TONSE ALLIANCE STATEMENT ON GOVERNMENT’S ALLEGATIONS OF TRIBALISM AGAINST TONSE SECRETARY GENERAL HON. RAPHAEL NAKACHINDA
Liberty House, 4th February 2025
1. The TONSE ALLIANCE has noted with dismay, the unfounded allegations of tribalism and threats of arrest, leveled against the Alliance Secretary General, Hon. Raphael Nakachinda, by the Chief Government Spokesperson, who is also UPND National Spokesperson, Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa.
2. While campaigning in the Petauke Central Parliamentary By-election a few days ago, the TONSE ALLIANCE Secretary General stated that the people of Southern Province are intolerant of other political parties other than the UPND. This statement is not a tribal statement, but rather a statement of fact, which should have been countered by Government with their own set of facts, rather than threats of arrest. It is a fact that Southern Province is the only Province, out of Zambia’s 10 provinces, which only has one political party occupying all electable positions, from Members of Parliament, to Mayors, to Council Chairperson’s, to Councillors. This political party is the ruling UPND party, headed by President Hakainde Hichilema, who hails from the same Southern Province. All the other remaining 9 provinces have a diversity of political parties in elected positions.
3. Therefore, when the TONSE ALLIANCE Secretary General issues a statement that Southern Province is intolerant of other political parties other than the UPND, such a statement should not offend Government, but provide Government with an opportunity to preach diversity and tolerance in their stronghold of Southern Province, so that in 2026, the people of Southern Province can embrace other political parties in the same way that the people of other provinces warmly embraced the UPND in 2021.
4. Additionally, the TONSE ALLIANCE would like to draw the attention Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa, and through him, that of the nation, to Section 65 of the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act No.2 of 2021, which clearly defines Hate Speech as expressing ridicule or hatred by a person of one group to a person or persons of another group. In this instance however, the statement issued by the TONSE ALLIANCE Secretary General in Petauke does not qualify as Hate Speech for two reasons. Firstly, Hon. Raphael Nakachinda is himself a proud Tonga by tribe, who hails from Southern Province. Therefore, he cannot, by law, express ridicule or hatred against himself. Secondly, there is no ridicule or hatred in the statement that the people of Southern Province are intolerant of other political parties. It is merely a statement of fact, as evidenced above.
5. Lastly, the TONSE ALLIANCE would like to take this opportunity to advise Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa, and through him, his UPND administration, that they need to embrace tolerance and allow citizens to freely debate the issue of tribalism in Zambia. We cannot continue to have a situation whereby almost all positions in Government are occupied by persons of selected regions of Zambia, and anyone who questions such regionally biased appointments is deemed to have committed a crime and is quickly jailed. If the UPND administration in general, and President Hakainde Hichilema in particular, are desirous of building a united Zambia, then they need to allow citizens to question them on decisions that are deemed to be improper, without threatening arrests. A united Zambia can only be built on the basis of transparency, truth and sincerity, and not on the basis of threats of arrest.
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ISSUED BY:
SEAN E. TEMBO (SET)
PeP PRESIDENT & TONSE ALLIANCE SPOKESPERSON
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA