We shall resist and stop HH when he wants to misrule is, says Lubinda
By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
ACTING PF president Given Lubinda says President Hakainde Hichilema is so desperate to win the Kabushi and Kwacha seats in Thursday by-elections that he has abandoned the role of governing the country to conduct door-to-door campaigns.
Lubinda accused the Head of State of having gone into Kabushi and Kwacha pending the PF’s High Court case against the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) in a bid to intimidate judges hearing the matter.
“Whether these elections take place or not, the truth of the matter is we shall not stop fighting for the rights of Bowman Lusambo and the rights of Malanji. We shall fight until the day we are vindicated. To give up the fight is to be willing to be governed under a dictatorial system. We must show that we are going to stop Hakainde when he wants to misrule us. We shall resist,” he said.
Lubinda was speaking shortly after hearing in a case where former foreign affairs minister Joe Malanji and former Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo have asked the High Court to order the ECZ to suspend the August 25 nominations for Kwacha and Kabushi and hold fresh nominations as well as declare the ECZ’s decision to disqualify them from standing in the by-elections null and void.
“I know that President Hakainde is under so much pressure that Kabushi and Kwacha have become more important than the nation of Zambia that he has decided on abandoning governing this country to campaign door to door in Kabushi and Kwacha. When the job he applied for is the number one job in the country, that of governing the country. Now he has decided to go and start gallivanting because it is easier to go door to door and say nothing,” Lubinda said. “The truth of the matter is that whether he likes it or not, the law is very clear. The Constitutional Court already declared that both Malanji and Lusambo are eligible to contest these elections. Whether by going there he thinks he is going to intimidate the judges and so on, that is a matter that we shall handle at a later stage. My message to the Zambians and members of the Patriotic Front is we are not going to win the fight and lose the battle. We are going to make sure that whatever breaches he puts in our way, we are going to overcome them until we win the battle.”
He said the PF would not abandon Lusambo and Malanji because President Hichilema was fearful of them.
Lubinda said even if Lusambo and Malanji do not participate in the elections, the PF would ensure the courts declare that ECZ was wrong in disqualifying them.
“We shall stand by them until this matter is brought to its fair conclusion and a fair conclusion for us will be even just a declaration that the ECZ were wrong. Then we will be vindicated. If we throw in the towel and say let them just go ahead then we will set a very dangerous precedence for the future,” he said. “No matter how long it takes, we shall make sure that the whole world is made aware of the fact that there is one President who has come to rule Zambia with the intention of destroying democracy. With the intention of entrenching one party politics in the country. This is the reason why he is so happy. He is going into Ndola, into Kitwe, to try and send a message to the courts that what they are doing here is irrelevant.”
Lubinda said it was unfortunate that the government had failed to protect the rights of Lusambo and Malanji.
“Your saw what happened with the Minister of Justice (Mulambo Haimbe), going into court to pass notes to lawyers to argue a case involving citizens. Meaning that on that day that minister stopped being a minister responsible for Malanji’s rights and for Lusambo’s rights. He became a minister only for the rights of those who are in his political party,” Lubinda lamented. “This is exactly what Hakainde Sammy Hichilema has done but I want to remind him, be reminded that your lies will catch up with you one day. And once they do, you shall be left all by yourself. People will call you for what you are doing, going out there and trying to destroy democracy.”
Lubinda pleaded with PF members not to relent in the fight for justice.
“Members of my political party stand firm, stand strong. Don’t relent. Whether these elections take place or not, the truth of the matter is we shall not stop fighting for the rights of Bowman Lusambo and the rights of Malanji. We shall fight until the day we are vindicated. To give up the fight is to be willing to be governed under a dictatorial system. We must show that we are going to stop Hakainde when he wants to misrule us. We shall resist,” he said. “Depending on what the courts say I will come and give you the next course of action. For now be resilient. Let us allow Bally to walk around door to door, let him bus people from all parts of the Copperbelt to try and create an impression that he is getting rallies when actually everyone knows that those people are hired. We lose no sleep over this.”
And Lubinda said he was shocked that the Anti-Corruption Commission had been summoning candidates who wanted to withdraw from the Kabushi and Kwacha by-elections.
“ I also want to call out the ACC. Since when has the ACC become so interested in an election where they even call candidates and warn them against pulling out?” wondered Lubinda. “Withdrawing from an election is a right of every person. They file in voluntarily. If the person realises there is no chance of them winning because the ballot papers only has one name, why should they continue? They will pull out. So ACC please follow people if they have corruption cases. Don’t follow people to intimidate them and force them that if they withdraw, they will be under fire. I know of a president who has been told if his candidate withdrawals, they will open cases against him. That is not the way to govern the country. That is governing the country by blackmail. We told Zambians in 2021. We said ‘please don’t you make a mistake of electing a person who has never won an election in his life. He has never been councillor. He has never been member of parliament and you make him President. Look now mwatiletelela manje (what you have caused us).”