…Lungu chides HH over national media interaction, condemns stiff laws for tribalism
Former president Edgar Lungu has cast down President Hakainde Hichilema’s media interaction yesterday
which the head of state holds routinely to address and update the nation on important matters pertaining to governance.
Reacting to President Hichilema’s open national address at State House on Wednesday, Lungu said he preferred his approach of avoiding frequent encounters with the media.
This contracts with the people’s general sentiment preferring more interaction with the head of state and something that Lungu was routinely derided over during his reign.
“As president, I kept quiet whenever I had nothing significant to say. As leaders, let us stop wasting people’s time with meaningless, hour-long addresses. Let us learn to keep quiet and stay away from the press if all we can muster is our pathological pursuit of personal interests, political bitterness and hatred at the expense of the interests of the majority poor and unemployed Zambians that can barely eat a meal a day” Lungu wrote in a statement published on his social platform.
“If leaders have failed to govern, it is better to step down and resign, so that other competent Zambians can take over. This is normal political practice worldwide.”
Lungu has also condemned President Hichilema’s resolve to introduce stiffer laws and punishment for tribalism and hate speech as a way of deterring perpetrators of such acts as well as foster national unity.
“And if people complain about tribalism, the solution is not to enact laws that would result in stiffer punishment for those complaining but to correct the situation. In civilized societies, governments don’t punish the victims or complainants of visible bad policies, democratic governments listen to their voters and change the bad attitude and policies to address citizens’ complaints.”
There’s no need to threaten Zambians with mass arrests when they complain against tribalism and regionalism,” Lungu added.
He has accused the government of operating on a policy of tribalism, which he has advised the state to shift from as a solution to ending hate speech in the country.
“Let government demonstrate policy shift against tribalism and most people will stop complaining. In a true democracy, people must have the freedom to express themselves freely without fearing an arrest and punishment, that only happens in a dictatorship. The last time I checked as former president, Zambia was a democracy, NOT a dictatorship. No threats will silence Zambians.”
Yesterday, President Hichilema announced his government’s move to introduce stiff laws against tribalism and hate speech following recent contentious remarks made by members of the opposition, widely seen as intended to promote regionalism and incite the public against the government.
