Makebi Zulu and retired Anglican Bishop Trevor Mwamba from Mukobeko Maximum Prison.
“We can differ all we want as Zambians, but the bottom line is that a Brian Mundubile in detention is worthless compared to a free Mundubile for democracy,” Mr Kalaba argued.
“The country must heal. We saw the military on the streets, we saw courts closed, but we have colleagues in prison. What do we do? That is why I said we all must tone down on all sides and talk to each other, not above each other,” he said.
Mr Kalaba revealed that he had quietly written a letter of appeal directly to President Hichilema, urging compassion and peaceful dialogue to resolve the political crisis.