WHY HAS THE CHURCH REMAINED SILENT WHILE PRESIDENT HICHILEMA IS PUBLICLY DEMEAMED BY HIS PREDECESSOR?
July 9th, 2024
LUSAKA – We welcome the remarks by Republican President Hakainde Hichilema expressing his willingness to reach out to the opposition, including former President Edgar Lungu, for dialogue.
President Hichilema made this commitment in response to Reverend Patson Banda of the Reformed Church of Zambia, who encouraged him to seek peace with Mr. Lungu. Reverend Banda noted that the public would be pleased to see both leaders working together for the country’s benefit.
We appreciate the Church’s ongoing role in promoting unity and peace, which are crucial for a favourable investment climate and the overall well-being of citizens. However, we request that the Church remain fair to the Head of State, who has been subjected to disrespect by Mr. Lungu through various statements. It is surprising that the Church has remained silent while the President has been demeaned and ostracized by the very person they encourage him to meet.
We believe the Church stands for fairness and justice, but it is concerning that there has been no response to President Lungu’s aggressive and inappropriate language towards the current Head of State. The Church must recognize that mutual respect is essential for any meaningful dialogue, without which such efforts may be seen as politically motivated. It is our firm belief that the President is not in conflict with any citizen, and thus it is not entirely accurate to ask him to make peace with anyone specifically.
Mr Lungu recently described the Head of State as MAMBALA WACHUNSU at a public rally in Kitwe and the church took a silent position and could not rebuke him for the demeaning words. But is always quick to condemn President Hakainde Hichilema even for matters that are not of his making such as the ongoing wrangles in the opposition PF.
We hope that Reverend Banda, who requested President Hichilema to reconcile with Mr. Lungu, will also publicly admonish Mr. Lungu to be respectful towards the Presidency. Any issues he has should be addressed in a manner that respects the office he once held.
We also saw the Church blaming the government and President Hichilema on the recent vacation of nine parliamentary seats by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Moyo. How that became a Hichilema problem beats our logic when we all know that the process to expel the nine was initiated by their own party leadership.
We call on the church to play its role with impartiality regardless of the perpetrators and on our part, we wish to assure the nation that we shall do that which is democratically permissible.
We remain committed to supporting efforts that ensure Zambia continues to be a beacon of peace and unity in Africa. This is why we welcome President Hichilema’s statement, which should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness but rather as a demonstration of his strong character and ability to handle difficult situations for the nation’s best interest as Republican President and Commander of the Defense Forces.
Issued by :
Cheelo Katambo
Deputy Media Director – UPND
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM
July 9th, 2024
LUSAKA – We welcome the remarks by Republican President Hakainde Hichilema expressing his willingness to reach out to the opposition, including former President Edgar Lungu, for dialogue.
President Hichilema made this commitment in response to Reverend Patson Banda of the Reformed Church of Zambia, who encouraged him to seek peace with Mr. Lungu. Reverend Banda noted that the public would be pleased to see both leaders working together for the country’s benefit.
We appreciate the Church’s ongoing role in promoting unity and peace, which are crucial for a favourable investment climate and the overall well-being of citizens. However, we request that the Church remain fair to the Head of State, who has been subjected to disrespect by Mr. Lungu through various statements. It is surprising that the Church has remained silent while the President has been demeaned and ostracized by the very person they encourage him to meet.
We believe the Church stands for fairness and justice, but it is concerning that there has been no response to President Lungu’s aggressive and inappropriate language towards the current Head of State. The Church must recognize that mutual respect is essential for any meaningful dialogue, without which such efforts may be seen as politically motivated. It is our firm belief that the President is not in conflict with any citizen, and thus it is not entirely accurate to ask him to make peace with anyone specifically.
Mr Lungu recently described the Head of State as MAMBALA WACHUNSU at a public rally in Kitwe and the church took a silent position and could not rebuke him for the demeaning words. But is always quick to condemn President Hakainde Hichilema even for matters that are not of his making such as the ongoing wrangles in the opposition PF.
We hope that Reverend Banda, who requested President Hichilema to reconcile with Mr. Lungu, will also publicly admonish Mr. Lungu to be respectful towards the Presidency. Any issues he has should be addressed in a manner that respects the office he once held.
We also saw the Church blaming the government and President Hichilema on the recent vacation of nine parliamentary seats by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Moyo. How that became a Hichilema problem beats our logic when we all know that the process to expel the nine was initiated by their own party leadership.
We call on the church to play its role with impartiality regardless of the perpetrators and on our part, we wish to assure the nation that we shall do that which is democratically permissible.
We remain committed to supporting efforts that ensure Zambia continues to be a beacon of peace and unity in Africa. This is why we welcome President Hichilema’s statement, which should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness but rather as a demonstration of his strong character and ability to handle difficult situations for the nation’s best interest as Republican President and Commander of the Defense Forces.
Issued by :
Cheelo Katambo
Deputy Media Director – UPND
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM