Why is Archbishop Banda vocal now,why was he quiet during Lungu’s brutal reign,asks Siatubotu
By Kholiwe Miti
THE Voice executive director Faith Siatubotu has wondered why Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda is suddenly outspoken when he was quiet during the PF government.
Siatubotu says the Archbishop should have used the same energy to speak for victims of brutality.
“It is quite disappointing and hurtful that Archbishop Alick Banda today decides to voice out when he was silent like still waters when there was massive bloodshed in the country under the leadership of former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu,” she said in a statement. “Where was the Archbishop when the country was being looted by the PF? Where was he when Vespers Shimunzhila, Lawrence Banda, Mapenzi Chibulo, Frank Mugala, state prosecutor Nsama Nsama and many others were murdered? Where was he when President Hakainde Hichilema was incarcerated on trumped-up charges? Why was he silent when the Tongas were being insulted and demonised, others losing their jobs because of one man (HH)?”
She also challenged Archbishop Banda to state what he really stands for.
“Where was the Archbishop when citizens were being beaten for wearing political regalia in opposition of PF? The PF committed grand corruption, crimes against the people of Zambia in full sight of everyone and the evidence is the Zambian people turning up in numbers to vote them out. What does the Archbishop stand for? Is he a representative of the Church and the pulpit or a political tool in a holy robe?” wondered Siatubotu. “Let the Archbishop come out in the open and declare his position so that we can choose which lens to view him with. But one thing is certain, the Archbishop does and is not standing for the truth. If he were, he would have rebuked the former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu for his pathetic leadership, and advocated for the arrest of those that committed crimes against the Zambian people. The question is why speak now when he was silent when we needed him? We respectfully ask the Archbishop to kindly take a seat and allow those who stand for the truth defend the Zambian people like they did against the PF, not those who voice out only when it is convenient and beneficial to them.”
Credit The Mast