This is not what the Zambian fathers envisioned the nation would come to. There is fear in the streets of the Zambian polity. I have never seen such apprehension as people fear to voice their dissatisfaction with the Government. Right now, our young democracy is under attack; our beloved Motherland is being raped right before our eyes. 

I think there are good people in the PF party. I think there are patriots who still believe in the vision for a prosperous, united and democratic Zambia. The Lungu administration, however, is to blame for the state of disillusionment currently obtaining in Zambia. There is an issue of a free Hakainde Hichilema (I will submit unequivocally that I am not a partisan camper nor a supporter of HH; I write pragmatically as I see things). There is potential illegitimacy with the outcome of the August 11^th, 2016 elections. Then there is a potential illegal justification for the arrest and detention of HH. Meanwhile as Lungu scores great strikes in the autocratic quadrant, Zambia still remains “a country defined by extreme poverty” (Nations Encyclopedia). 

President Lungu – save your energy, release HH from detention. You know that his detention is without basis in law. You know that you are directly linked to his demise, politically. But Zambia is the victim. You will go out of power someday. Zambia will remain. If you do not drop these tramped-up charges, Zambia will not easily recover from this indignity. Moreover, you will have taken the nation back to pre-independence quagmire. Do you truly want to be responsible for this? 

Churches and the civil society in Zambia should not be silent. This is the time to speak up and speak out. Tell it in the streets, in clubs, in gatherings and meetings. Preach it in churches and byways. It’s time for sane and Zambian-lovers to accelerate commentaries in social media and everywhere. The Lungu government may destroy the country in order to score political points or to last a little bit longer in power, but it is your sons and daughters who will inherit a destroyed country, a democracy in shambles. So, stand up for democracy. 

We fought against colonialism and won. We fought against autocracy during UNIP era and we won. We stood up against Structural Adjustment Programs and recovered. We must now stand up against our own ignorance and demand that the Rule of Law is above government and autocratically-tilted leaders. We must do this for Zambia – for its future, too. Let us stop this rape of the state happening right before us!

By Charles Mwewa

Concerned citizen.