TRIBALISM AND REGIONALISM UNDER HH AS FALSELY PEDDLED BY SISHUWA SISHUWA AND FRED M’MEMBE
By Shalala Oliver Sepiso
On 18th December 2022, Historian Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa wrote an article entitled “Why Zambia’s president is adored abroad but a disappointment at home”, on the African Arguments website, in which he claims that HH is sidelining Northern and Eastern regions in favour of his party’s strongholds. “Perhaps the most serious issue alienating the president from many Zambians is his failure to reflect adequate ethnic diversity in his appointments …. From the key ministries, security services, and the justice system, to the National Assembly, civil services and ECZ, the top positions are all held by individuals from regions that typically vote for Hichilema,” said Sishuwa.
Sishuwa’s diatribe can easily be critiqued for lacking basic facts and context. I will show that below.
To understand Sishuwa’s mindset, remember that Sishuwa was sponsored to school by Fred M’membe and lived in Fred M’membe’s house in his formative stage of life. Even when he was under scholarship in the UK doing his PhD, The Post newspaper used to send funds to Sishuwa for upkeep. He would study from The Post newspaper’s library whenever he was in Zambia. So his thought-process and indeed his philosophy is somewhat fed by M’membe’s thoughts.
It is not a coincidence that Sishuwa’s article came exactly one year after Socialist Party president Fred M’membe went on radio and misled the country that all heads of the three wings of government and of the defence forces were people appointed from either Southern, Western or Northwestern provinces. But government has only three wings i.e. the Executive, the Legislature and Judiciary. Without digressing much, let me remind everyone that Fred, like his student in the tribalism crusade Sishuwa, usually uses half-truths and lies to make his point.
The first arm of government i.e. the legislature or parliament is headed by the Speaker. Currently the speaker is Nellie Muti. She is Lozi and from Western Province. M’membe didn’t seem to be happy to have a Lozi heading this arm. The second arm of government is the Executive. This one is headed by His Excellency the President Hakainde Hichilema. He is Tonga. His tribe and origin should never have been an issue to Fred M’membe because this man was voted into office by the public and the public knew his tribe. During that election, one of the presidential hopefuls was Fred Namakando M’membe, a Bemba, Lozi, etc – and fourier series of zeroes all over the country which can’t be fathomed by calculus – differentiation or integration – as to what happened. Didn’t voters know that they were voting for a Tonga and leavcing a Bemba prince out with zeroes? HH did not appoint himself for his tribe to be an issue. The last arm of government is the Judiciary. The Chief Justice, is the head of the judiciary. Mumba Malila was appointed as Chief Justice by president Hakainde Hichilema. He is from Northern.
M’membe lied last year because on heads of government, HH only had to make two appointments and those are shared by Western and Northern provinces. This means the UPND stronghold got one and so did the former PF stronghold.
Now let me show you that, similarly, Sishuwa lied.
A look at nominated MPs shows that 50 percent of available slots were given to Northern regions, 25 percent to Western then 25 percent to Southern and the Copperbelt. If you want to look at it from a tribal angle, it is 50% Bemba-speaking people, 25% Lozis and the other 25% to Tongas and Lambas combined. These are as follows: NORTHERN OR BEMBA-SPEAKING: 1. Elias Mubanga (SME Minister, MP), 2. Peter Chibwe Kapala (Energy Minister, MP), 3. Doreen Mwamba (Community Development Minister, MP) and 4. Felix Mutati, (Technology Minister, MP), WESTERN OR LOZI-SPEAKING: 1. Likando Mufalali (MP), 2. Charles Milupi (Infrastructure Minister, MP); SOUTHERN OR TONGA-SPEAKING: 1. Mutinta Mazoka, MP; and COPPERBELT OR LAMBA-SPEAKING: 1. Elisha Matambo (Copperbelt Minister, MP).
Interestingly, of the 8 (eight) nominated MPs, President Hichilema promised five of them as Cabinet Ministers. Of these five Cabinet Ministers, President Hichilema favoured the Northern or Bemba-speaking bunch. Four out of these five Cabinet Ministers are from Bemba-speaking regions. Milupi is the only nominated MP in cabinet who is from outside the PF regions. And who can stand up and say he was appointed because he is Lozi or he is from a UPND region surely?
Let us now cascade to cabinet positions and compare appointments from former PF-strongholds versus UPND strongholds. MINISTERS FROM SOUTHERN PROVINCE OR TONGA-SPEAKIGN REGIONS: 1. Douglas Munsaka Syakalima, 2. Gary Chilala Nkombo, 3. Jacob Jack Mwiimbu, 4. Rodney Sikumba and 5. Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe. MINISTERS FROM NORTHERN PROVINCES OR BEMBA-SPEAKING REGIONS: 1. Elvis Chishala Nkandu, 2. Elias Mubanga, 3. Doreen Mwamba
4. Felix Mutati, 5. Peter Kapala, 6. Paul Kabuswe, 7. Chipoka Mulenga and 8. Frank Tayali. WESTERN PROVINCE OR LOZI-SPEAKING REGIONS: 1. Charles Milupi, 2. Situmbeko Musokotwane and 3. Makozo Chikote. NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCE OR LUVALE,LUNDA AND KAONDE SPEAKING REGIONS: 1. Brenda Tambatamba. 2. Elijah Muchima and 3. Ambrose Lufuma. CENTRAL REGION OR SALA, ILA, LENJE, SWAKA-SPEAKIGN REGIONS: 1. Collins Nzovu, 2. Chushi Kasanda and 3. Stanley Kasongo Kakubo. EASTERN PROVINCE OR NGONI, CHEWA, TUMBUKA AND NSENGA SPEAKING REGIONS: 1. Reuben Mtolo Phiri and 2. Mike Mposha. LUSAKA PROVINCE OR SOLI-SPEAKING REGION: 1. Sylvia Masebo (Soli).
From the above breakdown, it is clear that our friend Sishuwa is onto some serious mischief and not making a balanced and an objective observation. A reasonable intellectual does not make generalisations not backed by evidence such as “HH is adored abroad and hated by people at home.” An unbalanced view point is biased and not useful for national advancement. It is dangerous when it comes from someone in academia because it is taken as fact and not the utter drivel it is. Sishuwa should talk in context of the list above, both on nominated MPs and cabinet representation. Sishuwa should address his mind to this and discuss regional balancing from this perspective. Given the evidence I have presented here, one would expect Sishuwa to say Eastern and Lusaka Provinces are not well represented compared to other regions. That would be a fair assessment and not the exaggerated bad picture he is trying to portrays. Instead he chose to huff and puff his biases willy-nilly as though Oxford University never had no impact on his medula medulla oblongata and his cerebrum.
In his article, Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa makes assumptions based on his biases on something i.e Zambians are dissatisfied with HH/UPND and then looks for more assumptions and little nuggets which he weaves together to fortify his assumptions which he then presents as an analysis. There is no rudimentary fact checking or statistics to triangulate his thoughts and no verbatim from the ground. It is just assumptions based on his hypothesis. If that is indeed what being an intellectual is, then give him his dues and his roses.
In ending, Sishuwa Sishuwa said: “On democratic reform, Hichilema has disappointed too. After over a year in office, his administration is yet to repeal repressive legislation that undermines democracy nor enact any that promotes human rights and strengthens accountability. Not only that. More people have been arrested and sent to prison for breaking a dubious 1965 law against defamation of the president in Hichilema’s first year than were under six years of Lungu.”
Now this is a pure lie as numbers can easily show. I would have thought an intellectual would base this statement on facts and figures and no on lies. How many people have been arrested on defamation since August 2021 and how many were arrested on the same charge two years before August 2021? Sishuwa won’t give you those numbers because he lied.
Oh by the way Dr Sishuwa Sishuwa, please update your article as that law, and the death penalty, have now been expunged from Zambian laws.